Our time in Otavalo and Quito

Hi Gang,

Last time we talked Natalie and I just finished a 30 hour bus ride (due to over sleeping and our lack of Spanish speaking skills). As a result of this we came to the decision that one of us had to learn some Spanish. Since Natalie took French till grade twelve she had a big advantage over me. We decided Otavalo would be a good spot to take some lessons on the recommendation of a friend from Colombia. We decided to stay at hostel up in the mountains so from town we caught a cab.
Up until this point we have had little need to book a place to stay in advance. Rosa, the owner of the hostal let us know immediately that we probably should have booked in advance as she opened the gate to her property in her pj's.
Rosa Cottages was an interesting experience in a beautiful place. Rosa herself is a cute little Ecuadorian grandmother type who while being very nice is totally CRAZY!!! She had some funny little ideas about how to run a hostal. Case in point: telling us that there was no room in the fridge and to put the beer outside to chill. Hmmmm...obviously doesnt understand the Canadian need for COLD cervezas.
Otalvalo itself is a charming city. Many of the locals dress in traditional dress and are a maximum of 5ft tall. The city has the largest market in South America on saturdays along with an animal market. Everything form cattle to guinea pigs was available for inspection by people looking to buy dinner...or lunch or whatever. Natalie was explicitly told not to buy anything!
Despite Natalie's run in with a bad chicken sandwich and the ensuing 3 day illness the Spanish lessons were helpful and Otavalo was a great time.

Natalie's Spanish teacher was able to help us set up a trip to the Galapagos Islands. The only catch was that the payment had to be in cash and trying to withdraw large amounts of cash in South America is to say the least a challenge. We discovered that it was impossible to do this in Otavalo so it was off to Quito. We ended up traveling to Quito with an entertaining pair of Brits. Quito is a huge city built in the mountains so the views are quite spectacular. We were able to quickly resolve the cash issue and are now booked to go to the Galapagos this Friday!

While at the language school we decided that a trip to Ecuador would not be complete without biking down a volcano! We booked a trip to go mountain biking in Cotopaxi National Park. Cotopaxi itself is about 4,800m high and just as the guide books say it literally takes ones breath away. We maybe should have put a little more thought into booking a trip to this altitude as the weather in Quito was pouring rain so therefore SNOWING, yes SNOWING on Cotopaxi. Despite this, us and two other Canadians braved the elements to go biking.
It was a wonderful day speeding down hills, struggling up tiny inclines due to the altitude and looking at the wild horses playing in the wilderness. The landscape in Cotopaxi is spectacular with views of massive volcanoes set in the tundra-like land. Altogether a wonderful day.

We are currently in a town called Banos. It is a completely touristy place but fun because of the variety of activities and the thermal baths. We only have one night here and then off the the Galapagos.

Hopefully at our next post we will be fresh from viewing all the weird and wonderful sights the Galapagos has to offer!