El Monasterio de Cusin Imbabura

... of the few places in the world where you can see both the Big Dipper and the Southern Cross constellations in the night sky at the same time. I of course had no problem finding the Southern Cross... however my American counterparts didn´t hold up their end of the bargain and could not locate the Big Dipper. I blame it on their education system (:-P)<br><br>The family we were staying with, even though we were in the middle of nowhere, had sort of a hostel - they ...

... you know in the town pass through.<br><br>The weather here is wonderful - warm days and chilly nights. This is the dry season so we don't get much rain. Since we're surrounded by mountains there are always clouds around, and our two volcanoes, Imbabura and Cotacachi, play hide and seek all day, showing themselves briefly before retreating behind the clouds. It's also field-burning time, so smoke drifting through the valley is a common sight. Sugar cane is a ...

... it, up hill. A little like going up to Ipiales, we felt we were never going to get there, it seemed to take ages to cover the last 5 kms. This is guinea pig eating country. All along the road are signs for Cuyes Asado, roasted guinea pig, or signs for the selling of guinea pigs, large and small, for eating or breeding. We looked after a guinea pig for a friend once and just like a dog, she would greet me in the morning with a quite loud 'wheeep ...

... there a long time ago but had recently gotten it from one of the directors of my program. I was nervous about calling them up after so much time, but finally did and they were as excited as ever to welcome me into their home once again.<br><br>The bus ride to Cuellaje this time around was much shorter because it is the dry season now. I had been there in their winter, when it rains a little every day and the road is so muddy that the bus sometimes doesn´t ...

... at the market place. The Otavalo market consumed us in its myriad of colors, fabrics, sights, sounds, and smells. Pretty overwhelming but exciting.<br><br>From Otavalo, we headed off to Ibarra (capital of the Imbabura province), which is nicknamed the &#8220;White City,&#8221; due to its colonial white-washed houses. We told the taxi driver, &#8220;Okay, we want to go to Hostal Ecuador.&#8221; The taxi driver gave us a puzzled look. After notifying ...

... long, long walk back into town. And it had taken us until 2 or 3 in the afternoon to get around the lake. Thankfully the car slowed to a stop, went into reverse, and pulled up next to me. Andy and Eric caught up. The Spanish/Ecuadorian couple said they&#8217;d give us a ride into town. We thanked them for the ride and shared a couple of gratitude beers with them when we got back to Otavalo. Latinos can be extremely nice people. Knowing that we weren&#8217;t from around ...

... We then when back to house and had dinner with their family, they eat a lot of potatoes and plain rice here, the trick is to leave some of the soup, which they almost always have with dinner and always have for lunch, and put it on your rice. After having a chat with family, slowly as Nicola had to translate everything, we went to our rock hard beds and now it's time to sleep. Would be nice if the hundreds of dogs all over town would stop barking. Chow!

... themed fancy dress party then go to Cotacatchi - the shops are chock-a-block with them! 30 Minutes later and we back in Otavalo and awaiting the next days market. We were up early to beat the travelling hordes of gringo's day tripping from Quito &amp; what a difference - Otavalo was transformed! From the tiny market of Thursday, every street in the town had rows and rows of stalls. Local villagers came into town to set up their stalls and sell ...

... markten zoals ik ze weleens in Azie heb gezien. Vanmiddag ben ik met de taxi naar Parque Condor geweest. Een roofvogelpark op ca. 5 kilometer van Otovalo. Hier zijn verschillende roofvogels te zien, waaronder arenden, uilen en condors. Eén van de condors strekte even zijn vleugels en dat was toch wel erg groot. Een Nederlander is daar directeur en het project wordt mede ondersteund met geld van de postcodeloterij. Ik kwam trouwens net voorbij ...

... through pretty little towns, past rose nurseries and farms to a very nice restaurant, Hosteria, La Casa de Hacienda. Good food, great atmosphere and Simon and Agnes showed up from their day trip also. Next was a drive to a waterfall park nestled in a Eucalyptus forest. The waterfall was no Snoqualmie, but the forest was one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen and smelled amazing! Back in the van, our ...