As the clouds started coming in (this happens randomly in the area!}... we stopped quickly at a little pueblo (village) here called Lloas.
Lloas also has a nice and small central park, and a local church.
On another weekend trip, we went up north to Otavalo, famous for its indigineous Saturday market. On our way there, our bus passed this great extinct volcano, which the province is named after (it even looks like a volcano!!).
We arrived on Friday evening, to ensure an early arrival at the animal market the next day. We stayed at a bed and breakfast farm ("Hacienda Luna") -- very highly recommended just 4.5 kms outside the town of Otavalo!! Here is the cabin we stayed in.
This is the cottage we rented.
Here is our lovely rustic room.
We particularly loved the fireplace next to the bed (still can't believe how close the fireplace was to the bed... as well as the price $9 per person per night!).
And down the hill, is the main cabin. You can see the whole farm in this picture... great for long walks... we will have to come back!
Here is the inside of the main cabin.
More inside shots of the cabin. Yes, another fireplace!!
The next morning, we were up early at the market at 7:30am (the animal market only runs until 9:30am). And here you can see various animals for sale on leashes held by their owners.
A bird's eye view shot of the animal market. Lots of cows/bulls and pigs. We were very wary of the possibility of a stampede here, as the animals seemed very restless.
Some smart marketing person decided it was a great idea to sell fancy leashes to help increase the value of the animal. hey, I'm impressed!
You also have people holding multiple leashes for piglets, and I can't help but think of people who walk multiple dogs in parks sometimes... it's just fun to watch the disarray of it all.
Here is a picture of an older women holding onto a bull by its horns (litteraly!)... If the bull went wild, I doubt the rope would work to hold it back. Also interesting to note is that Ecuadorian indigeneous people proudly wear their traditional uniforms everywhere... they don't simply keep them for special occasions.
I love the contrast created by the two little girls here in this picture... illustrated clearly by the differences in wear.
And little ones are often carried on the backs of women... held tightly by cloth. Some of the much younger kids are carried around in a cocoon type way as their entire bodies are completely submerged in the cloth hung on their mother's back.
Ok, we could not resist taking this one. The pig was just sucking up to the camera... it must be used to glamour shots!
... and here's a close-up!
We were so sad for this cow, surnamed by us as the "X-Cow". The X-Cow, painted with a big yellow "X" as you can see and left alone tied to the fence... an animal cannot be more rejected that this. Poor fellah!
After the animal market, we followed the crowd to the town of Otavalo about a Km away to go see the textile market, the food markets, and of course the small tourist market.
Walking along next to us here are a couple of folks trying to sell their rooster... by holding them by their feet. Egad!
