Last updated on May 2, 2022
Otavalo is 2 hours north of Quito by car. It has an elevation of 8,307 ft and is surrounded by 15,000 ft peaks. It is well known for its market as the indigenous Otavalo people are famous for weaving textiles, usually made of wool, which are sold at the market. Although the largest market is on Saturday, there is a very wide range of wares available throughout the week in the Plaza de los Ponchos. During the market’s peak, almost one third of the town becomes full of stalls selling textiles, tagua nut jewelry, musical instruments, dream catchers, leather goods, fake shrunken heads, indigenous costumes, hand-painted platters and trays, purses, clothing, spices, raw foods and spools of wool.
On the way to Otavalo we passed many covered greenhouses that are used to cultivate roses. Ecuador is actually the world’s third largest cut flower exporter in the world, and nearly three-fourths of the blooms shipped are roses. This is pretty amazing when you consider the country encompasses only about 1% of the earth’s surface and is roughly the size of Colorado. Ecuadorian roses are prized for their size, longevity, and amazing varieties of colors. Unlike roses grown in Holland, Colombia or Africa, roses from Ecuador have larger buds and blooms. They also have longer, thicker stems than other types of roses. In fact, Ecuadorian rose stems can grow to be over five feet tall. This is mostly due to the geography and climate conditions in the region where roses are cultivated. Ecuador offers some of the most unique growing conditions in the world for roses. There are two factors that contribute to larger, longer-lasting flowers. The first is simple geography. Because Ecuador is an equatorial country, flowers receive more hours of daylight than anywhere else in the world. The second factor is that roses in Ecuador are grown at high altitudes. Most of the roses in the country are grown in the Pichincha province in the Andes Mountains at an elevation between 2,800 and 3,000 meters above sea level. The higher elevation means that roses take longer to develop. This unique condition gives the plants longer time to grow their stems. Another feature that has increased interest in Ecuadorian roses is the wide variety of colors and color combinations. There are more than 500 different types of roses with many that have mixed colored hues. Once again, Ecuador’s unique geography and growing conditions result in this rich variety of colors. The longer growth cycle mentioned earlier is one factor. The higher elevation also means colder nights, which results in bicolor blossoms, or roses with contrasting hues along the edges and inside the petals. You can buy a large bunch of roses for $5 and all the hotels have huge displays brightening up their lobbies.
We stopped for a taste of an unusual fruit which Griffin especially liked. They were fuzzy and sweet and had a large pit that you spit out. It is called guaba or inga by locals, but it’s most popularly known as the ice cream bean because it looks similar to vanilla bean and its pulp tastes sweet and smooth just like ice cream. We also stopped at Bizcochos San Pedro for the famous local pastry. It is a sweet, flaky pastry that is traditionally dipped in caramel sauce and eaten with a big mug of coffee. San Pedro’s is a breakfast restaurant that is popular with locals and has amazing fruit shakes. We got to see the huge ovens that are used to bake the bizcochos.
In addition to the market, Otavalo is known for its pristine beauty with its mountains and lakes. We went on a hike around Laguna de Cuicocha, a 2-mile wide crater lake at the foot of Cotacachi Volcano in the Ecuadorian Andes. Its name comes from the Kichwa indigenous language and means “Lago del Cuy” or Guinea Pig Lake in English. It was given this name due to the guinea pig shape of the largest Island in the middle of the laguna. Our guide also told us that they used to be inhabited by many guinea pigs. There are 2 islands in the center of the caldera that are volcanic cones formed by later, smaller eruptions. The area around the lake is very spiritual to the local people. It has a sun dial, a moon dial and an area that people leave rose petals as offerings. During the second day of Inti Raymi (or Sun Festival) every summer solstice, indigenous shamans use Lake Cuicocha as a bath for ritual cleansing and purification.
Our hotel for the next few nights was the Hacienda Cusin, a 400-year-old, restored Spanish colonial estate situated at 8,000 ft. The property was initially purchased at an auction from Philip III, King of Spain, by the prominent Luna family in 1602. It was originally a sheep farm comprised of two valleys and all the land between them and the lake – some 100,000 acres. It has an extensive history and is furnished with fine antiques, select Andean crafts and intriguing curiosities. It was purchased by the current owner in 1990 and completely restored. The property now consists of about 20 acres with extensive gardens, a big vegetable garden, an attached monastery and working stables. There is a real (but old) squash court, a billiard and ping pong room, basketball court, small playground with a tree house and several large dogs of variable friendliness. Luna was the nicest one. We all enjoyed our time here exploring the grounds. While we were at dinner, the hotel would light the big fireplace in our rooms and put hot water bottles in all the beds. Nights got a bit chilly, but we were very comfortable.
We took a cooking class and learned how to make cheese and raisin empanadas. We also made river trout with vegetables and everyone learned how to prepare the fish including removing the head, tail, fins and skin. Homemade blackberry sorbet finished off the meal.
As an aside, I have been impressed by Marin, Sy and Griffin’s ability to go with the flow regarding the cycle of life. I thought seeing a cheetah eat a baby wildebeest would inspire groans and tears, but they took it in stride and were interested. Similarly, cutting the head off the fish was met with poise and interest in wielding the giant knife to do the job. I think at home we shelter our kids from life and death reality when really they are perfectly capable of incorporating this into their world.
We met the owner Nick and he joined us for dinner. He was an interesting guy who was originally from England, but now lives in New York City. He traveled during his younger years through South America and fell in love with the area. While he was staying at the Hacienda, the owner asked him if he wanted to buy it…so he did! He said it took a lot of work to fix the place up and now they bring in gardeners from all over the world during their “off seasons” to help expand their gardens.
The monastery is a very interesting building. I can only imagine what history it has seen in its many years. It has many odd, religious artifacts including a creepy wooden altar and weird painted murals on all of the outside walls. The surrounding gardens are gorgeous! We had been told that there was a secret door somewhere on the premises and we went searching for it on our last day. Marin has been reading a lot of mystery books lately and correctly surmised that the bookcase had to be the location of the hidden door. Sy was able to figure out the mechanism and when the bookcase swung open there was a hidden staircase behind it that lead up to a secret room and roof deck.
We completed our stay with a quick run around the stables. There were lots of bunnies (some just days old), guinea pigs, a horse and a curious turkey.
The next day we drove up a mountain about 45 minutes on a bumpy dirt track past some strawberry fields to Lagos de Mojanda and hiked for about an hour. This is another crater lake with extensive trails. Our guide Ivan said that the area is packed with Ecuadorians on the weekends, but we had it all to ourselves midday on a weekday. It was very muddy in places which allowed for some entertaining jumping. The views were quite beautiful despite the cloudy day. We saw a very friendly puppy up there near our car and the kids made friends with it. When we left, the dog ran after the car for quite a long way and brought everyone to tears because they wanted to take it home.
Otavalo is also known for its traditional music and musicians. We visited a family who makes traditional Ecuadorian musical instruments. We learned they used to use armadillo shells as the back of the guitar. Unfortunately, they are now endangered so they are not allowed to use them anymore. We watched the dad make a wooden instrument out of different length bamboo pieces in just a few minutes. He kept checking the pitch of the various tubes so that musical sounds were just right. We bought cute ceramic birds that chirp like real birds if you fill the base with a bit of water. Hopefully they make it home in one piece. The little daughter of the family entertained us and they had some friendly dogs.
The Otavalo area is well known for its textiles so we visited a weaving family that owns a beautiful shop called El Gran Condor in a cute town called Peguche. We learned how they naturally dye sheep, alpaca or baby alpaca wool different colors. My favorite deep red color is made from crushing tiny bugs that only exist on a specific Ecuadorian cactus plant! Most of the other vibrant colors were made from different types of plants. We also watched the different looms and how each method makes different types of cloths.
One of the highlights near Otavalo is Peguche Waterfall. We hiked up to the waterfall through a woodsy, damp trail. The falls were very misty and there were all kinds of trails to explore. Griffin found a lot tadpoles in the shallows of the river. It reminded me a little of the Wissahickon Creek.
We finished our stay in Otavalo with a visit to a local school that was giving out Covid vaccinations. We got a lead on some Pfizers that had just come in and Marin was in need of a booster because our Galapagos trip required it for anyone over 12 yrs. Our amazing guide, Ivan (seen above with the boys), went out of his way to make it happen.
We have one more post coming up from Ecuador where we see the equator, learn how to make chocolate and hang with some hummingbirds.
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