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“Charlie redeemed herself ... by demolishing a whole trout” |
After a day of recuperation, some Spanish learning and a visit to the mall, we headed to Papallacta on the edge of the rain forrest “which means a lot of rain and no forrest” (Johan MSc 2006) to visit the hot springs. Contrary to recommendation, jumped straight in the hot one and spent a relaxing few hours lazing around in the steaming pools taking in the mountain scenery. Charlie redeemed herself for her past refusal to touch seafood (claimed to be due to hangover rather than pickiness) by demolishing a whole trout. And, going from the sublime to the ridiculous, dissected the head afterwards for a closer look!
The next day, back in the trusty Clio, we headed to Otovalo; a town North of Quito famous for its market selling Indian handicrafts. The place was very traditional – men with long plaited hair under Panama hats and women in ponchos. Put our Spanish to good use during the 3 hours we spent shopping although did nearly come unstuck when haggling: muy caro (very/too expensive) is easily confused with mas caro (more expensive) no? Came away with some bargains: namely a large collection of “I´ve just been on a gap year” jewellery. Returned home to discover the washing we had left dried, folded and arranged in scarily neat piles on the freshly made bed. Think we´re going to miss having a maid when we leave Quito!
previous travel blog entry
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