23.08.09 - Otovalo Sunday Market

Our Kumuka co-tourers are Emer and Mark, Ruth and Sharon, Nathan, Janelle and Heidi is our guide. Emer and Mark are Irish, Ruth and Nathan are Australian, Sharon's South African, Janelle's a Kiwi and Heidi is Canadian. So we're the only Brits. Heidi buys our bus tickets to Otovalo, a town north of Quito, famous for it's handicrafts, particularly textiles. The food area of the market buzzed with locals stocking up on fruit, veg and meat but it was the handicrafts stalls on the next street we were more interested in looking at for ourselves. Alpaca wool jumpers, multi-coloured woven blankets, embroidered blouses, traditional Ecuadorian hats and beads dominated the souveniers on offer. However, we realised most of the products were similar, if not exactly the same from one stall to the next, so although it was all authentic Otovalan, an element of mass production was going on. Tomorrow we journey to the Amazon jungle so unsure of when we'll next be able to blog.