Otavalo Day Trip

Our first stop was in Cayambe. We stopped at a cute little place called Bizcochos en Horno a leña. We learned about the bizcocho, which is a twice baked bread unique to Cayambe. They bake it in an oven made with Eucalyptus wood, which adds to the flavor. It is traditionally served with dulce de leche spread on the flat side and a special cheese that is kept fresh by being wrapped in leaves. It was delicious! The cheese is very mild (Allan ate it), so it goes well with the sweetness of the dulce de leche.

The owner also showed us the start of a museum/demonstration area they are making to educate people about bizcochos.

Finally, he talked to us about the agave plant and how important it is to Ecuadorian culture. He introduced us to an artist friend who creates art using the agave plant fibres, syrup, alcohol, and spikes. He also makes and plays traditional indigenous instruments. They are designed to sound like nature, such as birds.

We were too early for breakfast at our hostel that morning, so we grabbed breakfast with everybody else at the on-site cafe.

Overall, it was a pleasant and educational experience. And we never once felt pressurised into buying anything, which is always good!

Our next stop was Museo Solar, which was very interesting and informative. Allan and I left their feeling like our lives were a lie because of our understanding of the world! Allan loves doing/seeing things he’s never done/seen before, so he was loving this museum. We stood on the actual equator and saw the compass sitting at 0°, 0’, 0” N. Pretty cool!

The most informative part was the last section of the museum where the guide/scientist explained the world and map. He started by saying that only on the equator can you see all of the stars (i.e., the north can't see the southern stars and vice versa). His next explanation was about how the world rotates. We all thought it was a slight angle vertically, but actually the world rotates with the equator on the top and the poles at the side. The word 'north' means left, so the north pole sits at the left, not at the top. It totally changed our world view (pun intended) and explains a lot about what you can see in various parts of the world. There's a documentary they've put together as well as a series of maps. We bought the maps to look at and learn more as well as for me to take to school and use to teach. I can't wait 🤩!

The market in Otavalo was HUGE! It spanned several blocks and had mazes of stalls full of textiles, glass, jewelry and other trinkets. There was also a section dedicated to fruit and vegetables. Some of the textiles were beautiful and the jewelry was all very colorful.

On the bus, we were joined by a woman dressed traditionally who explained the dress and the different ways of wearing it depending on whether the woman was single or married. She also performed a song and dance. It could have been cringe, but it was nice to see. The local woman wear red bracelets to ward off bad spirits, so I decided I'd buy one in the market.

Because textiles also seemed to be very prominent in Otavalo, I bought a small weaving that women wear in their hair.

Allan bought… nothing. Allan is not a fan of markets unless they have (cheap) food. On that note, we walked past a little street food vendor, which smelled delicious. However, we couldn’t work out what the food was. We asked but we had never heard the non “cheese” word. We walked through a food street, but nothing appealed to us so headed back towards the meeting point, near the unidentified food. However, on the way back I noticed a cafe with English translations. The unidentified food was fig! Since Allan isn’t a cheese fan (strange, I know), we initially bought one to share. The figs were nice and warm and paired really nicely with the soft, mild cheese, in a similar way to the bizcochos. We bought another one - they were delicious yet only about $1 each.

After the market, we made our way to Cuichoca lagoon. We were initially given the option of a walk or a boat ride (for an additional fee of around $3 each). However, the issue with the boat ride was that the boat would only leave with 12 people. We had 12 people in our group, so if one person didn’t want to go, then, apparently the whole group couldn’t go. Allan was adamant he wasn’t go and said that if people really wanted to go on the boat ride then they could cover the extra cost between themselves. As far as he was concerned, the boat would go for around $36 regardless of the number of people.

It was very rainy when we arrived and it transpired that nobody in the group wanted to go on the boat ride. Awkward conversation avoided. It turned out everybody else was thinking the same as us, but because of the weather rather than the additional cost (Allan). We just took some pictures from the edge of the lake and jumped back in the bus. I'm sure on a clear day the views would be beautiful with all the mountains and volcanoes in the background, but it was too overcast and gray to see much.

Our last stop was in Cotocachi. We had lunch here at Kimbala Restaurant. The potato soup starter was delicious and what we thought was a popcorn snack pre-soup, was actually croutons for the soup (oops). Our lunch came and was very nice again, just like our day trip to Guatapé. I had the chicken, which was a flat breast with some cauliflower salad and baby potatoes. Allan had the veggie option, which replaced the chicken breast with a mushroom omelette.

Cotocachi is a wee town. Instead of shopping for leather, which is what they are famous for, we walked down to the plaza and saw the local church. It had bright white walls with blue designs. I also think there may have been a wedding earlier in the day because there was rice and flower petals at the entrance.

The traffic back to Quito wasn't great, but the rain has stopped by the time we arrived, which meant our walk for dinner then the hostel was relatively dry.

Dinner tonight comprised on-site Tia (supermarket) hotdogs and some yogurt (consumed later at the hostel). Allan had noticed $1 hotdogs in a supermarket the previous day when we sought shelter from the rain. Today was his lucky day! We ordered a hotdog each from the counter at a window at the front of the store before enjoying them alongside some locals. They were lathered in the usual mustard and ketchup then randomly topped with crisps!

Allan’s deals of the day: $1 foods, including fig and cheese rolls at the street food vendor at Otavalo market and the crisp-covered hotdogs at Tia supermarket.

Vibes Aurik
9/10
Facilities: 😀
Comfort: 😀
Location: 😀
Cleanliness: 😀
Value for money: 😀
Staff: 😀

Summary: Huge rooms, great manager, ideal location, decent breakfast, excellent value for money (previously Quito Backpackers)

Good: Rooms. Our ”deluxe double room with balcony” was huge! After staying in some tiny rooms in Colombia, it was a luxury to have such space. Manager. The manager was great. We initially booked two nights knowing we’d arrive late from Colombia and not wanting to have to check out the next day. We actually considered moving round the corner to another, very well known, hostel since there didn’t seem to be anybody else staying. However, after chatting to the manager for about an hour when we went to pay, we decided to stay for the next three nights before our Galápagos trip. He told us more about the political situation and how it had impacted bookings. Breakfast. Decent breakfast with tea, fruit juice, eggs and bread. Location. Great location less than a 10-minute walk to the main plaza. Nearest supermarket is around a five-minute walk away.

Bad: The property could do with a refurbishment, but it sounds as though the manager has plenty of ideas for the place.Read more