Part Two. Give me spots on my apples, but leave me the birds and the bees... - Joni Mitchell

When we were returning to Quito from Carchi, our program coordinator had given us the option of getting dropped off in Otaválo if we were interested. My friend Meg and I had been wanting to go horseback riding for quite some time and we decided that Otaválo was just as good a place as any. The first time we went to Otaválo, while visiting la cascasda Peguche, we met a man named Fabian who had just finished taking a few people on a trail ride. We struck up with a conversation with him, then while Meg and I were petting his horses, our friend Constance got his phone number and was told that anytime we wanted to come riding, that we should give him a call.

So that was our plan. We called him that afternoon, met him in La Plaza de Ponchos to set up a time to meet the next day then headed back to our hostel to relax.

  

 

Hostal Valle del Amanecer

Our hostels coutryard, complete with hammocks. This is the hostel we wished we had stayed at last time, but had received a bad review in my Lonely Planet. Turns out the review was a few years old, and this place turned out to be cheaper and cozier than the hostel we stayed at last time! 

After a night of conversation and waiting far too long for a meal at a shisha bar where the smoke made you want to douse your eyes in water, Meg, Brittany (who was in Otaválo for her first time) and I woke up at 6am in order to walk to the animal market, a place where people and animals meet to form a space of noisy and smelly chaos. As we got closer and closer the market, signs that we were almost there were popping up everywhere; the skin of a cow piled in a bloody mess on the curb; a goat carried in a bag on the back of teenager; pigs being pulled unwillingly by young boys.

The market itself was a wild place, full of animals of all sorts crowded into small spaces with their owners hoping to sell to people passing by. It was an extremely interesting cultural experience where sitting and observing could easily pass the time. In this case, the pictures I took will tell the story better than I can…

A view...

...from above.

Just carrying some chickens...

Here is a mother and her calf, the only animal not tied down in this market. Notice how the calf is muzzled and the mother's udder is full. It was dripping with milk the whole time we watched them and the calf was clearly hungry. We think that the owners weren't lettering the calf drink so as to show potential buyers how much milk the mother could produce.

Here we were observing a transaction between the owner (man in the black jacket counting the money) and the buyers (the men in the blue and red jackets). The animal that was being bought was the black bull. Earlier on we had seen him being handled, and that his right horn was covered in blood. We thought this might deter people from wanting him, but apparently not...



This little piggy went to the market...



Alpacas!



Squashed chickens.

Cuy. Or your family guinea pig. Here Cuy is a traditional Ecuadorian dish. Haven't tried it yet...working up to it.

Kittens on top of puppies on top of chickens.

The CUTEST puppy I have ever seen in my life. Seriously considered buying him.

This little boy was caring for this calf the whole time we were there. We think he was praying that he wouldn't be sold...they seemed to really like each other.



Wooly sheep.

At 10am Meg and I met up with Fabian outside our hostel and walked to where his horses were kept. Our 4 hour ride would take us through  the beautiful Ecuadorian countryside, to El Lechero and El Parque del Condor.

This is Asavache, the horse that Meg and I had actually met back in Sepetmber during our first trip tp Otaválo. This guy was sturdy. This is right before we left...my pockets are full of sandwiches, some snacks for later on.

This is at El Lechero where we stopped for a rest as well as to take in the view.

This is El Lechero, a tree said to have magical powers. You are supposed to make a wish, but Meg and I, excited over the fantastic view, forgot. The tree is said to be a man while the lake in the background is said to be a woman. The two are lovers, forever near each other.

This is a flight demonstration we saw at El Parque del Condor. We didn't get to see any condors fly because they were much to big and heavy to be brought out.

This is a bald eagle, named, coinincidentally, Gringo.

This is a condor. By far the biggest bird we saw in this park.



Meg and Gaston.

Breathtaking. Fabian and Apache.



Loving life.



This was byfar the best day I have had in Ecuador so far. Felt free and happy, lungs with clean air and mind well-rested. We plan to go back to see Fabian for a 7 to 8 hour trail ride. Can't wait.