Otavalo Area

Feb. 1-7:

We spent one week in Otavalo, watching each morning as the market vendors carried heavy loads, pushed wobbly carts and set up frames for their awnings. The famed woven goods, sweaters, blankets and paintings are colourful and beautiful. We hired a guide through Runa Tupari Native Travel, a community based indigenous tour company, to visit three indigenous villages and at each one had a demonstration of their traditional weaving techniques and at one, flute construction and playing. We also saw the Peguche Waterfalls (cascades) and the Cuicocha collapsed volcano and lake. Cuicocha was beautiful, so we headed back up there the next day to hike around the lake. The so-called easy 4 hour hike was very challenging. Firstly, we were at an altitude of 3100m, then we found out that it is 14 km around the lake, and we had to climb another 500m on the route. After an hour of climbing, Sue was puffing hard and turned around. After 5 1/2 hours, Ian finished the hike. The views, both into the lake and of the surrounding valley, were stunning. We are going to stay at altitude for a few weeks now so that our future sierra hikes are a little less challenging!