The trip to Cayambe also gave Sarah and I a near-heart attack! Driving practices in Ecuador are very interesting. Though the roads here are divided similarly to the US with two lanes, Ecuadorian drivers zip around cars as if there is no line at all, even around cars. It was not uncommon to witness cars three-wide on the trip, and in a few places four-wide. While this is common in many major cities with multiple lanes of traffic, not so with two lanes headed in opposite directions! But, we made it!
It was dark when we arrived, so we had no idea what the surroundings looked like, however, their "farmhouse" was beautiful! It is a two bedroom, 1.5 bathroom house built as a weekend home to the family so they could get away from the stresses of jobs and the city. We enjoyed a dinner of empanadas de verde con queso (plantains & cheese), pasta, and garlic bread (amazingly prepared by our host sister Anabelle). Moni also prepared a traditional Ecuadorian drink for us - canelazo. Their version of canelazo is served warm and was made with naranjilla fruit, cinnamon, sugar, and aguardiente, an alcohol that was somewhat like vodka...kind of.
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| Mmmmm...I love empanadas de verde con queso! |
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| Pasta with delicious garlic bread (thanks Anabelle)! |
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| Canelazo - made specially by Moni. :o) |
We listened to Moni's eclectic music mix on her MP3 player (from Latin music to country to 90s and more). It's amazing how much music from the States has spread to other countries. It was great to hear familiar songs spattered in between the Latin American dance mixes. Moni is looking forward to the Aerosmith concert coming here in a few months!
We also suffered through some teasing by Felipe (host papa) and Jose (Moni's boyfriend). The Spanish flies quickly between them and I try to keep up, but my previous Spanish experience fails to keep pace. I'm really looking forward to those Spanish classes!
We played a card game of Golf (I'm not quite sure if I'm worse at the card game, or the game with clubs and a tee...either way, it's bad), and then played a few games of Rummikub before heading to bed. Sarah rocked Golf, and Moni won both games of Rummikub. I...was the loser all around, but enjoyed the time greatly with the family, and felt a little more at home while being on the farm.
The Next Day...
I awoke relatively early for me (no snooze button yet!) and got ready to check out the farm. I was quite embarrassed, learning that I had...well, um, kept my room awake with a few snoring bouts that night (sorry Jose, Moni and Sarah!) I was quite stuffed up, so I can only imagine what I must have sounded like!
I headed out to explore the farm. Felipe took me a bit out to see the horses. They have two big horses and two miniature ones at this farm, and four more horses at another. They also have a cow, some chickens, a rooster (which we heard early this morning), a donkey (also heard early this morning), ducks, geese, goats, sheep, alpaca, and two dogs which were rescued from the streets!
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| Alpacas |
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| Host mama Martha with one of the horses |
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| Funny looking rooster thing |
We had breakfast and headed to Otavalo, hosting Plaza de los Ponchos, a street market to buy textiles and other crafts from indigenous artisans. Quite a few stands were arranged within a square, showcasing handmade jewelry and clothing, including alpaca products. It took a few minutes to get used to the constant approach of people trying to sell their products, attempting first to use Spanish then realizing I was a confused Gringa, then spouting out some English phrases to convince me to look. I instantly was reminded of my time in Guatemala, specifically in Chichicastenango, where a similar market was held. We had learned about the unfortunate work of the market managers who took such a large cut from the sales that the artisans were left with very little. I felt guilty for bartering down prices realizing the cut, but also did not want to pay more to the greedy managers, nor not by anything at all. I couldn't help but think if the situation here in Otavalo was the same. I struggled with each stand I went to, should I barter down? Or pay the first offer? In the end, I only bought one thing, so conflicted!
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| Otavalo - Plaza de Los Panchos |
After Otavalo, we traveled through a few more towns and stared in amazement at the numerous volcanoes and mountains placed all around us. We had the opportunity to visit Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve, a park on Cotacachi Volcano. We had a quick trip through the visitor's center, then went outside to enjoy the view. The visitor center overlooked a water-filled crater formed from volcanic eruptions. It was quite the view. Martha told us how she had once taken a boat across the water to one of the small islands in the middle and camped overnight. Now likely outlawed, it was an interesting experience to be sleeping in the middle of a volcano! Hot pockets of water were present throughout the lake, still warmed by magma below. When closer, you could smell the sulfur, though we did not get close enough for that.
We climbed up a bit to get a different view of the lake, but we didn't go too far! The altitude was stifling and I huffed and puffed up the equivalent of MAYBE two flights of stairs. The few steps were enough to get a view, so we snapped a few pictures and headed out.
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| Cotacachi Volcano lake |
We returned then to Cayambe and had lunch at La Estancia. Though I thought about ordering yagyarloca (a potato soup with sheep's blood), I instead chose a locra (soup) made with cheese and avocado. Locras are a main dish in Ecuador that we've had a few times thus far. I also enjoyed some chicken, rice and french fries.
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| Pollo con papas fritas (chicken with French fries) |
After a quick stop at the farm, we headed back to Cumbaya where I headed to my room and had a chance to connect home via Skype, then fell asleep, exhausted from a wonderful weekend!
The red pins indicate some of the places I've been so far (or close)!
View Ecuador Adventure Map in a larger map
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