Otavalo Market
21 September 2005 (Wednesday) – Otavalo, Ecuador
Besides Saturday’s market, what I read in the guidebook was that the market would also be busier on Wednesday. Indeed, there were many more stalls set up today. Gosh, the poor dears… To think that each day, they had to carry the gigantic sacks of woolly stuff and tapestries and other goods, from wherever they live, and lay them out carefully and then, to slowly pack them back in again by late afternoon.
I really should not go anywhere near the market today, but it was just THERE! So, I took another quick spin. The quick spin lasted more than an hour and I am glad that I only bought 1 item – for my mother, ok. There were also more tourists today and many of them left with quite a handful of black plastic bags. All satisfied, I am sure.
For want of something to do, I hopped on a bus to Iluman, a nearby village. There was absolutely nothing there to do, I realised. I took a slow walk around the village, checking out the houses and the pigs. At one point, I was admiring a mud oven set outside a house when a little old Otavaleño lady popped her head out. In the end, I chatted with her for more than half an hour, I think. She speaks Spanish, thank goodness, coz I certainly could not speak Quichua! Her mother was the one who used the mud oven to make bread but she passed away about 6 months ago. Hence, no one used the mud oven now, she explained. Well, I was very happy to be able to communicate with her and she asked many interesting questions about me as well.
To be honest, I had found it a tad difficult to chat with the Otavaleños as they seemed very reserved and shy. Usually, I had no problems chatting with children but I tried to do so with some children who had just been released from school. Not very successful. Gosh, I still think they look really beautiful. I found it difficult to tell boys and girls apart (especially those under 8 years old) as both sexes keep long hair and have such lovely features. In the end, I guess the girls wear the traditional costumes under their uniform vests, but the boys, no.
With nothing better to do, I returned to Otavalo and once again, checked out the market.
Tags: 07) Crossing Ecuador Line, Otavalo
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