Our first stop out of Quito was a small town called Cayambe where a nice French girl who was volunteering opened her home/office for us to stay the night through the ´´couch-surfing´´ network. We were even treated to some homemade cobbler upon arrival! To work off the cobbler we changed into our workout clothes (hiking shoes & stretch pants) and headed to Arnold´s Gym for a step class. The Ecuadorian step instructor was like a little bouncing energizer bunny & pretty much kicked our butts as we tried to keep up and not fall off the homemade wooden step platforms. Although we could have just gone to bed, we had a little wine to perk us up and finished the night off baking an amazing quiche.
Continuing to head north, our next stops were Otavalo (known for its amazing craft market) & Cotacachi. Emily was sick as a dog and spending most of her days trying to rest up in the hostals - but she managed to get out a few times and join me in the markets for some quality haggling. Near Cotacachi I also went on a long day hike around a nearby crater lake. The hike was beautiful, but I think the world wanted my body to empathize with Emily so I ended up getting fried on my hike.... that damn elevation always gets you even on the cloudiest days! Atleast the radiating heat from my body kept me warm at night;)
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| Meatheads of Ecuador |
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| Sleeping in the office space |
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| Meathooks.... |
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| Intricate hand painted gourds |
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| Emily is thrilled with this bargain whereas the woman looks less than pleased |
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| Colorful market fabrics |
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| The beautiful Cuicocha lake |
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