Otavalo Market - more WOW - we'll return here often!

The school has provided an incredibly rich country and cultural orientation for the new teachers. They have taken us on tours to: -
- Papallacta, the hot springs (which are, in fact south-east of Quito - and not north-east, as I wrote earlier);
- the Old Town and up to the Winged Virgin Monument (see picture at top of the blog);
- twice out to Cumbaya, the suburb in the valley east of Quito;
- the Ministry of Immigration (where we experienced a bit of the bureaucracy of Ecuador - we had to go, in person, to register that we were in the country - despite the fact that we had already been through a similar long registration process on arrival at the airport); and
- on shopping trips to various parts of Quito (in stores ranging from very western (eg. Home Depot-ish) to hole in the wall shops selling assorted plastic goods).
But yesterday's day trip to Otavalo and Cotacachi was the best yet!

Bread Sellers

Otavalo is considered one of the most important and spectacular markets in Latin America. It has been a market since pre-Columbian times and Otavalenos are one of the most successful indigeneous groups in South  America.



Wall hangings & other hand-woven textiles





Incredible variety of wares