bethany.shines: 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.