Olen arranged for our new friend, Felix, to pick us up at 8:15 this morning. We drove through rush hour traffic in Quito and headed to Otavalo, a town a couple of hours north of Quito. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the 19,000-foot high, snow-capped Mount Cayambe on the way. We got one brief look at the top of the mountain, but most of the mountain was in cloud cover, with the exception of the very top.
As we traveled, Bert discussed religious topics with Felix, all the time feeding Felix peanut butter crackers to keep his interest. The drive was through the Andes mountains, and was absolutely beautiful.
We stopped once for photos of a dormant volcano, and met a young man named Francisco, and his llama, Juanita.
Some of the indigenous peoples of Ecuador are called Quechuas (or Kichwas…choose your own spelling). The town of Otavalo is dominated by Quechuas, and Otavalo is known for having the largest native market in the country. Felix waited while we walked around the area and shopped a bit.
One lady was selling snails. The snails were dipped from a pan into a plastic bag. Salt was added, and the juice from a lime. The edible (?) part must be picked or pulled out of the shell before eating. Since Bert has tasted every street food available, he even tried the snails, and he is the only one in our group with the bragging rights to that honor.
On the return trip we stopped in the tiny village of Cotacachi, and at the “official” equator monument at Mitad del Mundo. April and Jane leaned from one hemisphere to the other, and took photos of the monument itself.
By the time we returned to the hotel, Bert had talked Felix into attending Bible study tomorrow night in Quito, and he had promised to bring his wife and child. We plan to contact them again tomorrow to make plans in hopes of actually seeing them there. We enjoyed our day with Felix, and it was a perfect way to become better informed about this special country of Ecuador.
As we traveled, Bert discussed religious topics with Felix, all the time feeding Felix peanut butter crackers to keep his interest. The drive was through the Andes mountains, and was absolutely beautiful.
We stopped once for photos of a dormant volcano, and met a young man named Francisco, and his llama, Juanita.Some of the indigenous peoples of Ecuador are called Quechuas (or Kichwas…choose your own spelling). The town of Otavalo is dominated by Quechuas, and Otavalo is known for having the largest native market in the country. Felix waited while we walked around the area and shopped a bit.
One lady was selling snails. The snails were dipped from a pan into a plastic bag. Salt was added, and the juice from a lime. The edible (?) part must be picked or pulled out of the shell before eating. Since Bert has tasted every street food available, he even tried the snails, and he is the only one in our group with the bragging rights to that honor.On the return trip we stopped in the tiny village of Cotacachi, and at the “official” equator monument at Mitad del Mundo. April and Jane leaned from one hemisphere to the other, and took photos of the monument itself.
By the time we returned to the hotel, Bert had talked Felix into attending Bible study tomorrow night in Quito, and he had promised to bring his wife and child. We plan to contact them again tomorrow to make plans in hopes of actually seeing them there. We enjoyed our day with Felix, and it was a perfect way to become better informed about this special country of Ecuador.
No comments:
Post a Comment