Yesterday I went with my host mother to Otavalo and Cotocachi. Both are amazing little towns nestled between sprawling farm lands and rolling hills. Both are known for their artisan markets. I believe that Otavalo is the largest indigenous artisan market in South America. I had fun bargaining, but it was a new experience with my host mother along; she haggles better than I, of course, and kept asking me if I thought something was cheap or not. Fun times. After we left Otavalo, we drove for about an hour out of the way to eat at a restaurant called Fritada Amazonas. The only thing they serve is fritada, obviously (fried pork meat with seasoning, que rico!), but we also ate choclo, hamas, avocado, and empenadas. After entirely too much food, we drove back and visited Cotocachi. There is a huge market for leather goods, here, and again Magdalena helped me get the best prices possible.
I am happy to have the trip come to an end. I didn't feel ready to leave Ecuador until I was back in the mainland and all the other students departed. I felt right at home on San Cristobal, and I'm not much of a big city girl. But all in all I had the most amazing experience of my life, so far...
