Otavalo Market…

A trip to Otavalo can offer much more than just the market itself.

Bread Dough Dolls

The first stop on our tour, was a town called Calderon. This is located about 6 miles north of Quito and is most famous for its bread dough dolls. These dolls were originally created for All Souls Day. On the 2nd November, Ecuadorians visit memorial parks to honour their departed. The Indigenous communities eat food in cemeteries on the graves of loved ones. This can be viewed as a sort of communion, they eat bread doll figures (edible ones) called ‘Guaguas de pan’ this symbolises the bodies of those sacrificed, and a mixed fruit juice which is purple in colour is also consumed. The drink represents the blood sacrificed.

The bread dough dolls you see in shops here are not edible, but are still a symbol from this date. They are very colourful and make a nice souvenir from the area.

Noahs Ark

Today locals also carefully hand craft a variety of different figures from the Masapan and preservatives (sort of like a fimo modelling clay). Some of the artwork created is magnificently detailed, personally this Noah’s Ark piece took my fancy.

Back in the tour bus we were all admiring our souvenirs from Calderon, as we entered Gullambamba. This town is famous for growing many sub tropical fruits, these include the ‘chirimoya’. This fruit is quite expensive here in Ecuador (about $1.00 for 1), but once you peel it open and take your first taste you can understand why.  We all got one to try, and it is a recommended must on the trip.

With one bite the sweet juices ooze out, this melts into  the taste of ice cream and frozen yoghurt but without any calorific guilt. Actually the fruit is often used in yoghurts or fruit juices in the city.

Chirimoya

With these tantalising experiences under our belt we headed onwards to the village of Cayambe, this is famous for biscoche. This is a kind of biscuit eaten with a special cheese and provided a tasty breakfast along the way. From here you can also marvel at the Cayambe volcano. This is the highest point in the world through which the equator directly passes!

This trip really packed a lot into the one day, all of the above was just part of the journey to the focus of the tour; Otavalo.

Otavalo is the name of the town where a famous indigenous market takes place. This has become a main tourist attraction due to the unique handicrafts sold here, but perhaps what makes it special is the Otavalenos people do this market not for the tourists but for their pride and there tradition.

They are perhaps best known for their exquisite weavings and have been exploited for their textile making skills by the Incas, Spanish and eventually Ecuadorians. The Otavelenos people can be seen wearing traditional dress. The women wear white embroidered blouses, long wool skirts, belts according to marital status and necklaces according to stature and wealth. All their attire can be purchased in Otavalo.

In terms of purchases, there is lots on offer. The paintings are exquisite, and many replicas of the famous artist

Oswald Guayasamin Paintings

Oswaldo Guayasamin can be found here. You can recognise his work by the split faces and large hands. There is also a lot of jewellery but prices may be cheaper in other regions for this. Musical instruments on sale are great for display purposes, but for the serious musician it is advised to venture into a more mainstream shop as the materials used will give a better sound quality. Famous Panama hats are also sold here for a good price. The best buys, however, are undoubtedly ponchos, blankets, jumpers, hammocks, anything textile related really. The quality of these items here far exceeds the prices they sell for. If you are a woman who likes shopping, I would advise maximising the time here as there is so much to see and purchase, time needs to be taken haggling for the best price also.

If you don’t like shopping, this is still a place to visit, the culture is rich and Otavalo offers a visual experience in itself. For those photographers amongst you the bright colours and unique look of the indigenous stall owners makes for some interesting shots.

Instruments & Textiles

Once you have absorbed all the Otavalo market has to offer, it is advised to travel to the nearby town of Cotacachi. Here you can purchase many leather goods at reduced prices, for the ladies the bags and boots have a certain designer quality and for the men a range of expensive looking jackets and belts can be found. This town is also a nice place to stop for lunch. Fresh trout and rice was just right after all the exhausting shopping everyone had been doing.

Finally before heading back to Quito, the tour stopped at Laguna de Cuicocha. Take a moment to stare at the now tranquil depths of a beautiful lagoon found in a collapsed volcanic crater. You  can also see two mounded islands, that shot up in later erruptions, pretruding from the lagoon which have the appearance of the back of two guinea pigs. This is how the lake was named, cui – guinea pig and cocha – lake. Please note you may often see cui written as cuy, both are correct, the reason is it comes from an indigenous language and this was never written down when originally created so today there are a few ways to spell words. It is said that those journeying between the two guinea pig shaped islands would come out the other side totally in love, and this route is today known as lovers passage. You can take boat trips here but only on certain days, and robberies have occured here so it is best to check with local guards before deciding to take this kind of excursion.

cuicocha

Many locals pass through here and if you see the way they travel, you will more than likely be happy to climb back into the comfort of the air conditioned tour bus to take the journey back to Quito with your purchases in the large boot and not squeezed in next to you.

Did you know?

Haggling is customary in Otavalo, and if you come across as a tourist, you will be treated as one, ie charged higher prices! However just a few words of spanish can help in this area:

hola = hello

mas barato por favor = cheaper, please

es muy caro = is expensive

no tengo much dinero = i don’t have much money

In a Nutshell: Otavalo offers a culture rich experience for all, but there is much to see and do in the surrounding areas so you may wish to spend a few days exploring these.

Tags: ecuador, indigenous market, Otavalo