Oct 10: Otavalo

Today we visited Otavalo, a beautiful highland town about two hours north of Quito. However, a recent earthquake closed the main road and it took us over 3 hours each way. The kids enjoyed everything but the car ride! Cows, chickens, cats, dogs, sheep, goats, ducks, chickens and guinea pigs were all for sale out of boxes or bags at the animal market. Alex asked to see all of the cats twice and Maddy liked the dog that looked like Piper (their cousin's dog's name). Next we checked out the clothing and "things" market. 

So many clothes, scarves, and "things".  Maddy and Alex each got a traditional style shirt and I found a scarf. Bill did not find anything, mainly because he didn't want to put anything more in our bags. It rained until after lunch, when we were able to go for a short hike and capture pictures of two volcanos, nicknamed the mama and the papa. Apparently when there is thunder the two are making....more volcanos? 

We also saw a wedding dance outside of the above church. The traditional Otavalian wear for females is a white embroidered blouse over a floor length tailored dress and tied with a beautiful rope belt. The men wear white pants and dark ponchos with a wool hat. Most people along the road or in town wore something similar for everyday wear as well. A neat place to see modern conveniences blend with a more traditional culture. 

The peacocks were at a fancy restaurant we lunched at. The kids did not do so well at the restaurant, so the peacocks were a pleasant distraction. Lunch was delicious! Thanks Julio for being our guide in the Amazon and in Otavalo!