Singing "De Colores!"

Otavalo is home of the largest handicrafts market in all of South America. They have a handmade crafts market, a food market, and an animal market! I am decidedly bad at bargaining. I simply feel bad paying so little for something that took such work. I’ve got a feeling that my skill at haggling will improve relative to my money dwindling. 

Below is the most magnificent rainbow I have ever seen in my life. I saw it when atop the mountain at Parque Condor. Unfortunately, these pictures do not convey the grandeur and expansiveness of this sight. 

You could clearly see the rainbow's end in the town below

It went up, up, up . . .

and over the mountain range

ALL the way over

landing on the other side

and just when i thought it couldn't possibly be more breathtakingly beautiful - a double rainbow appeared!

Otavalo, Ecuador

Today I am in Otavalo, Ecuador. It is around 1 ½ hours north of Quito. As I was traveling by bus yesterday, I kept my small canvas bag directly in front of me, with my legs on top of it. After a short time, the bus driver’s assistant came over and without saying one word, forcefully shoved it under my seat. Of course that made me nervous, knowing all that I have read about theft upon buses; but he was so forceful that I was afraid to put it back where I’d securely held it before. Instead, I only hooked my foot through the strap. Sometime later, I repeatedly felt the person behind me kicking my bag. I annoyingly turned around at least 4 times to glare at them. It was only a woman with a sleeping bag covering her. Strange. Shortly thereafter, I fell deliciously asleep. When I awoke, I fortunately saw a sign that had “Otavalo” on it. There was a young boy, around 11 years old, sitting beside me. I asked him if we were going to stop at the bus terminal in Otavalo. “Yes,” he replied with surety, and seconds later got off the bus. “Good,” I thought, “we must be almost there.” 10 minutes later, I realized that we must be heading out of Otavalo by now. I asked someone, and yes, we were nearly in Cotopaxi, the next nearby town. Long story short, I had to hop off the bus, cross the street screaming (hoping it might keep the crazy cars flying by me at bay) and hail another bus going back in the opposite direction. This bus was full of indigenous people, traditionally dressed, the men with long hair, the women in skirts, several of them smiling at me curiously. A sweet elderly woman was sitting next to me, and we chatted a little. Twenty minutes later, I arrived at the Otavalo bus station, which I clearly had slept through before. I had arrived! Now, to find a place to stay. I shall not bore you with that story, only to say that the first place was a heap, with plywood for both walls and ceiling. Well, what does one expect for $6 a night? Though, sometimes luck brings beauty. Not this time. A few hours after checking in, I came back and paid them $3 for holding my bags, and changed hostels. The one I changed to was almost uncomfortably lush, for only $11 per night. It had crown molding everywhere!! And a television. I spoiled myself that night, watching t.v. for the first time here. The Ecuador vs Argentina futbol game was on. Ecuador lost. 

The story of my bag being forced under the seat comes awkwardly back in now, for when I arrived at my first hostel, I realized that my bag had been slashed through! Not an easy task since it is thick canvas. They slashed through in 2 places, and my notebook was hanging out. The only thing that I am certain is missing is my comfy long john pants. They may also have gotten some Spanish verb papers, but I will never know. I feel certain that the bus driver’s assistant was in cahoots with the dirty thief. Lesson learned. Never, ever leave your bag under the seat, period.

The only beautiful adventure I had this day, was hiking at the crystal clear crater-lake which sits at the bottom of the volcano Cotocachi. This lake is named “Cuicocha,” which means “guinea pig lake” in Kichwa.

Cuycocha crater-lake

Peering into the lake's depths

The next day I took a $2 cab ride to La Cascada de Peguche, a beautiful park with a winding river, precarious bridges, and one huge waterfall. The driver dropped me off at the road’s end, and instructed me to walk straight. There I found a path that led me into the forest. It was so beautiful!! The trees were very tall, and felt ancient, as though they held the silent secrets of history.

I wandered around for a long time, breathing in the silence, with only the rushing river close by. I crossed makeshift bridges, and one big, strong, hanging one, along the way seeing locals swimming in stone walled pools of bubbling water.

Nice meditation spot on this wall

Fun hanging bridge!

Can you see my shadow?

The canal running alongside the river

Slowly, I made my way to La Cascada de Peguche. It was at least 60 feet high, and powerful.

La Cascada de Peguche

To stand on the bridge nearby, one would get very wet, very fast. So, I climbed higher, to a lookout point. I rested there for a while. That was where I met this guy.

We talked for several minutes, when he suddenly whipped off his shirt and began posing. Of course I had to snap some pictures. He told me his life’s story, which was fascinating, involving his being kidnapped and taken to Peru for 2 years, and subsequently living alone in the woods feeding on anything that he could find: monkeys, birds of all types, crawling animals, insects, and more. He spoke in his language as fast as I can possibly speak in mine, despite my requests to slow down. I understood around 65% of his 25 minute story, which ended with him doing his posing for a group of girls somewhere. At that point, I deemed him a bit off, and kindly parted ways.

He kindly took a picture of me.

From there I decided to hike to the very top of the mountain to go to Condor Park, a rescue center for birds of prey. The hike was difficult for me, as it was mostly straight up, and I had to follow nearly non-existent foot paths. I had been advised below, to always pick the path that goes straight to the very top. At one point I took a wrong turn, and the path ended here.

I hid behind the tree to snap a photo of the cow. Do you see the gentleman napping?

I asked this resting, indigenous gentleman, whom I did not see at first, where the trail began again. He told me to turn back and then continue straight up. Along the way, I passed many plots of farmland.

Zoomed in on people farming below

I’m not sure how long I hiked, but it was for quite some time. Near the end, because of the high altitude, I was forced to stop every 15 paces or so to breathe. The sun was strong.  Twice I considered turning back, but finally I saw a glimpse of the road! Then, upon my right appeared a barbed wire fence, so I followed it, as the path was much easier alongside it. Just before reaching the road I saw a building directly to my right, on the other side of the fence. It was Condor Park!! Not only had I made it, but my trajectory took me exactly there! Proudly, I eeked through the fence and continued into the park. It was a beautiful and serene place, overlooking the entire city and mountains nearby. I took a plethora of pictures.

This Condor flew and landed directly in front of me!!!

Condors have a HUGE wingspan

All of the birds here are injured and have been rescued

As many as possible are released back into the wild

This guy was rescued from Miami

He was not my biggest fan

La Mitad del Mundo - aka the Equator

Taken by a professional

 Today I visited La Mitad del Mundo, which is what they call the equator here since "ecuador" is both the country name and "the equator" in Spanish. At Mitad del Mundo there is a big monument which was built to signify the actual location of the equator, but this was done before the advent of the GPS. I would not recommend going there, as it is quite the tourist trap. Though I did get to see an exhibit of the many different giant beetles you might find in the jungle here. They are enormous!

I do NOT look like a tourist!

 What is worth seeing is this place - Museo de Sitio Inti-nan. It is a short walk down the road from Mitad del Mundo, and it marks the actual equator itself. Once there, you will be grouped with a guide, and then he or she will take you on an adventure via stories of another time and culture. For example, we learned how to shrink heads! Plus, they had an actual shrunken head on display. In the Amazon rainforest, certain tribes used to cut the heads off of their dead and boil them in water. Then they would remove the skull, and through various processes they would shrink the head. They believed it would hold in the person's power. They did this for their most respected and revered peoples, and also for their strongest enemies. It was fascinating. Our guide was wonderful, very lively and quick-witted. I received a fancy certificate for successfully balancing an egg on a nailhead! It was a fun day.

Guide

 While I was waiting for my connecting flight in Miami on the 20th, I met a woman from Georgia who is also traveling solo in Ecuador, though she for a short time. She and I linked up at the equator and spent the day together. The buses here do not announce any stops. They rarely even make any scheduled stops. When you are ready to get off, you simply go to the door. This means one must recognize where one is at all times. Unfortunately, I believe that would be difficult for anyone new to this country, much less one as directionally challenged as I am! Thus, even with the pair of us, we missed our stop and were actually well on our way back to the equator before we realized it. She realized it before me, but being the only one that speaks Spanish, it took me awhile before I could swallow my embarrassment to confirm. Sure enough, we had to get off and perilously cross the street to eventually make our way back to Quito. Circumstances led to us getting a cab the rest of the way. If I told you why, you'd agree with our choice.

Nick

 This is Nick, the family dog. (I am still staying with a wonderful family here in Quito, as my home base.) Nick is very skilled at sneaking out of the gate when you leave. I am shocked each time. He is a ninja-dog! This night he followed me 4 blocks all the way to and into the store. I felt so safe walking with him, and have therefore truly bonded with Nick. He got hit by a car the next day, but thankfully he is doing fine.

Rita's tree

 I was asked about Rita, so I decided to post a picture of her tree here. She had previous owners for many years, who kept her in a cage. Thus, she can no longer fly because her muscles have atrophied. (At least that is what I understood of the explanation in Spanish.) So, she lives happily and heartily in this tree in the back yard, overlooking the home's nice, big garden.

Wandering around lost one afternoon in Quito, I snapped this photo of an indigenous family. Here, specifically in Quito, they seem to wear a lot of felt clothing. I have noticed that the dress of indigenous people varies by location and possibly by tribe affiliation. I wish I had more photos to show you, but I do not feel comfortable taking their pictures without asking, and as of yet I feel too shy to ask.

Random door in the old town

Pichincha Continued

Pichincha Volcano

Qutio, Ecuador

There is more to the story than just riding the Teleferico. After disembarking, I joined a friendly French couple on the grueling climb to higher ground. One can go all the way to the top of Pichincha, the volcano, but it takes training. This was only my 3^rd  day in Ecuador, and it really does take time for your body to acclimate to the altitude. I was happily surprised that I kept up as well as I did. It was an amazing experience and quite a challenge. After hiking for a short while it began to hail! Imagine walking on a ridge, through an intensely heavy downpour of pinky nail sized hail, surrounded by clouds on all sides. We continued hiking under those conditions for a long time. I was mostly glad that I was with such a determined pair. When we began the trek, there was no hail on the ground. By the time the hail stopped, it was several inches deep. I reached an altitude of 13,648 feet before heading back. As I began the much easier descent, the hail stopped and the clouds rapidly began to clear. It was a dramatic and breathtaking change! I could see the entire city! It was both a view and a challenge of fortitude that I hope to remember always.

Perspective

Almost at the top of the teleferico

Trailhead

Proof of the friendly French couple

Hailing like nobody's business

It got much deeper than this

Proof of 4,160 meters high = 13,648 feet

On the way back, the clouds began to clear

The trail

If I got married at this church one day would you come?

Pictures do not do the view justice