One Million Screaming Piggies

My current host mom Zaida told me last week about the biggest market (fería) in Ecuador. It's located in Otavalo, a two hour bus ride north of Quito. We should have left in the morning. But instead, I slept in until noon for the first time in a month. It was worth it.

After lunch, L and I took the Barrio Nuevo bus line down from our house on La Gasca to Flota Imbabura, a bus station in the middle of the city. As well prepared as I was, neither L or I had more than three dollars in our pockets after buying tickets. I felt even better after finding the copy of my passport ruined from the rain. Nerves were a little high for the bus ride, needless to say.

After getting to Otavalo, and finding an ATM, L and I found Los Pendeneros, a hostel two blocks away from the central plaza. Maria, the owner, charged us each five dollars (and I got cable, sweet!). I didn't want to sit in the hostel all night, though, so after five minutes of exploring I ran into an old acquaintance from Cuenca. Gregor, a Swiss guy who also studied at Sampere, has been slowly making his way through Ecuador to Colombia. The three of us found this reggae restaurant: cheap beer, cheap falafel, and cheap Andean music made my night.

The next morning started at 6 a.m. so we could go to the animal market. Every Saturday, Otavalo hosts this huge sale of pigs, cows, and goats. It's a huge squealing mess. One can buy a huge hog for less than one hundred dollars at this market. This pig seemed pretty savvy to what was going on though...



After an hour and a half of gawking at the livestock, I made my way over to the main square, where they were selling everything else. All the local farmers bring their fresh produce here for sale. I'm talking guayanaba, papaya, tomato de arbol, yuca, all of the inaccessible fruits and veggies some gringos have never heard of. Other notable goods for sale include artisan crafts, such as ponchos, local cotton shirts, alpaca scarves, paintings, headdresses, knick0knacks, and all the crap you'll never need but every gringo wants. I found my vaunted Deportiva Cuenca jersey, the one that I was too stupid to pick up while I was actually in Cuenca.

For anyone that's actually been to the market, they know that haggling is half of the fun. A month ago I couldn't haggle to save my life; I was getting proverbially slapped by the vendors. In Otavalo... aim low, act disinterested, and walk away if you've got to. The vendors want to sell their merch, and are pulling the same tricks on you.

At about noon, we walked across town to the bus terminal and caught a ride to Peguche. It's a national park with a roaring waterfall, and pretty much the closest tourist attraction apart from the market itself. L got her phone ripped off on the bus though... we were pretty bummed out after that. Anyways, we explored the park for an hour and caught a ride home.