Saturday morning started nice and early at 6:00 a.m, to be ready to leave for the Otavalo Market at 7:00 a.m. We hit the road on time, for a two hour drive that consisted of gorgeous scenic mountains and sporadic naps. The majority of the highway that leads to the city is built into the side of the mountains, and you could see workers in the process of covering the mountainsides with nets, and putting concrete on top. The areas that were finished looked like rocks from video games - and oddly smooth, almost bluish tinge that looked like it didn't belong with the rest of the natural landscape. David explained that it was a precaution against landslides, which I found interesting: humans went out of their way to destroy nature for their own convenience, and managed to circumvent the consequences. Not that I think landslides are a positive thing in any way, but it just kind of forces you to be aware of our impact on the world around us in a drastic way that is normally easy to ignore.
Or maybe that's just me.
But anyways, moving on. When we reached Otavalo, we picked up the leader of the Otavalo Artisan's Union, who contextualized the market for us, beyond being just a popular tourist destination. He brought us to a small family-run shop, where we got to see the process of tapestry weaving on a huge loom, while learning about how the market influences the surrounding communities, and how many things in the market are mass produced and bought wholesale, to be sold in the market. While we had already discussed and read about Otavalo as an international force, it was interesting to hear first-hand how it worked, beyond the surface appearance of a quaint, "authentic" touristic experience (I'm not even going to open that can of worms right now, but it's an idea worth mentioning).
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| Weaving a tapestry is a two day process with this family's technique. |
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| Spinning wool makes it easier to dye. |
From there, we went to the office building of the union to see the market from above. It has over 7000 stalls, reaching beyond the central area into the streets nearby.
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| Otavalo Market from Above |
We then split into groups and tackled the market for two hours, bartering and negotiating to our hearts' content. Maya, Phillipp and I stumbled upon a little shop which happened to have large bags of bracelets and such that some stalls were selling individually for more than 1 USD each, for ridiculously cheap prices. I found it hilarious that we didn't even have to leave the market to find a larger source for the "authentic, hand-made" souvenirs being sold. Eventually, we met up with everyone again to compare our spoils and discuss our fantastic bargaining skills, before heading to the Cotopaxi National Park for lunch, and to visit the Cuicocha Lagoon.
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| That speck on the left side? That's a boat. |
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| The restaurant area, featuring random people. |
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| Phillip and David wearing their snazzy new sweaters. |
We went on a boat ride around the lagoon, and about half way through the driver (is that what you call a boat guide person?) stopped to tell us about the lagoon. It was an active volcano at one point, and filled with water after an eruption (or at least that seems to be the general gist of it). You can still see gas bubbles coming from below to the surface of the water, and it's more than 200 meters deep.
After that, we headed home, and were lucky enough to have a relaxing day (and a chance to sleep in!) on Sunday.
Here are more pictures from the Lagoon, because it's stunning:
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| View from the dock |
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| I believe that's the back of Meghan's head. |
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