Another great day in Otavalo yesterday. I was up early so I could head out to the animal markets, just outside of town, on the other side of the Panamerican (major highway). Now you haven't lived until you see pigs, goats and cows being dragged across the highway and those pigs can be pretty stubborn.

The locals basically stand around holding the leads of their animals and hope someone will come up and offer a price and the bartering begins. It was noisy, smelly and very crowded. People were also selling baby chickens & ducks, fully grown chickens, cats, dogs, turkeys and even guinea pigs. That is to eat, not for a pet.

I headed back to the hostel for brekky before braving the artesian markets. On my earlier walk, I had seen people setting up and more people were still arriving. They take over the streets around the plaza and set up their tables and tarps with all their goods. Some bring them in trucks, others on trolleys and others still carry these huge loads on their back. Lots of work to set up and take down at the end of the day.

I was out to find a red and green scarf for mum and was determined not to buy anything until I looked at every stall. Well, I only got thru a small portion before I returned to the hostel to head out to a few of the outlying sights. Linda, from the tour the day before had arranged a trip with the owner so I tagged along. We headed out to Laguna Cuicocha, an old volcano that has collapsed and is now a lake. Apparently the lake is about 300m deep. Quite beautiful views.

Then drove to Cascade de Peguche for a look at the local waterfall. Apparently at certain times of the year, it is sacred and the local men come up here to wash. There were stands of the Australian Eucalyptus tree here. Apparently about 100years ago, they were worried they were running out of firewood and they wanted a quick growing tree. They got the Eucalyptus tree which is good for firewood and building but has destroyed the soil.

Up to the Lechero tree, the famous magic tree of the town. Still not sure what magic it has but it had beautiful views over the Laguna San Pablo.

Back to town and the markets again. Found a small cafe and had the best piece of banana pie topped with meringue ever. Lucky I wasn't there for any more days otherwise I would have been back. Feeling refreshed, I wandered thru the rest of the stalls. No red and green scarves to be seen, so bought a mauve one. For me I bought a bracelet and tapestry.

The markets weren't as busy as I was expecting. I had thought they would be flooded with tourists but I guess this is the quiet time. So much beautiful stuff but just no space. Had a quiet night using the computer and speaking to my mum and brother. This morning I got a bus at 8am from Otavalo and am now back in Quito.