Pinsaqui Otavalo

... clothes, hats, hammocks, you name it! Luckily for my bank balance I still have 6 months to go and no space in my bag!<br><br>All shopped out, we headed back to Quito for the night where we ventured out into the New Town for some food. The New Town has an amazing array of restaurants and bars and was full of tourists, it was like being in a holiday resort or something! "Gringoland" as one taxi driver told us!

... 4 kids (trying to communicate) for about 1 hour while the storm passed. I took photos with them and videos, the cutest family. I also showed them my ipod, they had never seen one before or listened to music other than the tradditional local kind. They were so facinated and listened to a huge range of music one of them danced along.<br><br>Back to the cottages for a hot shower, food and an early night<br><br>Day 3<br>I visited a local town called Peguche, this is ...

... good dealit was. It was a comfortable hostel, we had a private room with bathroom, they had a pool table here, wifi, and a room with an open fire. Jody and Niamh played pool with our aussie friend while Christie and I popped out for some provisions and a headset. We also had a real coffee, for some reason there isan abundance of them here in Otavalo. I made up a fire while the children called Christies dad for his birthday, using our skype account. I made some sandwiches , in the ...

... the punch you got for free when you got back from the boatride because it was a little chilly out on the water. It was sort of a berry fruit punch served in tiny styrafoam cups not much bigger than a shot glass... but they also give you a bottle of Ouzo (or some other local alcohol) and you are free to add as much as you want to spice up your drink. I thought this was great!<br><br>On return from the lake it was time for the Cuy (the guinea pig)... it was ...

... s gorgeous to look at. There's a fireplace in the great room and another in the master bedroom (which we're taking full advantage of!), a huge master bath with huge shower, and terrific water pressure and hot water - a cause for great celebration! We've settled in quite nicely, spending our at-home days on the back terrace which faces Imbabura, and our evenings in front of various fireplaces, reading, watching TV, playing games. We have a back path which takes us to ...

... to take him up on his offer. The man was friendly, and told us that we can ask him anything and for any favor. I have become a little wary of overly nice people, given my recent, previous experience. However, I decided to humor him along the way and asked questions about the town and the laguna. Later, he offered to wait for us as we toured the laguna in boats. We agreed we would be back in 45 minutes. We were back in an hour and a half. He was still ...

... be a great gathering, and a very nice reunion and farewell with the group of indigenous friends that I met 6 years ago on my first trip to Ecuador. It was sad to say goodbye to them all, especially since I could only answer their repeated inquiries about my return to Ecuador with "I don´t know," and "hopefully someday soon." Tonight we hop on a midnight bus, which will take us on the 18+ hour journey to Bogota. Hopefully it will be a smooth journey. Next time from Colombia!

... made of felt. The women's dress is amazing and beautful. Wonderful, embroidered white blouses- usually with colorful accents, long black skirts and matching shawls, roped sandals, layers of gold necklaces and dangly earrings. Some of the women also wear these folded cloths on their heads. Otavalo is home to perhaps the most well known tourist market held every Saturday. I wish I could stay until then but my heart tells me to keep ...