Playing Tourist

Friday was not a very eventful or noteworthy day. I spent most of my time battling the computers in several internet cafes trying to upload pictures to the blog.

Speaking of, my camera lens has somehow been damaged so there are no photos since Thursday (although I've stolen some internet photos for this post). I am going to a repair shop tomorrow morning, and if that doesn't pan out, I am buying another camera in the States and having it brought down with some friends of Paul and Kristen in a few weeks.

After the internet fights, I decided to take a quick trip to nearby Cotacachi. It is beautiful town about 20 minutes away and is named after the massive volcano under which it sits. My time there was interesting. I walked by some teenagers who had skipped school to drink moonshine (if you've noticed, this is becoming a theme). They offered some of course, but having nearly vomited the previous 3 times, I kindly refused. The kids were so excited to have a gringo in town. The one boy started to tell me the tale of the three volcanoes (google it if you're curious but basically Imbabura is the guy, Cotacachi is the girl, I forget the kid's name, but there is something about snow...you get the idea hopefully). I had heard about it several times already and cut him off. He then told me about a lava flow that had formed in the shape of a monkey nearby. I was curious enough to accompany them, but after getting lost in cane fields for 45 minutes, I turned back. The one boy was drunkenly distracted and I am not entirely sure he ever made it out of that field...

Anyways, on to Saturday, an amazing awesome astounding day from which I have NO pictures (very angry about that...). OK, so after an entire week of sleeping on the floor and waking up at 5:55 AM when the girl's got up for school, I was really looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday. No such luck. Paul came and woke me at 5:30 telling me we needed to get to "The Animal Market" by 6. I grudgingly obliged. We knew we were close to market long before we could see it, as the air filled with squealing pigs, angry roosters, and perturbed moos. Before we knew it (and before the sun was up!), we came upon the massive field. It was literally filled with animals of all shapes and sizes. The first section was the birds and small animals (which included everything up to llamas). It was fun but we wanted to see the real capitalism with the hogs, horses, goats, and cows in the next area. It was really amazing seeing everyone there hoping to get rid of these animals for slaughter. One cow had obviously misbehaved and had been slit right there in the middle of the market. That was the exception. For the most part, it was solely a place for trade and barter, not slaughter (not because it would have made a mess or been unhygienic, only because it is easier to get the animals to the restaurants before dispensing of their lives). There were pigs roasted whole lining the market for marketeers to snack on. Paul and I just settled for some empanadas (which have become my Ecuadorian favorite, basically dough fried with cheese). We chatted with some buyers and sellers to better understand the going rate for animals in Otavalo. Oddly, I knew that a decent head of cattle in NC goes for $700. Here it was about half, although some really big guys were going for 5 or 6 hundred. Since we weren't there for commerce, we decided to head back. The view walking back was unbelievable, as both Imbabura and Cotacachi decided to reveal themselves for an hour (the volcanoes are usually veiled in clouds).

I took a shower when we got back, the girls were still sleeping so we just sat, read the paper and chatted until everyone else was ready to start the day. The Otavalo market day is Saturday and I still hadn't been. It was really something to see. It covers about 8 city blocks. There isn't much you can't buy and some of it is actually really cool. It took me every ounce of strength not to buy something for everyone I know. Rosie was looking to buy some sunglasses so that was the excuse Paul and I used to be there. Granted, it's a tourist trap but one with some unique and quality wares.

I almost forgot to mention that Paul and I went to a peluqueria (hair cutting place) and had our beards trimmed. Mine was getting sort of puffy and weird-looking and the woman did an awesome job of preserving the beard but making it look a little better. She also shaved my neck with a blade and the real shaving cream, all for $1.

Next stop was Hacienda Cusin. I had ranted and raved about the place since I had visited a month ago and I was sure that Paul, Kristen and the girls would not be disappointed. We had a wonderful lunch, saw and mocked some tour groups who had stopped in in between visiting the morning market and visiting an "authentic" Quechua home (I shouldn't be this critical, but I can't imagine that the people who go on vacation with these tour groups see anything or learn anything about a country). The girls and Paul wanted to go horseback riding so Kristen and I toured the Monastery and Hacienda grounds. Before long, Paul strolled by and explained that Rosie's horse hadn't been very agreeable and it was decided that it wasn't worth continuing. We found a game room where I taught Rosie and Althea how to play pool. At around 5, we wanted to head back, although via a different route around the lake.

We found a community park on the lake and some boats. The captain offered us a ride around the lake and he didn't exactly have to twist our arms. It was a little cold, but all four volcanoes were visible and the lake was crystal clear so we dealt with it (Paul and I talk about the days in terms of the number of visible volcanoes, "It's a 3 volcano day Kent!"). We docked at a lakeside resort with a beautiful restaurant. You can just imagine how gorgeous it was, overlooking Cotacachi in the distance and the lake shimmering in the forefront. It was probably the best meal I've had in Ecuador thus far. They just seemed to understand how to use all of the ingredients to complement one another.

We were home by 8, and I don't think I lasted past 8:20 before I settled into a semi-comatose deep deep sleep.

Lots of Love
Kent