Weekend in Otavalo

This past weekend we left at 7:30 am on Saturday to go to Otavalo, a town known for it’s indigenous population and textiles. I don’t think I have ever seen and learned so much in two days!

The first stop on the way was a pre-Incan indigenous site called Cochasqui where there are over a dozen multiple flat top pyramids and burial mounds. We all expected impressive terraced pyramids, but found what looked like square-ish hills. The guide explained that the civilization covered the pyramids with dirt and grass in order to hide them from the Incan invasion and then the Spanish.

On the right is a pyramid. The llamas are standing on one of the burial mounds.

It is very hard to restore the pyramids to their original state because they were built with permeable volcanic rock, so only parts have been excavated. This is also why, as our program director told us, archeology is not as “sexy” in Ecuador as it is in Mexico or Peru where the indigenous populations built with stone. There are many ruins in Ecuador, but the country is not known for archeological sites because only the foundations remain.

A restored section of the pyramids.

 On top of one of the pyramids are lunar and solar calendars. In Ecuador, crops can be planted year round, but the civilization that lived on this site planted their crops according to these very exact calendars.  

A skeleton of a woman excavated from the site.

We also got to feed the llamas some salt!

Next stop was the equatorial line. The monument we went to is exactly on the equator, unlike other monuments in Ecuador. When the French “discovered” the equator, they were actually a few hundred feet off, and therefore, many monuments in Ecuador are inaccurate. The indigenous populations figured out where the equatorial line was over 1,000 years before the French! 

This site is one of the best places to study the equator because Ecuador is the only country in the world where the equatorial line passes over mountains, providing excellent reference points. The monument was built just West of Catequilla, pre-Incan ruins that mark the exact line of the equator and tilt of the earth. Pretty impressive! 

We arrived in Otavalo in the afternoon with a few hours remaining to visit the market. At one point we got a little lost among all the alpaca blankets and sweaters, but eventually found our way back to the corn and banana vendors for an afternoon snack. 

That night we all went to an Italian restaurant with a live Ecuadorian band. Somehow the combination of American friends, Italian food, and Ecuadorian music blended perfectly and made for a fantastic evening:

The main event of Sunday was a short hike to some nearby waterfalls, but first we stopped to learn how some local instruments are made and listened to a performance by the family who makes them:

The Waterfalls!

Pre-Incan populations in the area used to bathe in this waterfall because the waters were said to have special qualities that gave strength and energy to the swimmers.

After drying off and warming up with some sort of hot berry drink in the little town next to the forest, we departed for a bird conservatory.

The Giant Andean Condor! It has a wingspan over 10 feet!

All the birds at the conservatory have been rescued and are released back into the wild if possible. We even saw one of the birds that played Hedwig in one of the Harry Potter movies!

After the bird watching, we learned about the process of weaving woolen textile by hand from a local couple:

1st step: separating the wool

2nd step: spinning the wool into yarn

3rd step: weaving

Our final stop was a volcanic lake at Cuicocha. We walked to a high point on the crater where there was a beautiful view of the lake and the surrounding valley. The clouds rolled in over the volcano and it felt like we were walking in the sky.

After the lake visit, we hopped back in the bus and departed for Quito. What was supposed to be a two hour drive turned into a five hour drive due to multiple car accidents and rain. When the two lane highway was completely blocked by a wall of cars doing U-turns (including a bus), we started grumbling about all the homework we had to do before classes the next morning. Our director told us to view this as a “great cultural experience”, and once we resigned ourselves to the situation we were stuck in, we had a great time telling stories and trying to stump each other with riddles. I have found that in Ecuador there is no choice but to go with the flow, and that usually makes for a better journey.