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I need to catch up on quite a few days! I'll start with where I last left off.....after Cuenca we flew back to Quito then the following day, which was Wednesday 29th July we got the bus north of Quito to a hacienda near a town called Cayambe. The hacienda was lovely and in a beautiful setting. Can't remember exactly but it was 400-500 years old and it was a nice place to relax. The rooms had log fires, luckily, as it was actually very cold at night! The owner had created a sort of greenhouse under a big metal frame and plastic cover with a swimming pool and hammocks and a mini rainforest! Some people went on a horse ride around the local countryside, I wasn't keen plus there were not enough horses, but I did have a little ride on one- I remembered why I don't like it, after my previous experiences of riding on a camel and an elephant- i just don't like the height or the way the animal walks so you sort of bob from side to side, if that makes any sense! So, I'm actually glad I didn't talk myself into it! Some people also went to try and hike some of the local volcano, I say local, but it was 90 minutes bumpy ride away, and unfortunately as it turned out they couldn't really go anywhere as it was too cold and icy. Meanwhile a few of us got the local bus into the town of Cayambe to have a wander. We also had an interesting lunch experience, where horse was on the menu! Since I'm eating no meat here I had a plate of chips, and the others risked a sandwich with unknown meat in it, as we couldn't find it in the dictionary....luckily we later found out it was some kind of pork....... Anyway, so after Cayambe we headed to Otavalo, but on the way we stopped off at the "real, real" middle of the world! There is a scientific research project based there and according to GPS it is the real middle of the world, where we got to stand on the equator line...there is another middle of the world near Quito, which was worked out to be the middle in 1736, obviously before anyone knew anything about GPS! (I have now visited three locations with this title but more on that later....)
We arrived in Otavalo by Friday lunchtime. After an all important laundry drop off and lunch we went to Laguna de Cuicocha which is a lagoon in a collapsed volcanic crater. We took photos at the top then went down to go on a boat trip on the lagoon. In the centre you could see bubbles which apparently came from volcanic activity under the lagoon. On the way back we visited a weaving shop where they demonstrated weaving and how they get the colours for the threads, and I splashed out on a Inca calendar wall hanging which I really liked! Next was a visit to the craft market back in Otavalo, where it was almost the end of the day's trading so possibly a bit more money off in the haggling, though possibly not as it's hard to know if you actually got a good price! I got a few things, but tried not to buy too much! The biggest market day is on Saturdays when the craft market is huge, but I decided instead to visit a local town famous for its leather goods, Cotacachi. I went with a few others and helped Jon find the bag he was looking for, plus another he hadn't been looking for! I also got a nice brown handbag, I wasn't really intending to buy anything but it was a very nice one! We think the prices were good compared to back home too. We did venture to the market on our return but only made it down one main aisle, it really was huge, and I'm glad I went for a look around it on the previous day.
We travelled back to Quito in the afternoon, which was then the last evening of the tour. It was all a bit rushed because once we got back we didn't have very long before our next info meeting for the Galapagos Islands, then going out for farewell dinner with the group. I also had to go to a pharmacy as I was still ill :-( Anyway, we enjoyed a lovely thai meal then went for a drink. Most people either had a very early flight home or were getting up at 5.30 so we didn't stay out late, but I still ended up going to bed way too late (typical you might say!) as had to pack a different bag for taking with me to the islands....
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