Ecuador Day 9: The City Of Otovalo

South American tapestry.

What do you think of when you think of when you hear those words? Bright yellows, dark reds and strong blues, colorful hand made wool ponchos and side bags by loom, embroidered bird  symbols, little wrist bracelets with your name written across in white letters? Its all the sort of stuff you will find around these parts. Impossible to mistake, the style and tradition dates back to precolonial times and continues today, although the shopkeepers have picked up on one small detail. 

That hand loomed ponchos, blankets and tapestries are all well made is fine, but they're not perfect, and the tourists who spend money buying these things are less willing to spend money on items that have defects. As a reaction to this, today most of these these products are woven by machine than by hand. Yet, if you sneak around certain alleyways, you can still find the older generation elders weaving a bag, beanie, or intricate scarf. And if you see these anywhere in Ecuador, there is a great chance that they were made here in our next city, the bucket list city of Otavalo 

One of the great things about the tropics is all the exotic fruit that comes your way. Forget overpriced mangoes and strawberries at $5 a handful, Maracuyas are not even an option in Japan and we eat them for breakfast here. 

They are one of my father's favorites although they don't have too much taste. Imagine a light pear taste with kiwi texture that eat like a cantaloupe.

El Central of Otavalo, they main courtyard in front of the Administration. The park doesn't get as busy as the market does, not even close. Still, its a great place to meet up with friends, grab a bench and people watch. 

For as high tourist traffic that Otavalo gets, hotels are reasonable if you stay away from the newer ones. This room is in one of our favorite hotels, we stay here every time we go to visit. The decor is charming, the blankets are extra warm, everything (even the floors) are cleaned every day, and its in a prime location. 

The hotel garden where I play Explorer with the kids. Searching high, searching low. 

These swings are an excellent choice for killing a little time or reading a book, if you're over ten. To my brother and two little sisters, there a magnet for playing and a catalyst to my father's growing frustration to remind the kids that the swings are not toys. 

Just as the day it was built, and completely on purpose, the town church is the tallest building around.

Between my three year old brother walking quickly, one hand held up holding onto mine, his small feet leading his small legs, and my father walking at pace with us but using his cane, and my grandmother walking freely with my older sister but just as slow, we made our way between pushy merchants and narrow sidewalks painted with murals (I miss street art. There is absolutely nothing comparable in Japan), to the sellers market.   

It's the kind of place where not just the smell of wool and blocky pictographs, lines, stripes, and the inherent maze layout built into every marketplace makes you dizzy, it's the kind of place where the bright colors and patterns that can give you an epileptic seizure, or at least strain your eyes like after a long night of reading, if you don't take a break.    

I forgot to say that there are also hammocks like this read and white stripped one for sale all over. If you know two trees, you should invest.

Beanies are a knock out with the kids. Angry Birds, Hello Kitty, Minions, animals of all kinds and colors, there is plenty reason why (on top of the cold) so many of these get sold everyday. Seems that my little brother is on a Spider Man kick at the moment him and Gabs bought him one. Hopefully he doesn't grow out of it. The hat or his interest.

Time doesn't exist in this market space, you could get lost for ever in there, just wondering around. Ever been inside a casino? Those places are designed by expert engineers to keep exits hidden so you spend more time on the floor with more options for gambling. And those engineers would do good to learn a few lessons from these stall vendors. What's more, the layout changes everyday. There are things you might see one day and want to come back to only to see someone else selling something different in a place you thought you saw the first time. 

The sky began to fall with rain around four pm so we hitched home after a quick afternoon snack and rested up for the night. Gabi and I played cards while dad and Mathi took a rest, the kids got into trouble of some kind, and mama Celia warmed up by the fire that was lit inside an old fashion brick chimney that cast shadows on the walls and made them dance.

-A