My parents last day in Quito was a beautiful, sunny day (not entirely common for Quito), perfect for relaxing. My mom and I attended a yoga class in the morning, which consisted of long holds and a lot of stretching. It was the perfect class for both of us, as my ankle is still healing, and it had been a while since my mom had done yoga. It was also good, considering the class was once again in spanish. This wasn’t overly challenging for me, but I caught my mom’s puzzled eye more than once in the mirror. In typical Ecuadorian (South American) fashion, there were people arriving up to 10 minutes late for the class, greeting the instructor, and interrupting my namaste. Although I find this behaviour both rude and annoying, I’ve developed a certain patience for this behaviour over the last 6 weeks, and didn’t let it ruin my practice. After lunch at the Time Out Bar (which we visited 3 too many times!) watching the Olympics, we headed back to the pool to enjoy the afternoon in the sun. It was a wonderful afternoon lounging in the sun, and playing in the pool. We then had dinner, followed by a tearful goodbye, and my parents were on their way to the airport to head back to Canada.
The next morning, Ryan and I headed to Otavalo, a town of approximately 20,000 people that is located 2 hours north of Quito, and is famous for their Saturday market. On the bus ride to Otavalo, I had time to reflect on how wonderful it was to have my parents here. Despite the difficulties in constantly pleasing 4 peoples stomaches, we truly had a great time. It was really special to experience the Galápagos Islands with my parents, as well as to share my birthday with them. I couldn’t have asked for more from the time we spent together in Ecuador, and I feel extremely fortunate that they were able to come down to visit.
Upon arriving in Otavalo, we immediately set out in hopes of finding somewhere to watch the Canada vs. US semifinal Olympic hockey game. After asking around at a few places, we found a deserted Mexican restaurant that was happy to hand over the remote to the flat screen TV so we could watch our weird Canadian sport. Both Ryan and I were way too stoked, and the owner stood back watching us, and the game, with a perplexed look on her face. Watching Canada beat the US was worth the funny looks! We left the restaurant in high spirits and set out in search of Cascada de Peguche, a waterfall about an hour away. We walked down an unmarked road for a while, in hopes that we were going in the right direction. Finally, we found the river and headed down a grassy path in the direction that we assumed the waterfall was. We came across a group a piglets that we scared off, as well as 3 too many cows for my liking. After walking for a while longer, Ryan spotted the waterfall in the distance and we continued on our way. The waterfall was much larger and much more beautiful than I had anticipated, encircled by lush greenery. The water bounced off the slick black rocks, creating a glitter affect, all makingg it well worth the walk. After admiring the waterfall for a few minutes, we headed back to the city center, taking the marked path this time around. As it turns out, we had turned off the main road about 50 meters too soon, missing the signs that were intended to point us in the right direction. We were both exhausted by the time we got back to the hostel, and spent the rest of the afternoon and evening relaxing, leaving briefly in search of dinner. Considering the size of Otavalo, I was really impressed with the selection of restaurants in the city. They were significantly cheaper and tastier than in Quito, and I was reminded of what it was like to eat good food for a reasonable price!
The following morning we set out early to soak in the market. The morning began with a delicious latte from the Daily Grind coffee shop, and then we set off exploring row after row of clothing, and other artisan goods. The market literally had every type of souvenir one could imagine; assorted Ecuadorian instruments, coloured pants, all things Alpaca, bracelets, scarves, head bands, purses and other bags, jewelry, pens, key chains, and other knick knacks. After wandering around for nearly an hour, we had determined that we had seen everything “unique”, as most of what we were coming across was the repeat of something else we had already seen. After purchasing a pen with a llama on it and a new scarf, we made our way to the food market. As we entered the market and my nose was accosted with the stink of uncooked meat and foreign spices, I was reminded of my time in South East Asia. I loved Asia, but the markets there smell like a dirty pet store. After seeing more than one dog run by me, kicking dust up on the raw fruits and vegetables piled up near the stalls, I was officially revolted, and we headed elsewhere to get a bite to eat. After a few hours of wandering, we had our fill of the market, and made our way to the bus station to head back too Quito.
Over the last 6 weeks, I have found that I get fairly anxious when we have to take public transit down here; however, on the way back from Otavalo I realized that there is really no reason for me to feel this way. Ryan and I now both speak and understand enough spanish to get ourselves around with very little difficulties. This realization was both relieving and exciting for me… until I remembered that we are on our way out of Ecuador and off to Brazil, where they solely speak Portugese, of which I don’t speak a single word! Wish us luck….