Adventures abound

My past weekend in Otovalo held many firsts for me. Where to start?!? The hostel, the cock fight, the 3 hour hike at 11,000 feet or the ride in the back of a pick up truck?

My steps outside my pretty little comfort zone began at 6:15am Saturday morning as Josh and I waited on the side of a major road in Quito waiting for the bus that my host mom had told me supposedly stops there on its way to Otovalo. Sure enough, after only a few minutes waiting, we jumped on for the 2 hour ride thru the Andes. Arriving in Otovalo, we headed to the hostel where a few of our friends had stayed Friday night.
Sidenote: we stayed in Quito Friday night to go to dinner at Josh’s host parents’ house. The menu: tacos! Slightly different than in the US and probably from Mexico, although I’ve never been. Taco meat with bacon bits anyone?
We got una habitacion con bano privado, meaning a room with a couple beds and our own bathroom. Hey, I was staying in a hostel for the first time and for 2 bucks more, I could have the luxury of my own bathroom. It was a cute place with a little square in the middle with hammocks hanging throughout the trees and all wood and jungle-lodge like. Really not bad at all – I think the saying is “lots of character.” After dropping off our stuff, we headed to the sprawling market that has put Otovalo on the tourist map. It was HUGE with loads of alpaca sweaters and blankets, Panama hats, wood carvings, colorful beaded jewelry, bright paintings and tons more trinkets. I definitely honed my bargaining and Spanish speaking skills while buying souvenirs. Once we had spent all our money, we headed for almuerzo (lunch) in the rain that had begun pouring down. The rain didn’t let up the rest of the day so we played cards and hung out with our friends.
Then, that night came my scariest moment yet in Ecuador, really not that bad but in the moment, freaky! We decided to go see a cock fight, about 8 blocks away. Not far, but when you don’t know which streets have lights and which don’t, you may end up walking through a completely dark street and thinking, this is the kind of street they warned us about getting robbed on. And, once arriving, finding out that the cock fight doesn’t start for another hour or two and having to walk back. We were 3 guys and 3 girls, so the odds were good but I’m not one who enjoys the thrill of a good dark block of walking. Anyways, I’m here and fine!
The cock fight was an experience, for sure. We were close up to the action, sitting in the front row with a 3 foot wall separating us from the most vicious looking roosters you’ve ever seen. It was not as gruesome as I thought it would be. None of the roosters actually died from the fights. Everyone in the audience except girls from our group was men. They were crazy into it, yelling out the designated color of the rooster to egg it on (haha, no pun intended). So seeing a cock fight is now on my list of things done in life and also on my list of things not to do again.

Sunday, we woke up bright and early to a much nicer day. Our group wanted to visit Lagunas de Mojando, a lake, about 9 miles away. I spoke with the receptionist woman at our hostel to figure out the most economic way to get us there and back: una camioneta – a pickup truck! $55 for the guy to drive us there, wait 3 hours and bring us back, divided by the 8 of us was an awesome deal. So, we piled in! I had read earlier in my Lonely Planet guidebook (thanks Michelle!! My almost Bible here!) that taxis charge extra for “wear and tear” on the drive. Picture a narrow, cobblestoned, windy road climbing a thousand feet. And, as I spoke with the driver on our way up, he mentioned that he hoped the road wouldn’t be washed out from the rain the day before. Hm, yo tambien (me too)!! Finally, we arrived at a gorgeous royal blue lake surrounded by green Andean hills. So picturesque! We all hopped out and started hiking down the road that lead around the lake. I’ll make a long story short to say that after about a 45 minute hike, I was ready to head back while the group wanted to hike the rest of the way around the lake and after going along with it for another hour or so, I was about to cry at the unendingness of the hike and Josh and I turned back before I broke down. All in all, I’m glad I went and got to see this beautiful place. I could’ve just appreciated it from all the angles I saw in the first hour =) Finally heading home, we arrived back at our hostel, sore, sunburned and starving. Josh and I changed (I was a bit muddy from falling), ate some food and trudged our tired selves to the bus station for Quito. Despite the crying baby, repetitive and loud Spanish music playing, and erratic movements of the bus, I crashed almost the whole way home.

So, our first weekend trip! Full of firsts and challenges for me, but I kept telling myself that’s why I came here, to challenge myself, grow, see and try new things, expand my view of the world. Well, then by that measure, I feel I am succeeding. Next weekend, maybe the spas and hot springs at Banos…