Market day – part 1

19 October 2006

So … it really is about time I told you all about our penultimate day in Ecuador. This is the story of the day after we made the mistake of thinking a taxi driver would know where he was going.

After all our early starts on the boat, there was no chance of a lie-in in Quito as our guide, Sofia, collected us early from the hotel for our day out. We had all decided to do the trip to the market town of Otavalo, but the itinerary turned out to be much fuller than that simple title suggested. When we returned to the hotel at the end of the day, I was blown away by all the sights I had seen, the people I had met.

Our first stop was at the town of Calderon, where we visited a shop where bread dough figurines are made. I picked out a brightly coloured bird and also fell in love with a couple of beautiful porcelain pots. Suzy picked one too – one I had my eye on, but she lives close by, so I can always visit it. I bought so much that my wares had to be packed up in a cardboard box. I was working in the mindset of “I probably won’t ever be here again”. The items were being wrapped in toilet paper for protection and as Megan headed off to the bathroom, the shop lady stopped her and handed her the roll.

After stopping at the shop doorway to buy paintings on sheepskin from street vendors, we headed off to a viewpoint, where we could see the snow-capped Illiniza volcano in the distance. In the valley below were row upon row of enormous greenhouses, where you can buy 25 roses for just $1.

The next stop was Cayambe, where traditional biscuits called “bizcochos” are made. We were led into a big dark room, with tiles on the floor. Here a team of men were at work with an enormous pile of dough. There seemed to be dough everywhere I looked – in a huge mass in a kind of trough by the window, the pile on the table, or in strips on baking trays waiting to be put into the big coal-fired oven.

As we drove along the road after visitng this place, there were signs everywhere, advertising “Bizcochos”. We stopped at one shop, where Sofia bought a bag of the biscuits for us all to try. Absolutely delicious, hot from the oven. Having just one of these biscuits is definitely on my list of life regrets.

We stopped at another viewpoint, from where we could see San Pablo lake. We were stood in what was effectively the back garden of a shop, with lots of lovely flowers all around and a llama in the field below.

See what I mean about seeing a lot? We haven’t even reached the market yet … but that’s for another time.

I know. What a tease.