Excursions in Ecuador: Otavalo

So through my program we'll be going on multiple excursions-aka field trips- though various parts of Ecuador. Our first stop was Otavalo. Otavalo is a home to the Quechua people. The town has about 50,000 inhabitants and is surrounded by the peaks of Imbabura 4,630m and Cotacachi 4,995m. Both of those mountains are extremely important to the Quechua people and are main components in their folklore and culture. In our Andean culture class we were assigned two stories and one was about the love affair of the two mountains. I loved reading a little about the history of these people and then getting to experience it first hand. 

       

 

 Our first day in Otavalo we actually visited a little market called in the city of Cotacachi. Cotacachi is known for it's leather goods. The artisans are absolutely fantastic at what they do. We all had a wonderful time practicing bartering for the next day. Later that night we observed some sort of festival in the town. I love being a minority.

What? Do we stand out or something?

Our Quechua sisters

 During our 2 day stay in Otavalo we were awarded the honor of getting to stay with Quechua families instead of a hotel or hostel. Each family got 2-3 of us. That alone was one of the most enjoyable parts for me. I can't even believe that we got to stay with the people we're reading about in our class. I feel like I'm at some sort of school that is involved in hands on learning. I wish that all the culture classes I've taken brought us directly to the groups we're learning about. These families all grew or raised their own food. My group got a tour of the garden and livestock. It was pretty neat to be able to see exactly where our food was coming from. I remember Katie seeing the avocado tree and saying "Oh man, our avocado this morning was super fresh." They eat so simply. Every night we had some sort of basic soup, potatoes, green leafy veggies of some sort, and another random item-that's it. I could (sorta) identify everything I ate. There were no mystery ingredients, no preservatives, no seasoning packets, just straight up food in it's most basic form. It was nice to be reminded that we don't need condiments or spices to make things taste good.

Steph and I looking like Quechua women

Our family that we stayed with was awesome. We had two little girls who we enjoyed interacting with. Normally I have no issues understanding kids because they're Spanish is pretty basic-much like mine. However, these sneaky little girls kept throwing in Quechua words which threw me off completely. Once we finally figured out that they weren't speaking Spanish half of the time we had a much easier time understanding them through the use of hand signals and body language.

The day before we left our Quechua mom asked if we wanted to dress up in the traditional dress. Of course we said yes. After we were properly dressed the little girls took us for a walk around their little village. Talk about awkward. I totally felt like that awkward tourist who is wearing the traditional clothes trying to fit into a culture that isn't your own. But it was a great experience and I'm glad I did it.

 All day Saturday we got to shop at the open market in Otavalo. I am absolutely in love with this form of shopping. (Pretty much) Everything is handmade and completely unique. The people expect you to barter-which is awesome. Bartering was an awesome way to practice my Spanish. My group had it down to a science. I feel like we robbed Otavalo.

Lake Cuicocha

On our way back to Quito we stopped by Lake Cuicocha. Someday when I'm rich I'm going to buy this Lake from the Ecuadorian government and build my house on one of the islands.

 Some fun facts about Cuicocha:

• Its name comes from the Kichwa (Quechua) Indigenous language and signifies: "Lago del Cuye" or Guinea Pig Laguna in English. 
• It was given this name due to the shape of the largest Island located in the middle of the Laguna is full of Guinea Pigs.
• Last Eruption-12th century BC
• Elevation-3,246 m (10,650 ft)

 

Oh and did I mention that 5 of us crazy Gringas decided to jump in Lake Cuicocha? I've swam in the Merced River in Yosemite National valley that is straight up mountain water-but that doesn't even compare to how cold this water was. I mean this Lake is over 10 thousand feet above sea level and I doubt it ever reaches above 65 degrees there. It was freezing. As soon as my body hit the cold water I immediately wanted out...I swam as fast as I could to the boat but by the time I got there I was so exhausted from the swim (that was about 5ft mind you) that I couldn't get back into the boat. Have you ever tried to swim in freezing water at 10,000ft? It's not easy-you feel like your lungs are going to explode. I mean just walking up a hill was hard, swimming was way worse. All in all it was a great experience. Would I do it again? Hell yes.