Otavalo

Our trip out of the rainforest made for a very very long day. Wake up at 6:30, breakfast at 7, and departure from Sacha at 8. 15 minutes in paddled canoe, 30 minutes hiking, and 2.5 hours in the motorized canoe only got us to Coca. Our flight to Quito was delayed by 30 minutes, so we sat in Coca for 1.5 hours before taking our 45 minute flight over the Andes.

Flying over the Andes makes for a most amusing ride - Especially in our small TAME 40 seat plane. Then onto the bus for 1.5 hour ride up to Cochasquí... ancient pyramids built by the Quitus-Cara long before the Incan invasion. Rainy, wet, overcast... but extraordinary. They developed both solar and lunar clocks with 12 and 13 months respectively, and had figured out that the earth's axis was tilted. After our visit to the archeological site, we hopped back on the bus for the final 1.5 hour trek to our hotel, Las Palmeras.

Las Palmeras has fireplaces in every room, and is built in the style of an Spanish Hacienda. Our dining room is the "Sala Cuy" - Cuy being the Quichua word for guinea pig. It is complete with a life-sized statue of a winged angel with a guinea pig in her outstretched hand.

Today we visited the animal market of Otavalo, followed by the Plaza de Ponchos - a gigantic market in the heart of Otavalo. Students spent their parents' money by the boatload, picking up lovely textiles and artworks at modest prices. Our afternoon was spent at various tallers or workshops that produce many of the goods that our students purchased.

Our final stop of the day was unplanned - a visit to a local Shaman. Our student "Jaimie" was supposed to be cleansed, but instead had a soul reading with life advice.

Tomorrow is our last full day in Ecuador. We'll start with a visit to an ancient volcano, followed by visits a town know for its leather goods and a stop at a rose plantation. We have been told to expect an unusual and fantastic surprise for our last night in Quito.

Safe in the highlands of Ecuador...

Eric Fortune