Ole Otavalo!

Hola familia y mis amigos! hemos llegado en Otavalo!

We are now on our third full day in Ecuador though it feels like we have been here a week. Strangely enough we are now well acclimated to the altitude (although I still huff and puff up a couple of stairs) and the time. When we first arrived I was sick and pretty miserable and naturally I passed my flu on to Sean who just got through the worst of it yesterday. So we have spent the past couple of days doing mello things around the city of Quito (the captial of Ecuador). The city itself is a beautiful city once you get past the smoggy buses, the hords of traffic and a bustling crowds. Volcanos, snow capped mountains and large statues of Jesus border all four corners of the city, so from anywhere in the city you can look up and just be reminded of where you are.

Today we decided to travel out of Quito and up north to Otavalo, a small city 2 hours north of Quito. It was quite an adventure getting here... Sean and I thought we were doing alright with our elementry spanish in Quito, yet the minute we stepped outside the city limits we realized the taxi drivers and hostel owners were taking it easy on us. We got onto a $2 bus ride we weren´t entirely sure was going to Otavalo and we were dropped off on the side a highway where we had to walk a bit through a shady neighborhood to get to a hostel. But as luck would have it we got a great little hostel near the market and main streets for a whopping $6, followed by a $3.50 steak lunch. Wooo!

Otavalo has the charm that read so much about. The streets are made of cobblestone lined with markets and vendors selling fresh fruit and produce... Every so often you come across a grand church that is filled with candles, stained glass and people chanting prayers in spanish. Its quiant and cute and just the change we were hoping for coming out of Quito. Tomorrow we are heading for what is known as the ¨largest market in Ecuador¨, kinda scary for me considering I have no space in my backpack nor the want to carry more stuff than I need! :-)

I hope all is well with everyone in the north, if anyone gets a wild hair you know where we will be! Hasta luego! Lyndsay and Sean