Back to the Highlands

After 3 days in the Amazon region of Ecuador, it was sadly time to leave. We got in the canoes, and said one last goodbye to the cute little squirrel monkeys that lived across the lake.



Here's a short video of their antics.

After again walking the mile from the lake to the river, we got back in the high-speed boat and traveled the 50 or so miles back to Coca, then flew back to Quito.

We then boarded our bus and went north across the equator again, up to the area near Otovalo.

Once again, we had a great room. They came in each evening and built a fire in our fireplace.

Rosemary and I took a walk after we arrived, investigating the old monastery next door, El Monasterio de Cusin.

The lawnmower team...

We walked into the small town nearby, and saw a couple of churches.

But neither one was open, so we couldn't see the inside.

There are a lot of loose dogs in Ecuador, but these two seemed to have a job - guarding the laundry.

The next morning, we went on a field trip to the Textile Market in nearby Otavalo.

We did pretty good shopping and bargaining. Well, maybe Rosemary was better than I was...

But I bought a few things, including this t-shirt showing the "Beatles" of the Amazon.

There was a church right on the same square that was open. It was kind of unique because all the statues were dressed in traditional Ecuadorian outfits.

Including Baby Jesus!

We then went to a weaver's shop -

Where the weaver knows all these intricate patterns by heart.

We had lunch with a local family, where we got to help make the bread.

Which was baked in an outdoor oven.

We were then entertained by a local group, who got us all up dancing.

When we got back to our hotel, we found all this white stuff on the ground. What's with that??? We're on the equator! Turns out it was hail, not snow.