Sunday, September 19, 2010
Checking back in
Well, this is my first post of the month and it’s the 19th. Ouch. I think this just reflects how much fun we’ve had since arriving in Ecuador on the first of the month though. I won’t be able to convey in complete detail everything we’ve done for the past weeks, but I can give you a taste of the great places we’ve seen lately. Apologies if the sequence of visits is hard to follow – we’ve had to do some backtracking over this period in order to see what we wanted…
Banos and Montanita
Banos de Agua Santa is in the highlands of central Ecuador. It is a typical tourist stop and one that we were glad we saw. It’s main attractions are the thermal hot springs that surround the town and the ominous Tungurahua volcano that towers above it. Banos is a town for rest and relaxation and we indulged in what it had to offer by signing up for massages and, in Robyn’s case, a thorough facial. The competition in town is fierce for the tourists’ massage allowances so the prices were much cheaper than you’d find anywhere else – full body treatments cost $25 (which was nothing to stress out about). From our massages we managed to drop ourselves into the hot springs to unwind. Once thoroughly pruney we dragged ourselves, in a state of bliss, into one of the local hippy-vegetarian restaurants and had a great meal. Digesting our food was the most intense activity we engaged in that day. The next day we rented a dune buggy and toured around the town and neighbouring areas, checking out the waterfalls and taking a closer look at the immense volcano. Our time in Banos was brief and short on activities but we enjoyed the pace very much and aren’t ashamed to say we welcomed the time to take a breath.
After Banos we travelled to the coastal town of Montanita, still in Ecuador. We had heard of the great surf here and now that we have gained some semblance of skill at the sport we are anxious for any chance to get on a wave. The place was a typically (awesome) surf town where partying and socializing ride the waves between time on the board. The beach was a little crowded for our liking but we did spend an ample amount of time in the water and satisfied our ‘surf or die’ side for the time being. Montanita was our last stop before we organized ourselves for the Galapagos, which is where we’ve been for the past week…
After Banos we travelled to the coastal town of Montanita, still in Ecuador. We had heard of the great surf here and now that we have gained some semblance of skill at the sport we are anxious for any chance to get on a wave. The place was a typically (awesome) surf town where partying and socializing ride the waves between time on the board. The beach was a little crowded for our liking but we did spend an ample amount of time in the water and satisfied our ‘surf or die’ side for the time being. Montanita was our last stop before we organized ourselves for the Galapagos, which is where we’ve been for the past week…
Otaval-OMG Sweaters!
Using Quito as a launching point, we made our way to Otavalo, North of the capital. The draw to this small town is it’s market which runs on Saturdays and is the oldest and largest in Ecuador. While historically an opportunity for locals to hawk their products, produce, and livestock, the growing tourist interest in the event has swelled the market with stall after stall of souvenirs for sale.
Otavalo is nestled in a valley amongst cliffs and ridges, alongside Lago San Pedro and in the shadow of the nearby volcanoes Imbabura and Cotacachi. It is a beautiful landscape, although the elevation gives the weather a brisk bite – it was very similar to mid-autumn in Toronto. We spent our first day in town (Friday) enjoying our quant B&B and walking around the town. A smaller market is always present in the central square but we wanted to wait until the main event the next day before we made purchases, so we (read: Robyn) were able to quiet our pangs of retail hunger and hold off. As the day drew near to a close we were able to visit a local artesian named Miguel who was a master weaver and had been practicing his back-strap loom technique for over 60 years. We went to watch him work and he took us through the process of making one of his intricate weavings from wool collection, darning, threading, setting the loom and ultimately weaving. His work takes a vast amount of time, concentration, strength, and he still manages to inject massive amounts of pride. He had an ongoing friendship with our B&B owner and she told us that his mission is to continue the dying traditions of weaving textiles and we were honoured that he was willing to share with us. Sitting with him for the ninety minutes we did was a mesmerizing, meditative experience and a highlight of our trip as a whole. We eventually toured his shop/gallery and were able to purchase one of his pieces, which will be hung in our (eventual) house with reverence.
Saturday greeted us with sunshine and, after a hearty breakfast full of shopping fuel, we ventured back into the streets. The market had trebled in size and now cut off many of the streets surrounding the central plaza. Cars were diverted and visitors, both local and international, were encouraged to enter the labyrinth of kiosks which were all displaying their wares and fares. The most popular items, both in supply and demand, were clothing and accessories woven from Alpaca fibre. Imagine Merino wool except twice as thick and you get a picture of this luxurious material. Robyn and I each bought sweaters and we also bought a blanket, which we’ve since used a few times. We also bought heavy hand- made wool sweaters which will come in handy during the upcoming Canadian winter. The market was also a great place to people-watch and I was fascinated by the indigenous people, who both tended and frequented the booths, wearing their traditional garb: men wore straw sandals and white trousers with dark tunics and a black felt hat; the women wore ornate dresses and gold necklaces which were used to signify status through the size and number of beads. The tourists, especially nearer the end of Saturday and Sunday, were decked out in their newly-purchased sweaters, proudly displaying their new plumage which declared to everyone around that they were definitely not local (this is a strange behavioural phenomenon amongst the traveller genus). Obviously Robyn and I were amongst this group.
We shopped and watched for most of the day and then enjoyed an afternoon of lounging as the clouds rolled in later on and never left. We retired satisfied with our plundering and slept soundly knowing we had a sufficient load of souvenirs to add to our collection. Sunday we boarded the bus again for the necessary return to Quito en route to Banos, which has to be the most unfortunately named town in South America.
Otavalo is nestled in a valley amongst cliffs and ridges, alongside Lago San Pedro and in the shadow of the nearby volcanoes Imbabura and Cotacachi. It is a beautiful landscape, although the elevation gives the weather a brisk bite – it was very similar to mid-autumn in Toronto. We spent our first day in town (Friday) enjoying our quant B&B and walking around the town. A smaller market is always present in the central square but we wanted to wait until the main event the next day before we made purchases, so we (read: Robyn) were able to quiet our pangs of retail hunger and hold off. As the day drew near to a close we were able to visit a local artesian named Miguel who was a master weaver and had been practicing his back-strap loom technique for over 60 years. We went to watch him work and he took us through the process of making one of his intricate weavings from wool collection, darning, threading, setting the loom and ultimately weaving. His work takes a vast amount of time, concentration, strength, and he still manages to inject massive amounts of pride. He had an ongoing friendship with our B&B owner and she told us that his mission is to continue the dying traditions of weaving textiles and we were honoured that he was willing to share with us. Sitting with him for the ninety minutes we did was a mesmerizing, meditative experience and a highlight of our trip as a whole. We eventually toured his shop/gallery and were able to purchase one of his pieces, which will be hung in our (eventual) house with reverence.
Saturday greeted us with sunshine and, after a hearty breakfast full of shopping fuel, we ventured back into the streets. The market had trebled in size and now cut off many of the streets surrounding the central plaza. Cars were diverted and visitors, both local and international, were encouraged to enter the labyrinth of kiosks which were all displaying their wares and fares. The most popular items, both in supply and demand, were clothing and accessories woven from Alpaca fibre. Imagine Merino wool except twice as thick and you get a picture of this luxurious material. Robyn and I each bought sweaters and we also bought a blanket, which we’ve since used a few times. We also bought heavy hand- made wool sweaters which will come in handy during the upcoming Canadian winter. The market was also a great place to people-watch and I was fascinated by the indigenous people, who both tended and frequented the booths, wearing their traditional garb: men wore straw sandals and white trousers with dark tunics and a black felt hat; the women wore ornate dresses and gold necklaces which were used to signify status through the size and number of beads. The tourists, especially nearer the end of Saturday and Sunday, were decked out in their newly-purchased sweaters, proudly displaying their new plumage which declared to everyone around that they were definitely not local (this is a strange behavioural phenomenon amongst the traveller genus). Obviously Robyn and I were amongst this group.
We shopped and watched for most of the day and then enjoyed an afternoon of lounging as the clouds rolled in later on and never left. We retired satisfied with our plundering and slept soundly knowing we had a sufficient load of souvenirs to add to our collection. Sunday we boarded the bus again for the necessary return to Quito en route to Banos, which has to be the most unfortunately named town in South America.
The Quito to Ecuador
We flew from Colombia to Quito, which is the capital of Ecuador. It is a beautiful town full of rich history and great architecture. The city has two distinct ‘districts’ of the old town and the new town. The old town houses the ancient buildings such as the central plaza and the city’s grand basilica. We stayed in the old town while in Quito and toured the area and soaked it all in the day after we arrived. Walking day trips around the old part of town allowed us to see most of the great sights, as well as taste the homemade ice cream at a local heladeria San Agustin, which first opened it’s doors in 1858. We also visited the Contemporary Museum, which was a walking tour of Ecuador’s revolution and struggle for freedom from French rule. With key figures and events depicted in life-size wax figures, there was a lot to look at; unfortunately the entire museum was in Spanish and we had no idea what was going on or who we were looking at and learning about. Robyn took the opportunity to pose alongside the wax figures, forever embossing herself into the history of the country (and providing some new stories).
The ‘new town’ is a result of the influx of foreigners and travellers: while light on historic and cultural outposts, the area boasts plenty of great bars and restaurants. We walked this part of town (which was much larger than we had expected) for the second day, sampling the food and spirits. Our day ended at a café which overlooked the North part of the city’s stunning view of the valley below. The sunset and cervezas complimented each other perfectly and capped off a great couple of days.
We did have a troubling experience while departing the city, but it’s only the cost of travelling. When we were checking out of the hotel we had two hours to kill between checkout time and the departure of our bus, Southbound deeper into Ecuador. With the help of the front desk we put all of our bags into the locked luggage storage room, which was a glorified closet. We ventured into the city and returned to the hotel for our things, retrieved our bags from the room, and took off to board the bus. It wasn’t until we arrived at our hostal in Banos, five hours away, that we realized that we had been robbed. An inventory of the losses included a cell phone, an iPod, Robyn’s credit card, and my sunglasses. Because of the timing and sequence of events, we knew that it had to be an employee of the hotel who had access to the locked storage room. More upsetting was the fact that, on the day of the theft, someone attempted to make a $5000 purchase on the credit card. Despite numerous calls to the hotel we were unable to locate any of the items or even get management to accept some of the responsibility. Luckily we were able to prevent any further significant damage and the items we lost are easily replaceable, but it was still a frustrating experience.
The ‘new town’ is a result of the influx of foreigners and travellers: while light on historic and cultural outposts, the area boasts plenty of great bars and restaurants. We walked this part of town (which was much larger than we had expected) for the second day, sampling the food and spirits. Our day ended at a café which overlooked the North part of the city’s stunning view of the valley below. The sunset and cervezas complimented each other perfectly and capped off a great couple of days.
We did have a troubling experience while departing the city, but it’s only the cost of travelling. When we were checking out of the hotel we had two hours to kill between checkout time and the departure of our bus, Southbound deeper into Ecuador. With the help of the front desk we put all of our bags into the locked luggage storage room, which was a glorified closet. We ventured into the city and returned to the hotel for our things, retrieved our bags from the room, and took off to board the bus. It wasn’t until we arrived at our hostal in Banos, five hours away, that we realized that we had been robbed. An inventory of the losses included a cell phone, an iPod, Robyn’s credit card, and my sunglasses. Because of the timing and sequence of events, we knew that it had to be an employee of the hotel who had access to the locked storage room. More upsetting was the fact that, on the day of the theft, someone attempted to make a $5000 purchase on the credit card. Despite numerous calls to the hotel we were unable to locate any of the items or even get management to accept some of the responsibility. Luckily we were able to prevent any further significant damage and the items we lost are easily replaceable, but it was still a frustrating experience.
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