Otavalo

Como estas?....or as the Ecuadorians say, Como vas? This weekend I went to a city two hours north of Quito that is known for its indigenous population. Otavalo was particularly festive this weekend because they were celebrating an indigenous holiday called “Fiesta del Yamor.” Friday, just after we got into town, there was a parade unlike any other. It lasted five hours (we only lasted two) and it consisted of a multitude of bands, dancers, floats, horses, and “Reinas” aka beauty contest winners from surrounding cities. Ecuadorians know how to put on a parade! After that we went out dancing and eventually made it back to our gem of a hostel that night. We sure lucked out for only $9 a day we stayed at a “Gilligan’s Island” themed hostel on the edge of the city. Saturday morning, Kristen and I went to her host father’s Hacienda in a rural part of Otavalo. Roberto checks on his farm and the farm workers about once a month and he just so happened to be in Otavalo at the same time as us. His property goes on forever with vacas (cows) roaming all over the hillside. It was truly picturesque. I have decided if I could choose any animal to be it would be those cows. They’ve got the life: lots of land, plenty of food, they get to hang out with their fellow cows gal pals all day, and their only obligation is to get milked twice a day. There is one bull (Todo Padre…father of them all) that has claimed the top of one of the hills as his turf. I chose not to go say hello to him but I did get to play with two other bulls. That may sound like a big deal until I tell you that they were only a week old! They were harmless. My one regret was that we didn't go to the farm during milking time. I was so close of fulfulling my lifelong dream of milking a cow.
Roberto has also begun raising trucha (trout), but it’s a work in progress. He has lots of ponds that separate the babies from the teenagers from the adults. And he’s started to sell them in the market in Otavalo. Speaking of the market, Otavalo has the largest market in South America. That was our next stop. If you need an alpaca sweater, a poncho, a colorful handmade scarf or purse, silver or beaded jewelry, then Otavalo is where you need to go! And if you like fresh meat there is the animal market in the mornings where you can buy cows, pigs, goats, etc.
The Ecuador vs. Columbia soccer game came on at 3pm and it was as if the whole town shut down to watch the game. People were standing in the streets peering into electronic shops with TVs and every bar was completely packed. Some of us gringos made the common mistake (only if you are a gringo) of cheering for Columbia on accident in the beginning. Oops! If you have ever looked at the two countries’ flags, they are almost identical. It was an away game for Ecuador so Columbia wore the red, yellow, blue while Ecuador wore navy blue. I thought the Ecuadorians in the café were going to kick us out after we cheered for Columbia when they scored on Ecuador. And to our dismay, Ecuador never made a comeback so we couldn’t prove that we were actually rooting for Ecuador.
The rest of the weekend was a bit of a blur for me because I got really sick. It was bound to happen to one of us considering all of the unsanitary situations. I headed back early on Sunday with a few others and unfortunately missed out on the bike ride to the waterfalls just outside of town. Maybe next time! When I got back to Quito I got on the wrong bus and ended up at a bus terminal far away from my house with no bus to get me there. My luck sure ran out that day. But one bus ride and one taxi ride later I got home safely. This weekend I spent a grand total of $35 including the stay at the hostel, traveling to and from Otavalo, all meals, etc. Not bad eh? Who knows where next weekend will take me.