Saturday December 28, 2013:
Who: Whom I noticed in my first day in Otavalo, Ecuador were the people. The native people have darker skin and they tend to be shorter than the average American is. The people were very nice and they were willing to help you out with Spanish and not get frustrated. The people in Otavalo seemed to be very welcoming.
What: What I noticed was when we were walking around I noticed people tended to run into or nudge them while walking. They seemed not to care about your space. I also noticed that lunch was served very slowly at the restaurant I went to. However, the food was excellent. I got a classico sandwich.
Where: Where we went on the first day was amazing. In the morning after breakfast and orientation, we were able to walk around the market and buy things if we wanted. I probably bought too much lol. We also grabbed lunch as a sandwich place. We went to a Laguna were we took pictures and we were able to choose between hiking and or taking a boat to drive around the island. It was a lot of fun. After that, we drove to a weaving demonstration where we learned about weaving, artifacts, and were able to buy jewelry. Next, we walked to an instrument making demonstration, listened to the family play music and got a chance to buy souvenirs. Once we got back to the hotel, a group of us went to dinner and a Pizzeria, which was excellent. I would definitely go there again.
When: We had a busy day yesterday. We woke up at 7:00 am, had breakfast and orientation until 9:30 am. We were free to explore the city of Otavalo until 1:00 pm. Then we left for the Cotacachi and tallers. We got back to the hotel at 5:00 pm. We went to dinner then and went to a place next door to hang out and talk. I got back to the hotel at 8:00 pm, talked with people in the lobby for an hour, and then went to bed. Even though it was a busy day, I had a lot of fun!
