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So this morning we woke up at 6:30 in order to get to the market nice and early. Richard first took us by the animal market, this is where people from all over the province come to by and sell their animals. The animals are of every sort rabbits, pigs, horses, cats, cows etc.... It was pretty crazy but a good experience.
After that we went to the market, every saturday Otavalo is known for their famous arts and crafts. They go all over the world selling these and they all come from Otavalo. Everything here is super cheap. We ended up buying two table cloths that were over 3.5 meters long for my parents new table. We got some shirts and a bunch of artwork to put up around our house. We also got an awesome leather backpack that Christina really loved. Over all we had a great time.
After that we took Richard and his girl friend out to a restaurant that was really nice. It cost $14 for two people and they brought us more meat than we could eat!! It was soooooo good!
We then went to the Waterfalls here in Otavalo. It was a short hike but everything about it was pretty amazing. Its hard to explain it but below we will upload some photos showing how amazing it is.
Christina's Perspective
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So this morning we got up pretty early so we could make it to the market in time. We were first taken to this horrific animal market. So many pigs and cows, just any animal that people eat that you could think of. Even cats--I know, sad. Kind of. I'm not the biggest fan of them....anyway....
Smelled like a zoo.
Afterwards we spent a couple hours at the market. It was soooo awesome :) We bought a lot of cool art from there that we're going to hang up in our apartment. Everything there was pretty cheap. I am getting more used to Ecuador prices though, so when they charge 5 bucks for a ring, I say heck noooooo.
So at first before we bought anything, we bought two GORGEOUS table cloths for Brendon's parents. They have this abnormally large table, which you can't find table cloths for because it is so big, so here you could buy the fabric and they would cut it for you and whatnot. Great patterns in that store. We took it to another little shop so they could sew up the sides, which cost a whole dollar. Amazing.
We spent the rest of the time shopping and we bought some bracelets, a coin purse, a good handful of art, and the cutest backpack I have ever seen.
Oh and we also bought one of the blankets made out of llama fur!! It's sooooo soft and wonderful :) The backpack I got it sooo colorful and it is made out of legit leather and llama fur. It's gorgeous. I couldn't pass it up. Guilty.
Afterwards, we took out Richard and his girlfriend for lunch. We bought this plate that is meant to share, so we bought two of them for us and for Richard and his gf. Each plate cost 14 bucks, and I swear it would probably have cost like 40 in the states. SO MUCH MEAT. We couldn't even finish. I couldn't even think of food for the next couple hours without wanting to die. It was awesome. People eat a lot of protein and meat here in Ecuador. No complaining here. Except for guinea pig, I still don't like that, haha. Even though it tasted pretty good.
After that we went to ¨Las Cascadas¨ or The waterfalls in Otovalo. It was THE BEST TIME EVER. Seriously. There were so many trails you could take, and each trail was so exciting. We went on one where we had to jump from tree stump to tree stump to get across the ground. After that, we were led to this huge pool of sorts and some kids were swimming in it. We saw a ton of really cool looking bridges, not to mention the trail was really cool looking too. The waterfall was amazing as well. I love the mist that comes off of a waterfall, when it hits your face. It's wonderful. So as we were trying to get to the top of the waterfall, we came across a bunch of people hovering around this cave. We didn't have a flashlight, but this guy used his phone and he, brendon, and I crawled through the narrow cave to the end of it. Sooooo exciting! We found this couple making out. Not so exciting.
So we crawled out of the cave and got to the top. So as we headed down we took a different path and came across this area that was on display by this older man. We found out that there was this other cave, but we had to pay 2 bucks each to go through it. So of course, WE DID. And he gave us a candlelit tour through it and explained what happened in the cave, rituals, songs, etc. that the people that used to inhabit the land did. He then told us to crawl through the open hole at the top, which was the only area that we could see sunlight, to exit the cave. Freaking awesome. We went on several different trails, but had to head back to Richard's so we could shower and head on our way to the bus to head to Cuenca.
Okay, so this is really embarrassing for me but Brendon thinks it's hilarious and really wanted me to write about it. And frankly, I don't want to care about it anymore so whatever.
So the bus to Cuenca took around 12 hours. So while we were on the bus, we made a pit stop at some bathrooms. I used them.
Got back on the bus, and ten minutes later my stomach starts to kill me. So obviously, I had to go the restroom. heh. So, the bus had a bathroom on it. So I used it. And as I am done, I get up and notice a sign on the door that says ¨solo urinario¨.
¨Kill me.¨ - I thought.
As I exit the bathroom, I see a guy covering his mouth with his sweater.
¨Kill me. Kill me.¨
I sit down next to brendon and told him that I saw the sign, and then the manager of the bus came out saying who used the bathroom. And so I raised my hand.
Eternal shame.
She was very nice about it though, considering I am American and we can usually use the bathroom on buses to our soul's desire.
I really just couldn't help it. Sometimes, ya just gotta go. And as much as I tried to, I couldn't contain myself anymore :(((
Thankfully, the woman was so nice.
Safe to say, the bus did not smell so pleasant for almost the entire remainder of the trip.
Thankfully, most of the people on the bus were getting off at a city that was shortly after the incident.
The rest had to suffer with us.
Sorry.
Picture time!
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