Otavalo Hostels - Reviews and Rates

We took a day trip from Quito to Otavalo - a town set in the mountains north of Quito. It was our first experience catching local buses in South America, and we were surprised at how easy it was to navigate our way around (or be navigated!). The system in place works in the following way - gringo turns up to bus station looking lost or overwhelm...

took the bus to ot*v*lo tod*y, * city th*t h*s *n enormo *rtis*n m*rket on s******y. on thursd*y however there is n*d* to do. seriously the streets *re empty. EMPTY!! *nd the pl*ce we´re st*ying in, our room is seriously 5 ft x 5 ft *nd h*s gr*fitti on the w*lls (only * little bit) *nd the w*lls *re dingy. i me*n it´s in * secure *re* (don´t wor...

Otavalo is a pretty interesting place. It `s famous for its market that runs all week, but expands on Saturday to engulf the whole town. You want a rug???..... there is probably no better place to go than Otavalo. You want an example of an extremely prosperous and proud indigenous community??? Otavalo. You want a baby llama feotus.... you`re pro...

Yesterday we took a local bus from Quito to Octavalo. Numerous vendors selling on board kept us fed with banana chips, apples and tasty passionfruit. You know you are back in South America when the film of the day features a midget adult dressed as a baby being breastfed. Ecuadorians are teeny tiny people and wonderfully friendly too. There are ...

Hassled at customs, interrogated by soldiers and lost on a dumpy bus.... DAY 1 ECUADOR. Land border crossings are a relatively new and exciting experience for us Aussies, considering we are surrounded by water at home. Our final day in Colombia and first day in Ecuador was a day of beautiful scenery, adventure, bumpy buses, crowded lines and pat...

Well, we´ve been volunteering for three weeks now, and things are good. Our work consists of walks through the dense, jungle-like forest listening for signals from radio collared bears. Additionally, we kick it with kids from the community, help clear landslides from the roads with locals, and work around the house in the garden and various othe...

Samedi, jour de marché. LE marché à faire. Un premier petit tour de repérage et ensuite, on se met à plusieurs et on négocie les prix: c'est le passage obligatoire ici. Hamacs, sacs, pantalons, on remplit nos et vide nos porte-monnaie. J'avoue avoir eu qqes difficultés à négocier avec des enfants de 5-6 ans. Les entendre demander 1$ de plus, me ...

Sanj said that he would carry some of my shopping back home to save me lugging it around for the next 3 weeks.... bonus! - so with that excuse I made the most of the market in Otavalo this morning... which is massive (supposed to be the biggest in South America and I can see why!). Happy to have finally got to use the internet I´ve left Sanj in ...

Otavalo is wereldwijd beroemd om haar grote pitoreske zaterdagmarkt. Meer dan elders in Ecuador vind je er de 'typische madammekes'. Achter de gezellige kraampjes zitten tegenwoordig vaak gewiekste handeldrijvers die hun 'panfluitenmannen' tot op zelfs de vlaamse jaarmarkten uitsturen. Vrijdagnamiddag komen we toe in het zonnige, rustige dorpje....

My previous entry referenced cuy, also known as guinea pig. Well, mi madre made cow stomach for dinner last night. As a appreciative gesture, I tried a bite of the chewy, fleshy substance and then stuck to rice for the rest of the meal. Our foursome (and a newly adopted pal, Reid) made our way up to the famed market in Otavalo. The community hos...