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Otavalo/Papallacta- 9:12 PM
Thank goodness the hotel gave us warm water bottles for our beds! It was cold in our little cabana last night once the fire went out. I only woke up once during the night so our 6:30 am wake up call wasn't so bad.
We got dressed and put our luggage out. We then headed to the restaurant for breakfast. It was so nice to be able to eat and enjoy the scenery of the lake and the mountains. We ate breakfast with the three teacher friends from Houston.
We loaded the bus and headed down the road only about 5 miles to the school that we got to visit. There were a bunch of chairs set up in a row on the playground. In front of us there was a line of little girls and a line of little boys. The school's principal got up and introduced himself and his students and thanked us for being there. The boys and girls, all 5 year olds, began their dance performance. It was so cute! They danced together, the girls having more enthusiasm than the boys, of course. The teacher with them kept saying "Baila! Baila!" and was reminding them when to separate, then lock their arms together, then get into a circle. The girls all wore traditional dress (white, flowery shirts and wrapped skirts) and the boys all wore white and some of them wore hats. They all wore these cute little slipper shoes. At the end, each one of the kids grabbed someone from the tour to dance with them. A little girl came up to me and we danced together. She was so sweet! I gave her some of the beads I had brought and she was super shy but I could tell she liked them.
Afterwards, we all put our school donations in a box. We then split our group in 2. My group got to go to the school's workshop. We met a group of 14-15 year old boys and girls who work on making crafts like scarves, purses and jewelry. Our host was the school's English teacher, Jeanette. She introduced the students and counted to 3 and all of the students said "Hello. Welcome to the workshop," in English and in unison. They definitely have been practicing! Jeanette told us they learn to make these crafts and sell them to buy more supplies. It was awesome to see some of the really nice things they had made. I bought a scarf, a purse, and a bracelet. The girl taking the money was practicing her English and was very sweet. If I had brought more money with me, I would have bought everything in their shop!
We then got to go visit a classroom with 4 year olds. There were about 24 students and one teacher. The room was tiny but there were lots of colorful pictures and posters around the room. I thought it was so cute that they were learning about transportation and also about different occupations, similar to what I have taught before! They then sang us a couple songs, including one in their local dialect. Afterward, they all came up to hug us. Not just any hugs. They completely rushed us and were smiling, hugging our legs and our backs and anything they could reach! I noticed how small they all were compared to the 4 year olds back home.
We then thanked the principal and got on the bus. It made me think that it might be fun for me to volunteer at a school in another country... For a short while... Hmmmmm....
We then made our way to the Otavalo market in the middle of town. There were a bunch of stalls selling arts/crafts, jewelry, scarves, blankets, etc. We walked around for about an hour and a half. I finally found a cute zip up sweater with llamas on it! Trust me, it's cuter than it sounds. I also found some gifts to bring home for friends and family.
After the market, we headed to a waterfall. It was about a 20 minute walk on cobblestones, which wasn't super comfortable in my knee high boots. The waterfall was beautiful and the mist felt really nice!
We then headed to Pechumbe, a little town known for its leather goods. We stopped for lunch at a restaurant where the specialty meal is FRIED GUINEA PIG! Someone ordered it while we were there. It was disturbing to see it on a platter. I ordered what (I hope!) was chicken and veggies and really enjoyed it.
We finished lunch and made our way back to the bus. We had about a 3 hour ride to Papallacta and the hot springs. Most of the time was spent napping on the bus as we headed up to 10,500 feet in elevation to our hotel, making just one pit stop along the way. When I was awake, I really enjoyed the lush scenery. Fun fact- the government in Ecuador owns everything below the ground. If you strike oil in your backyard, you need to find a new place to live.
We arrived to the hotel/hot springs around 5. It was pretty chilly. We went to our cabana that has a hot spring just steps from our door. Once our luggage came, Mimi and I got in our suits and went it. It was cold out so there was a bunch of steam on top of the springs. We were pretty much by ourselves because many people in our group prepaid for spa treatments. Mimi unfortunately ended up dropping her phone in the water and it's not working anymore (but we're trying the rice trick!) It's turning on but not charging.
We then headed to the dinner which was included. We had a delish quinoa soup and steak and fries. It also came with wine! We got cake for dessert. Yum!
After dinner it was back to the hot springs! We stayed in for a little while and then decided it was time to shower. Mimi kept trying to work on her phone while I repacked and reorganized my suitcase, which I find myself doing almost daily!
Tomorrow we get to go on a hike in the Amazon! We also get to visit a local native family to see how they live. I'm really looking forward to it.
All in all, despite the phone incident, it was a really great and busy day!
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