26th - 27th October - Otavalo

Few chores to sort out this morning.

• Pay the little minx in Ordex another $30 to stay 2 more nights in the lovely Quito before I scoot to the Galápagos;
• Take out more money (Gav, why do you have to pay a local charge for every bloody tour??);
• Buy provisions for the trip to Otavalo.

Visited the Old Town again, not because it is beautiful but because if you remember my photos corrupted 2 weeks ago. It was a much nicer day. Blue sky, little cloud. Dragged Rosa with me. She was in a foul mood and wants to leave Ecuador more than anything. She is desperate for this visa and is now appealing to the British Embassy. She also wants me to come to Piñas but I keep explaining I can't because of all the tours I have booked. It's good to see "women don't take no for an answer" the world over. I think I replaced all snaps so so long as the camera holds up we should be back on track.

Met K at the Trole stop off to Terminal Terrestre. No dramas from last week and we arrived intact with all monies to hand. The trip was fairly painless. 3 hours, $2.

Otavalo wasn't as picturesque as I had imagined. It is just another small South American town laid out in blocks.

We found our hostel. Chasqui. They didn't have our internet booking on record but the lady owner was from Ireland so we had little problem negotiating a room. In fact, we were the only residents.

We unpacked and ate crisps and sandwiches on the bed like every other married couple! I showed K the delights of "Dame chocolate" and then we went for dinner. Neither of us had the energy to go out after so we went back to the hostel ready for an early start. Met Jess and friend in the hostel. They were about to go out and suggested we met for the animal market at 7.45. Hmm.

We didn't make 7.45, mainly due to hilarious attempts at trying to get hot water from the shower. It had 4 settings,

1. Off (which wasn't that easy to attain)
2. On and cold
3. On and very cold
4. On and hotter than the sun.

For those not in the know Otavalo has the largest and most colourful artisan market in South America. We did make the animal market at 7.45 but we did get there before it close. I have video footage of pigs, piglets, cows, sheep and goats and their owners past and present. Pity the camera couldn't catch the smell.

The main market sold everything, blankets, hammocks, alpaca fur, food, drink, bags, clothes you name it. I bought a present for Justin (my sister chap) and myself. K and I had our bartering skills nailed by the end of it and got up to 30% discount off most of them. I wish my rucksack was bigger to buy more!

Met up with Jess and friend in the afternoon and sat on the balcony looking out over Otavalo. Very hot and sunny. We got back to Quito around 7. Journey was horrible with lots of people standing and falling into the laps of the seated passengers.