Ok, this is my 3rd try to type this up, so if it doesn't work, I'm skipping this day! Last night, I checked with the front desk and they booked a tour for me. I wanted to get out and see the countryside. Carlos showed up and he spoke very little English and I realized I was having my very own independent tour. We first drove 16 km south of town and headed up into the hills to Lagunas de Mojanda. The road was once again bumpy, full of ruts and there were times I didn't know if we were going to make it in his small car but we did. There are three lakes near the top of the mountain. The lakes occupy the crater of an extinct volcano. The views were beautiful and the surrounding peaks are about 12,000 feet high. Yes, it was a bit tough to breathe as we went for a 30 minute hike. Along the way, there were farms on the side of hills and there were cows, chickens and pigs alongside the road. Carlos shared with me that children go to school from 8 - 12:30 pm. for 12 years. I have since learned that getting out at 12:30 is only for public schools. Children who go to private schools attend from 8 - 3 p.m. but they all wear uniforms. Private school uniforms are more colorful and dressier.
We then went to Reserva Ecologica Cotacachi-Cayapas. The Reserve was established in 1968 and covers over 2000 sq km. We went to the overlook of Laguna Cuicocha (Guinea Pig Lake in Quichua-the language of the indigenous people of this area). This is also a crater lake at 10,000+ feet. Rumor has it that the two islands in the center (a pair of old volcanic cones) were used by the Incas as a prison. It began to pour down rain so this picture was the only one that I took of this area.
Our last stop was Cotacachi which is a small prosperous town known for it's leather industry and located about 11 km from Otavalo. As were driving to it, we passed a sub-division that was going up they were going for $35k - $50k which is quite alot when most people earn about $300 a month! It was a quick stop as my 3 hour tour was almost up. My tour ended up being quite successful given that I was able to understand about a third of what my guide was telling me. I really wish I would have brushed up on my Spanish before I left but I seem to be getting by okay.
MIsc items: Most of the Otavalo area consists of farming communities. They grow corn, potatoes, strawberries, blackberries and they had some huge greenhouses to grow roses for export. Most of the homes are made of gray cinder blocks and are not painted so they are very dull.
In the afternoon, I went for a walk around the area near my hotel. Women were standing in a small canal with water to their knees washing clothes. You could hear the clothes being slapped against the rocks. Then an older woman was walking up the hill in her bare feet with a herd of sheep.
I headed down the steps and met up with an English family that were looking for Cascade de Peguche, the Peguche waterfalls located nearby. I had a map so I joined them. We walked through the La Facca community and made a donation to visit the falls since they are owned by the native people. I read that the waterfall is the site ritual purification baths which begin a festival in June. It was a very pretty waterfall and we were so close that you could feel the mist.
