Otavalo has been our first experience of Ecuador away from the big city of Quito. And I think we're unanimous in our love of the smaller towns over the big city. Famous for a saturday market, we arrived in Otavalo on friday and got to know the people the town the day before. We found a nice Peña named 'La Jampa' which served up a healthy dose of Reggaeton, Cumbia, and Salsa for us to dance as least akwardly as we could to.
One of the highlights for me was hanging out with some local folklorico musicians, Luis, Luis, and Luis, talking about Charangos and Quenas. Charango player Luis worked out a deal for him to pretend to buy a charango for me so that I could get a lower price, but I chickened out at the last second because I still have 2 months of travel ahead of me. A charango is a small guitar, origionally made out of armidillo shell, with 4 sets of 2 strings and its fast strumming is key to Andean Music. Maybe if I find one at the end of the trip.
For Dad, I just have to mention that above Otavalo, alone atop a hill surronded by volcanoes and a lake, is a beutiful tree that is said to have magic healing powers. Among the many things that make it beutiful is that it is a totally different species than any other in the region. When I touched it, it felt good, smooth to the touch, warm in all the wind. I thought of you Dad and your special tree up on the hill in Marin, and said to myself, yeah, that makes sense, if you're gonna have a special connection to something, why not a tree.
We then watched two Condors devour a pack of baby chickens at a bird park, and came back down for a cockfight where 2 chickens recieved instant death blows to the head. Contrasts...
Oh yeah, the market was nice
Me Embracing the World
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