Otavalo - To Market, To Market, To Market, We Will Go

We had to make a quick decision. After the nerve wracking discovery that my pants had been cut into to get money out, we had to choose to board a bus to go to the markets or stay put in Quito. We jumped on the bus for a small town that is famous for the handicrafts sold in stalls on the streets. There is 10 square blocks of fruit and veggies, clothes, art, jewellery, food, tapestries, bags, hammocks, wood and leather work and souvenirs. On the outskirts of town you could find yourself face to face with lamas ( they cost $150 with out bargaining), hearing squealing piggies as they get pulled along by a ropes to their new homes, watch a cow being milked just to see if it´s as good as the vendor brags and see scrawny horses nibbling grass indifferent to all the commotion.

Before arriving we´d decided what we wanted to get. We´d budgeted $40. We took our time chatting with people and they were so friendly. Everybody enjoyed the good bargaining. Jay got a wool hat for $8 and we´d seen them for $33 in a store in Quito. I got a alpaca scarf for $5. Jay´s very proud because he helped me pick it out! It´s really warm for the cool Quito nights and now I have a great outfit for going out.

We bought the occasional thing we didn´t necessarily need but also decided we´d rather have. We couldn´t pass up on these textured paintings made out of corn products. We didn´t even blow the budget!

Otavalo - Market Town