Otavalo and the equator

We left Quito at 7:30am for the short drive to Otavalo.  On the way, we stopped at the equator.


baby llama



They have created a little village around the equator, which they call Mitad del Mundo, or middle of the world. There are lots of little shops and restaurants, presumably because lots of people visit, but once they have taken the photo of the line of the equator, there isn't much else to do, or to spend their money on.  There are llamas though, including a baby one when we were there.


the false equator



Well I say the line of the equator, but in fact it isn't.  Apparently when they created this park, they got their coordinates slightly wrong, so the large Stalinist looking monument with its yellow equator line is in the wrong place! The actual equator is just outside the park.  They have created a new tourist attraction there, doing little experiments like watching the way the water goes down a plug hole on the equator and either side - though realistically the outcome probably has less to do with the tiny distances from the equator, and more to do with the way they tilt the bowl they are using.  But it is a bit of fun.

We figured that we had crossed the equator, and the monument looked good, so we would take our photos at the false equator.  And if I hadn't told you about it you'd never have known.

From the equator, we carried on to Otavalo.  It is a small town, but has a well known market of local products and handicrafts.  This is the place where Izzie got 'gossip llama' which is her woollen hat that looks like a llama.  It created quite a stir with some of our fellow travelers and she has orders for about half a dozen that people want her to buy and send on to them.

We arrived in time for lunch, and found a nice little restaurant that had recently opened.  Their written menu was limited, but the guy told us that if there was something else that we wanted then they would be happy to try to make it for us.  We were quite happy with the soup and empanadas.

After lunch we hit the market. It was raining, and had been for a while, so there was a knack to avoiding the moments when a torrent of rainwater would come splashing down from the plastic tarpaulins that covered the stalls.  Nic came a cropper once, but luckily he had his waterproof on, so mostly avoided getting wet.

Like many non western markets, the moment that you walk close to their stall, the owner rushes over to try the hard sell on you.  And if you show any interest in an item, then it and all the other variations of it are pulled down for you to look at.   Nic spent a bit too long looking at the various cousins of gossip llama, ie hats with all sorts of other animals and characters such as cows, donkeys, lions, monkeys, reindeer, smurfs and characters from the muppets.  The lady thought she was going to make a big sale I think and was probably quite disappointed when we left with nothing.

I did find a nice shawl at another stall though, and when she reduced the price considerably, I couldn't resist; well I do still need some clothes after all!

It started raining again during dinner so a few of us decided to shelter in a nearby pub afterwards as it was quite a walk back to the hotel.  But the rain stopped eventually so we made it back in the end.