Otavalo, Ecuador Travel Blogs

Otavalo
Jun 25, 2005 (44 photos)

... in Ecuador in one post. It started with an excellent long weekend spent with Rowena in the market town of Otavalo: * Walking around a beautiful volcanic crater lakes with Rowena and other volunteers. * Trapsing the streets and plazas of the never ...

Australians, My first mistake, and Cuicocha
Jul 24, 2006 (2 photos)

... a thick Australian accent. It turns out they were traveling around the world and were starting here in Ecuador where they had been taking spanish classes in Otavalo. They were to travel through much of South America, then up into parts of North America ...

La Ciudad Vieja y Otavalo
Jul 22, 2006 (6 photos)

... . I stood up for the entire 2 hour ride, and ended up talking with a man named Carlos Guerrero who is from Cotacachi (near Otavalo). He had never left Ecuador in his life, but has relatives in the US. I would guess him to be in his late 30's or early 40 ...

Chillinī with Mama and Papa Ruiz
Feb 16, 2005 (14 photos)

After spending a night in Quito post-Carnaval, we left for Otavalo, located north of Quito. Otavalo is one of the most famous destinations in Ecuador - and all of South America really - due to its huge Saturday market. The indigenous communities in Otavalo ...

Please mourn the loss of Sara's iPod
Mar 12, 2007 (5 photos)

... you who know me well, won't be surprised to see how I coped with this loss.  We were on our way to Otavalo in Ecuador, the largest market in South America.  This was a must-do for me, and I practically dragged Steve along with me, so I ...

On the road to Columbia via Otavalo!
Jun 17, 2006 (11 photos)

... and into Columbia and guesses range from 11/2 hours to 10 days! The traffic jam is horrificly long but we eventually leave Ecuador and get stamped out and cross a bridge into Columbia. As Dave and I are security we wait by the truck while everyone is ...

The Back Road to Otavalo
Jul 12, 2004 (20 photos)

... over the cobblestone streets. By Friday evening we had finished out wanderings around this picturesque area of northern Ecuador and were back in Otavalo, ready for the big weekly event. If you can imagine Herbfest multiplied by fifty, then you might ...

Old Town Quito and Otavalo Part II
Jul 30, 2006 (6 photos)

... Cabs around Quito: Usually about $2-5 Dinner at Cueva del Oso: About $15 total, an expensive meal for Ecuador Bus fromQuito to Otavalo and back: $2, 2 hours each way Ecomontes tour to Cuyabeno Rainforest: $160 Bus from Quito to Puente de Cuyabeno: $ ...

Puffing up Cotopaxi, shopping mad in Otavalo
Dec 4, 2005 (5 photos)

... town and up to the plaza where the famous handicrafts market was to take place the next morning. We immediately liked Otavalo: it had a friendly country town feel, some ppretty buildings and was brimming with local Otavaleno Indians in traditional dress - ...

The Mother of all markets!
Dec 12, 2004 (3 photos)

A long days travel from Mindo to Otavalo yesterday afternoon, but worth it! Up at 6am again this morning to see the famous cattle market- cows, pigs, sheep all being bought and sold in the most chaotic way! I guess they know what they were doing but it ...

Otavalo
Oct 22, 2004

Hi Guys, You can read our update from Otavalo in our entry from Quito, Ecuador entitled 'Land of the Volcanoes'. Cheers, K & S

Otavalo, Quito, Baņos, Riobamba, Guayaquil
Sep 25, 2006 (28 photos)

Efficient Immigration (not!) We walk over the border from Colombia to Ecuador. Ecuadorian immigration has a really organised system whereby you have to queue up once to get a blank immigration form, and then queue up again in the same line, with the ...

Otavalo Market
Mar 22, 2008 (12 photos)

... , we got Carlos as our guide again.  However there was no mention of UFOs on the tour this time! The Otavalo Market is Ecuador's most famous market, with vendors selling a wide variety of goods, from produce, animals, crafts, textiles, and ...

A Vanishing Breed
May 29, 2006 (10 photos)

... established a public school near the resort. ---------------- On Saturday night, we attended the social event of the weekend in Otavalo, the cockfights. We were able to find the arena by following the steady stream of young men with a chicken or ...

Markets! Markets! Markets!
Jun 11, 2005 (3 photos)

The next day, we headed for the most famous market town in Ecuador - Otavalo! We timed it perfectly as Saturday is the main market day and the whole town was literally taken over with stall after stall of Otavaleņo Indians selling ponchos, cuddly blankets, ...

Otavalo - artisans market
Sep 20, 2008 (5 photos)

Of course my favourite market in Otavalo was the artisans craft market.  Hundreds of stalls filled the Plaza de Ponchos and overflowed into adjacent streets.  Piles and piles of gorgeous textiles, woollen jumpers, blankets, beaded jewelery, wood ...

Una Pen~a con Pizza
Aug 22, 1998

more later

Farewall La Hesperia...monkeys at last!
Apr 16, 2009 (22 photos)

... Andean Condor up close...that is one big bird!! The highlight of the weekend though has to be the impressive pies! Apparently Otavalo's famous for them...and we were not disappointed...we go all the way to Ecuador and end up spending our time writing home ...

Still not in Kansas..
Mar 5, 2006 (5 photos)

... life seen anything like this. First of all, the Indians run the markets. Everywhere else in Ecuador these people are desperately poor. In Otavalo, they are rich because of these markets. The women wear these impossibly white, intricately woven blouses ...

The best $4.00 I have ever spent...well so far!
Nov 2, 2009

Back in Quito after 4 amazing days in Otavalo and surrounding areas. The bus from Quito just costing $2 each way for a 2 hour journey. The best $4 I have spent so far... I stayed in the most fabulous and cheapest accomodation I have every stayed in (a ...

Otavalo Trip
Oct 15, 2005 (9 photos)

... 's club). We hopped on a bus out of Quito to Otavalo, did loads of shopping, then relaxed in this pleasant town. Nice change of pace from the big city life! After Otavalo we went on a hike around Lake Cuicocha, a nearby attraction. Beautiful!

Costing us a packet (Well a parcel anyway)
May 18, 2009

... - a lovely town and one that would have been easy to spend a few extra days in. Ecuador has been packed with beautiful lush green scenery and Otavalo was certainly no different!   Here are the pictures... Next stop Colombia & the ...

Otavalo Market with Maria
Oct 13, 2007

otavalo

Week-end trip
Nov 24, 2007 (10 photos)

2.5h south of the Guandera Reserve is the famous Otavalo market. Also Parque Condor where big birds of prey are reahabilitated.

Lost in translation
May 24, 2007 (3 photos)

Yesterday was a trip to a mountain town called Otavalo, famous for its daily market.  Rather than navigate the public bus system, I went with a small group day tour that included transport from Quito.  There were a couple of interesting stops ...

Mitad-Del-Mundo and Otavalo
May 29, 2005 (8 photos)

... ... the day after we visited lake coicotcha - a lake inside an inactive Vulcan. very nice. today we left Otavalo and went to Mindo - a small village north of Quito and west of Otavalo. we are starting to feel the 'authentic' side of Ecuador now...

Shopping Time
Nov 13, 2009 (11 photos)

... is so far south of the city that we had a 45 minute taxi or about 3 buses to get to the north terminal for buses to Otavalo! Of course we took the taxi option, having been warned that it is a very dangerous city... Another 2 hours and we had made it ...

7 tons of gold
Jun 20, 2008 (10 photos)

... out to be another great hostel called Hostal Chasqui.  A scottish lady named Sophie gave us directions and info about Otavalo.  After dumping our stuff in our room, we wandered down to the centre of town and checked out where the ...

Otavalo Market
Aug 29, 2007

Otavalo Market

We are lazy
Jun 18, 2007

... to get my arm checked out. I still couldn't straighten or move it in certain ways. We were going to go to the Otavalo hospital on Saturday night because it was hurting pretty badly, but we were told we would be much better off waiting until we got back to ...