Day 6: Highlands

The transition from our intensive biological experience to the highlands could not be more abrupt. We went from lectures on hidden biological signaling in the rainforest to an immersion in the Otavalo culture that extends well before the Conquistadors and the Incas (Tawantinsuyu).

We were woken up "rainforest" early - which meant a 5:30am room call and a 6:30am departure for Otavalo. The drive from Quito to Otavalo is lovely, though hardly anyone noticed since pretty much everyone fell asleep on the way.  Dr. Richter managed to sneak a few shots... Cayambe is one of the four snow-capped volcanoes in the Avenue of Volcanoes here in Ecuador.

Cayambe this morning.

We arrived at the Otavalo animal market to find it running full force, despite rain the night before.  Most of our students have never been on a farm or seen a market like this... it can be an overwhelming experience for some.

Know when to count your money.

Cui - a delicacy in the highlands of Ecuador and a tool used in traditional medicine.

All sorts of animals are for sale - most of which are destined for someone's dinner table (which includes the Guinea Pigs, known as Cui in Quichua). There are also pets for sale including dogs and cats - but they seem no better treated than any of the other animals.

Tourists are welcome everywhere here and we are largely ignored as the locals go about their business. Nobody batted an eye as we lined up for our group photo...

...until a passerby decided to get involved and take a few pictures himself.  Of course, Dr. Richter has a quick trigger finger and caught him as he caught us.

We then took the 3 minute transfer over to the Plaza de Ponchos, the famous Otavalo market that has been running on Saturday mornings for well over 500 years, and perhaps many hundreds of years before that.

Otavaleña examines her neighbor's wares. 

The market has a mix of goods for sale from trinkets for tourists to food staples for locals. Surprisingly, it is a serene place. People bargain quietly and calmly - which is why it is also known as the Silent Market. Many of the students were pleasantly surprised, and thankful after their educational but generally not pleasant experience at the animal market.

Tree tomatos, Chirimoya, Maracuya, etc. etc.

With roses in hand ($6 for 25), we headed off for the rest of the day's activities. One surprising tradition in Otavalo is that girls will board the bus and sing traditional Quichua songs while we take them up to their towns.

After lunch we went to a Yachac demonstration. Yachac is a Quichua local word that roughly means 'shaman' - and we visited perhaps the most well known Yachac in Ecuador.  She did a traditional "limpia" or cleansing and explained the symbolism and meanings of the materials, artifacts, and methods that she used. The cleansing was not so clean by our standards as it involved large quantities of aerosolized spit.

Of course, sport seems to be universal, and outside it only took 2 minutes of play with the ball for our soccer team to attract a group of willing local players.  

Our evening ended with a bang. Years ago we overlapped with a wedding at our hotel in the highlands where they had a common and traditional Ecuadorian event known as Vaca Loca.  The Crazy Cow is a fireworks-laden bamboo structure that is in the form of a cow and is worn by a man who chases the spectators as the fireworks go off.

Our Vaca Loca was not quite as crazy... ours was a stationary cow-shaped incendiary device that was appropriately impressive but thankfully did not move.

A little dancing to traditional music, and off to bed at Las Palmeras.  Most rooms have a fireplace to keep us warm on this chilly evening.

Tomorrow we visit the pyramids of Cochasquí and a hike around CuiCocha crater lake where we will see paramo habitats and, if we are very lucky, an Andean Condor.

- Eric Fortune