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Otavalo Market
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The market that's held in the town of Otavalo, seventy miles north of Quito, is supposed to be among the best in the world. It was high on our list of things we wanted to see on the continent but, because we were running out of time and our Galapagos cruise had run from Saturday to Saturday, it meant that we weren't able to go on the weekend when it's in full swing, but instead went on a Wednesday.
We weren't disappointed. The livestock and fruit and vegetable markets weren't open, but the tourist-oriented fabric stalls were all set up, their owners prowling the square looking for business. We obliged picking up several gorgeously soft alpaca blankets and ponchos and more hammocks than anyone could reasonably shake a stick at.
Jim has this idea of setting up a backpackers' hostel in the UK when we get home. We've learnt quite a bit about what makes for a good hostel while travelling this year and often it isn't rocket science (clean sheets, friendly people, safe environment...) and what makes a really great hostel - hammocks are high on that list. So we bought some as presents and some for the as yet nameless hostel.
Back to Otavalo and we broke for some lunch in one of the cafes on the square before resuming our retail therapy. We've got better at bargaining this year, but still end up paying more than others do, just because we feel there's no point in making yourself and the vendor feel terrible over 10 pence. We still did very well and ended up practically staggering back to the bus, pausing only to buy some new bags for our purchases on the way.
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