I went to Otavalo on a trip to Ecuador whilst at uni, and it was one of the best markets I have been to.It is rated one the premier markets in South America. As a keen shopper and bargain hunter, i had to go!!
Otavalo is north of Quito city, and takes about 2 hours. I remember leaving Quito city at 4am in the dark to get there and start the market before it got too hot and to see the beginning of the animal market. The best day to go to the market is on a Saturday where indigenous Otavaleno Indians come to trade and buy from miles across the country. The indigenous folk are called Otavaleno Indians, and they speak in an incan dialect called Quechan, which is spoken in most Incan countries. They are proud of the heritage that they have and always wear traditional dress. The ladies have very delicate embroidered blouses, with many intricate beads and necklases, usually gold beads, with longish skirts and the men have long plaited hair, with the characteristic ponchos and hat. If a member of the community has done wrong so much so that he is excluded, they used to cut the mans hair as punishment, and this exile would be lifted when the hair was grown again, this takes quite along time considering the hair is grown from birth!
BE WARNED! Ask permission before you take a photo. There are two reasons for this: 1 Some Indians believe that their souls are lost if the white man "captures" them. 2 Others will demand a payment of a dollar or so! I found a lady who was quite happy to sit for free. Some have asked upto $5!! They wont leave you alone unless you pay, so be discreet, but be ready to pay, as they have eyes like hawks!
The Market It all starts around 5.30 in the Avenida Segundo J Castro (The second avenue of J Castro) with the livestock market. Find a grassy place to sit and watch, and take photos. You are far enough away to do this. Please leave all animal rights at home, and remeber this is still a relatively poor community. The livestock don't have the luxury that affords them in the UK, but this is part of their culture. Chickens, sheep, goats, llama you name it they sell it and trade it.
Move towards the main market before it gets to hot, the livestock market rapidly turns into the meats market, and it pongs after 9am. Move down to the Poncho Plaza wear the main body of the market sellers are found. This is ideal for small gifts to huge pieces of textiles and furniture. I bought 3 llama wool scarves which are as soft as cashmere, for $12. The lady initially want $8 dollars each, so I haggled down to half price. These people will not sell to make a loss, so as long as you can keep them going down in price, you'll be onto a bargain. Don't be afraid to haggle, its part of their way of life, its rude not to! Within an hour you will have perfected your technique! Here, I haggled a beautiful alpaca Inca hat, $3, with the earflaps and the tassles! I looked superb, it was a bit hot thought to wear it for too long. In the Plaza, are beautiful wall hangings, clothes, jewelry, table decorations, you could find an unsusual gift for even the most difficult of relatives. The market by 9.30-10am is a buzzing hub of trading. There are pan pipes playing and people singing, its a great place to really emerse yourself. The market extends for a couple of blocks each way out of the plaza, brightly coloured stalls extend for what seems like miles! I found a beautiful pair of Incan silver earrings, and by this point I only had £8 dollars left to spend and the earrings were $15, so i though I'd try. In the end, because of my spanish skills (they were minimal, but it does help if you try!!!) I got down to $7 as I really wanted them, AND i had a dollar left for a snack before going back to our hostel. My chum swapped her cruddy MnS black woolly cardy for a beautiful opaline and silver necklase. We were dressed in what we thought was scruffy, however our western clothes became a powerful bartering tool! It worked! I also bought some trousers to lounge about in, and a poncho!!!
The market is amazing but there are many other attractions in Otavalo which deserve recognition. After a spot of lunch, we very nearly had Guinea Pig, yes Guinea Pig- cuyes in Quechan, but our guide knew a better place to sample this Incan delicacy!
Depending on who you are buying for, i would take no more than $100. Keep money in a body contact money belt and don't flash your cash. You'll leave yourself open to muggers and pickpockets. They do exist, one of my chums fell foul at the end of the market, they only took $5, but still it can leave a sour after taste after such a good day. Be careful with your money!
Otavalo is nestled in hills and haciendas(big national parks almost, like a ranch- left over from the Spanish invaders) so we went exploring. Get your hiking shoes out and go for a walk. Some of our guys went back to the hostal for a Siesta, I went out exploring with the guide. We discovered some awesome countryside, even though it was uphill the greenery of the place was so lush. We found hot springs which we had a dip in, and found mini water falls to cool off under. It was so beautiful, the mountains were just gorgeous. We saw the Lagunas de Mojanda, and walked onto the National Park to hike to the Apuela hotsprings.
USEFUL ADVICE
If you choose to do a walk like this, bring some sort of swim wear in your rucksack, or you may have to skinny dip! Don't forget the Factor 45 though! Bear in mind you are at average altitude of 3000m, the Uk is on average 0-200m. You will burn badly if you dont block. I burnt a little with complete block as I am fair. For you sun junkies, then block anyway, you WILL TAN!!!!
Bring a hat to protect your neck, ears and face.
Plenty of bottled water. Check the seals, as often they refill bottles themselves. Always good to carry some anti-poo just in case. This isn't a clean country and I had an upset tummy on some days.
Anti- Mosquito. There are alsorts of biting bugs out there. There is usually no need to take anti-Malarials, due to the altitude, but take repellant anyway- some thing will get you!
Take some sort of snack, you will sweat regardless, and root veg crisps from the market are delicious, lightly salted.
Accomodation
We stayed on the outskirts over night in a very comfortable lodge, sharing 6-8 to a bunkbedded room. This was beyond my expectations in cleanliness and furnishings. The beds were solid and had very clean cut pine furnished rooms. The beds were made in traditional Incan bedspreads like I had seen in the market. Don't leave booking accomodation to the last minute, at high season, most places will be fully booked, so book in advance to solve that potential problem.
Eating out
You are spoilt for choice, there are pizzerias galore, american themed diners, traditional cafes, bars... there's even a nightclub! Which we didn't venture into as it looked tres dodgy!! Most restaurants have live entertainment, usually a latino influence. We had a realy good Incan band that did requests!! You can expect to pay about $6-8 for a decent sized pizza with a drink normally, however, prices do vary so my advice is shop around for your budget. There is lots of choice out there, so don't jump at the first thing you see.
Otavalo is a truly wonder place, and if you are anywhere near it please go and experience it. This is just one beautiful place in Ecuador, I hope to review Ecuador next and my experiences in Quito city and then out to the Galapagos.
I am trying to find my piccies, but I'm in the process of moving house and all my files are on the home PC (all boxed up) and I'm living from my laptop! Will update very soon!!
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