We were pleasantly surprised with the magnificent welcome that the residents of Otovalo put on for us last night. A small welcome committee would have been enough, but we really didn´t expect a full parade, complete with dancers from Mexico, Peru and Bolivia, as well as some startling body-builders and Miss Otovalo contestants distributing roses. The streets were thick with Ecuadorians, many of which Meg was delighted to discover only came up to her waist. An uncommon experience for her. The prize for the most bizarre float went to the scantily-clad nurses (mini skirts and red stilettos), accompanied by a very large papier mache Egyptian cat. They were advertising something, it was either bikini waxes or viagra. By the looks of the number of babies in the crowd, it should have been contraceptive pills.
Everywhere we looked there were squat Ecuadorian women with tight baby bundles strapped to their backs. Looks like a fantastic way to get around. We´re thinking of finding a couple of Ecuadorian women to carry us around for the rest of the trip. They seem built for carrying heavy loads, we saw a little old man yesterday who came up to our knees, but had a large bundle on his back about four times as big as he was. Made us stop complaining about our packs for five minutes.
We´re so glad to be out of the city. We´re staying in a fantastic hostel (http://www.rosecottageecuador.com/) with a family who speaks no English so it´s a Baptism of Fire with our spanish. Much fun. Sporting a little bit of sunburn after a fantastic jaunt in the countryside yesterday. Life is beautifully slow here. Everyday we see a little man sitting by the side of the road while his herd of 6 cattle grazes - he looks happy as Larrio. Our next-door neighbour is a farmer who we see ploughing his field with his oxen in the morning. We´re pretty sure he´s not just doing this for our photo opportunities. Chilling here for a couple more days before heading south, we hope on another bus with as much character as that we arrived on.
Chau for now!
Everywhere we looked there were squat Ecuadorian women with tight baby bundles strapped to their backs. Looks like a fantastic way to get around. We´re thinking of finding a couple of Ecuadorian women to carry us around for the rest of the trip. They seem built for carrying heavy loads, we saw a little old man yesterday who came up to our knees, but had a large bundle on his back about four times as big as he was. Made us stop complaining about our packs for five minutes.
We´re so glad to be out of the city. We´re staying in a fantastic hostel (http://www.rosecottageecuador.com/) with a family who speaks no English so it´s a Baptism of Fire with our spanish. Much fun. Sporting a little bit of sunburn after a fantastic jaunt in the countryside yesterday. Life is beautifully slow here. Everyday we see a little man sitting by the side of the road while his herd of 6 cattle grazes - he looks happy as Larrio. Our next-door neighbour is a farmer who we see ploughing his field with his oxen in the morning. We´re pretty sure he´s not just doing this for our photo opportunities. Chilling here for a couple more days before heading south, we hope on another bus with as much character as that we arrived on.
Chau for now!
2 comments:
Well this sounds a lot more exciting than collecting horseshit!! But I have tried to enter into the spirit of your adventures by reading a wonderful memoir called 'The hacienda.... my Venuzuelan years' By Lisa St Aubin de Teran. ( A Pom who, at age 16 married a grandee) So now I am wondering if you might be going there too.... Watch out for those manic drivers... Anne & Bill
Ha! Funny you should mention horseshit...there is an abundance of it on both the streets and the hikes we´ve been doing, so my shoes have become pretty intimate with horseshit over the last few weeks!
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