Day 61 - Banos to Otavalo, Ecuador (18 May 2012)
Today we have decided to travel to Otavalo. Otavalo is about two hours north of Quito, and we are also planning to go to Quito for a few nights too. The reason we have decided to go to Otavalo today is because tomorrow is Saturday, and number two on the list of things to do in South America in our Lonely Planet book is to go to the Saturday markets in Otavalo. Apparently the streets throughout the town are full of market stalls. The market runs every day of the week but apparently Saturday is the day that everyone comes to town and the streets are chocker, so we thought we would check it out.
We leave Banos after another fantastic breakfast at the hostel. We catch a bus that drops us off on the Pan American highway in Ambato, about an hour from Banos. Here we jump on a direct bus to Otavalo, via Quito. Quito is Ecuadors capital city and it takes us ages to get through the city! We are mucking around in the city for almost two hours! The heavy Friday afternoon traffic doesnt help the situation either! We arrive in Otavalo about 5pm. This is a historic occasion for me, it is my debut in the northern hemisphere! Quito is about an hour south of the equator (we will be going to the equator tourist spot when we head back to Quito, which is off the main highway). I was a bit disappointed there was no signs on the main highway telling you that we had entered the northern hemisphere. Oh well, not a great loss, I got over it pretty quickly.
We taxi to our hostel and drop our bags off and then immediately head into town to have a look and also to get some dinner. We had found a place recommended by our lonely planet which specialises in Ecuarian food, always keen to try the local food. The meal was fantastic! Loved it.
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