Otavalo

The dizzying variety of what was available at the market 

From above, a sea of tarps, the famous market
Now, how to navigate.... 

The last stop on our travels through Ecuador, Otavalo is renown as a market town, but we found there was a lot of hiking to be had in the surrounding hills.

Otavalo lovely temperature for hiking

Getting there looked tricky, but with the abundance of buses in this country, we made the change easily. No sooner than getting off the first bus, the ticket tout of the next bus had us get aboard his bus and away we went. We were not sure if it was the right direction as all the info said we had to go to a different terminal to get from Quito to Otavalo. "No worries," said the tout (we think, spanish not being our first language.) Sure enough we got to an intermediate town then leaped upon another bus which, as usual, was just about to depart to Otavalo with seconds to spare.

Our accommodation was a colonial style three story house with an enclosed courtyard, with views of more volcanoes from the roof. Many tourists visit Otavalo for the Saturday market, so while the weekend was busy, we had the place to our selves during the week.

Colonial charm of Hotel Dona Esther with inner courtyard

The market is spread out over a main square and many adjoining streets, with lots of stalls selling the same stuff, it was hard to find unique crafts. Much of the weaving seemed mass produced but we discovered a man selling home woven wall hangings, one which caught our eye allegedly took three days to weave.

Condor park was mind blowing and a unique experience where we saw Andean condors, eagles, owls, falcons and hawks which rehabilitates these and other birds of prey. The most incredible was the

Our wanderings took us further afield, a walk around a lake in a collapsed crater 14 km on a hot day took its toll although we were now used to the altitude. There was a indigenous festival to mark the solstice where offerings are made to the lake, villagers carrying racks of fruit and vegetables and a pole live  trussed chickens.

Next day we took an organised bike ride, driven up to 3500 m then a slow ride meandering through farms and villages to a town where leather goods are produced and sold. More Christmas presents!

The last day our guide took us high up another volcano, yet another lake in a collapsed crater. Unfortunately it was cloudy but the walk up through the paramio (alpine tussock) was extraordinary. Our guide explained a lot of the indigenous culture and the lore behind the festival we had seen on the first day. The locals party and dance for several days to awaken Pancha mama for the spring crop planting to thrive. Apparently the festival is also an opportunity for neighboring groups to discuss and resolve local issues, although in the past this could also lead to violence. Now there are strict rules to avoid bloodshed.

Last bus rides to take us to our accommodation by Quito airport, we were old bus pros now, getting off at a remote motorway toll both, cross the highway on an overhead pedestrian bridge then catch the airport bus on the other side. No need to go all the way into Quito northern bus station. Cost $2.80 each instead of the $50 taxi ride we were quoted! The hacienda where we stayed was once in the countryside but the area is now being built up due to the proximity of the new airport.

Quito city is spread out along a narrow valley 35 km long and is surrounded by deep canyons and skinny plateaus, on one of which lays the airport, 45 km from the centro of Quito. The next morning with heavy hearts we boarded our last internal flight to take us back to Guayaquil, where our adventure started 6 weeks ago. 

Mindo

We piled out of our bus in Mindo with our substantial backpack (snorkeling and hiking means no 'carry on only' this holiday sadly.) As the wet season allowed the skies to open we were content hanging out with a coffee. Enjoying the small and slow town, we were happy  to take a walk to see the natural attractions that surround it. We stayed above a chocolate tour /restaurant with the tour part of our tariff!

Grinding my own coffee beans

Mindo nestling amounst the cloud forest

Too much chocolate later it was time to hit the natural reserves, hiking, and early morning bird watching tours.Mindo has a long history with the Audobon Christmas Bird Count dating back more than 20 years. Identifying 350 species of birds in 24 hours in a 24 kilometer radius in the year 2000 and have continued to win most years.

The road behind camp was a primo spot to see birds

The first morning I let Jo sleep in as I took a hike at dawn by myself up the mountain where there is a good chance of seeing birdlife - with a guide that is. I heard the bush alive with sound but knew I needed an expert to help us, so that's what we did the next day.

yet another tanagier

The belle of the ball in Mindo is the Andean cock-of-the-rock with very unusual looks. At 5am the next morning we went with our guide to the lek where the males perform a courting ritual -seemed they were all trying to outdo each other! Unbelievable.  Other birds we saw that morning included the swallow tailed kite, bat falcon, pale vented pigeon, bronze winged and rose faced parrots, common potoo, and the lyre tailed nightjar owls, pale mandibled aracari, choco toucan and the chestnut mandibled toucan, ornate fly catcher, tropical kingbird, southern rough winged and red necked swallow, lemon rumped tanagers, black winged saltator, and the variable seed eater!

Ivory billed toucan

shrikes

yet another tanager

We decided to move closer to the action - at Dana Lodge on the deck outside our room looking out over the forests and gardens. It was truly wonderful to be immersed in hearing bird call, with much flutter and buzz going on, almost a din! Sitting out on the deck in the restaurant we saw an owl and fireflies.

our chalet in the forest

chestnut parrot form our deck

Banana flowers

Andean cock of the rock