I'm Not In Gringoland Anymore

Otavalo, Ecuador  
       When I finally boarded my flight (after 10 hours worth of layovers), I could already feel the new environment. The flight was probably at least 1/3 backpackers. Anyone who is a backpacker is very easy to spot between the waterproof pants and walking shoes-it's what you would imagine someone who is going on a safari, or starring in an Indiana Jones movie would be wearing.
      Once I got to Quito, a man who works at my hostel was waiting there to pick me up. I've found that most people in Ecuador are extremely friendly. We were speaking in Spanish and he was telling me all the places to go and what streets to avoid. He referred to a part of town called La Mariscal, a place I had read was very popular for tourists,  as "gringo land," which I thought was pretty funny.   He even gave me a mini tour and drove past one of the beautiful cathedrals in Old Town to show me. While we were in his car, I saw my first Ecuadorian party bus. It was a completely open mini bus full with music, disco lights, and people dancing. It was so funny but it actually looked really fun!
     My hostel, The Secret Garden, was really cute, and very big! I'm pretty sure there were four floors worth of rooms. I had a private room with a shared bathroom but it wasn't bad at all. I imagined a shared bathroom would be like college dorm bathrooms but it was more like living in a house where you share a bathroom with someone else- I never ran into anyone. So then, I took my first electric shower. It was very tricky- and I was glad that I decided to get a hair cut before my travels because it would've been very high maintenance to deal with really long hair in an electric shower.  As soon as I got to Quito I felt out of breath from the altitude.. but I didn't get altitude sickness!:)

      I knew I wanted to go to Otavalo in the morning (which is a two and a half hour bus ride) so I woke up at 730 and went to the upstairs patio of my hostel for breakfast. It was absolutely beautiful.  The tables are all lined up together so everyone is eating together and I made a girl friend who is 27 year old from Australia on a 7 month backpacking trip!

    I then took a taxi to the bus station and got my $2.50 ticket for the two and a half bus ride to Otavalo, which has a famous mercado on Saturdays put on by their large indigenous population. I was surprised that the bus was mostly Ecuadorian people because I know Otavalo is a big tourist location. They played a movie during the ride that was apparently hilarious.. but they were speaking way too fast for me to keep up. I then dropped off my stuff at Hostal Maria which was conveniently located right on the street of the market. I got my own room with a queen sized bed and my own bathroom for $7! On Saturdays Otavlao has a food, textile, and animal market- you can pretty much find everything you can think of there! All the women were in their traditional garments of a white shirt with frills on the sleeves and floral print, long skirts, and their hair tied back with some decorative material wrapping around their hair. They had places all along the mercado offering "almuerzo" with rotisserie chicken for $1.50. Almuerzo is a a less expensive pre-set three course lunch that is very popular in Ecuador. I kind of went crazy at the textile market and I had to cut myself off after the third purse-type item I bought. If you are traveling outside of the main cities in Ecuador try to get more one dollar coins because many places can't break larger bills.
       One of the funniest things I noticed was that around the market many people had cans of silly string-type stuff and they were spraying them at everyone! I don't know if it is a tradition or has any kind of significance but I fell victim of this spraying war. It was quite funny seeing everyone randomly pull out their can and spraying complete strangers! From my one day experience, I think it would be pretty difficult to travel around Ecuador if you don't have any Spanish background, especially outside of the cities. Most people I have met barely speak any English, if they do speak any at all. Also, everyone has been extremely friendly and helpful. I did read that the "machismo" culture does have many gentlemen and I would have to agree from my stay so far. Everyone has been so helpful, my taxi driver even got out of the cab and walked me about 5 minutes away and showed me the specific line I should be in to get to Otavalo!

Tomorrow morning bright and early: back to Quito!

p.s. I just got locked in the lobby bathroom of my hostel.... typical