Otavalo

This weekend I went with the international students from PUCE on a trip to Otavalo, a town north of Quito that is famous for its artisan market. The indigenous community that lives in the area (Otavalenos) makes all sorts of crafts and then sells them at the market. You have to bargain with them for the best price, which can be tedious or fun, depending on your mood.

The place we stayed was super nice. It was a little community of cabins around San Pablo, a lake in Otavalo. It was gorgeous. Here I am at lunch with my yummy dessert in the restaurant. The restaurant is practically in the lake, so it made for a really nice view.



















Here's a man holding a rooster.



















The hotel had some pretty sweet amenities. There was a fireplace in our room, which we made use of. And in the back yard, a sweet tire swing/zip line contraption where you could zoom from one side to the other in a tire on a cable. Here I am with a little girl after having gone for a ride.












Don't worry, we let her have a turn too. We even helped her. It was pretty sweet. There was also mini golf, so we took advantage of that. It was definitely one of the hardest courses I've played, rivaled only by that one in northern Minnesota with the huge mosquito and such. This one didn't have grass, just cement. And there were many water obstacles. And, of course, for one of the holes there was a little cage with various fowl. Right in the middle of the hole.












On Sunday we went to a waterfall, Peguche. It was pretty.




















After the waterfall we went back to the cabins for lunch. The food at the restaurant was amazing. They served excellent juice, and the main dishes were very tasty. Apparently other people enjoy it too, because the president of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, was there. With the vote for the constitution only a week away, he must be relaxing a bit before the last big push to vote si. How nice of him to pose for a picture with us. Here I am with my buddy Raf.












(I know I'm not looking at the camera. There were too many pictures being taken at once. Oops)
We got back around 5:00, and then we went out for sushi to celebrate a birthday. It was a very enjoyable weekend!!