Otavalo is famous for it?s weekend market, where locals flock from far and wide to exhibit their wares and tourists descend to spend their dollars on all sorts of goods, from jewellery and paintings, to tablecloths and of course ponchos!

It all gets going about 8am so many people choose to stay the night in Otavalo to allow themselves first look at the goods...but we decided to get up early and catch an early bus to Otavalo from Quito. It takes about 2 hours, depending on your driver and ours seemed to think he was Michael Schumacher, hurtling along mountain roads, overtaking on blind corners etc. He was even wearing a Maclaren Formula 1 jacket so he really did think he was in the wrong job! Anyway by 7am we were on the bus and by 9.30am we were happily pounding the streets of the market in search of bargains...

Most of the fun of the market is chatting with the stallholders and bartering for your purchases. And thanks to my expert spanish (hmm!) I managed to barter hard and came away with a few artesan goods, including a poncho! I might not be able to understand everything but it was really good fun just to be able to have a basic conversation with people and talk to them about their products and how they?re made etc.

As well as the main market, which covers a bog central square and all the surrounding streets as far as you can see, there is also a food market at Otavalo, which is a real education. We had thought we might try and get some lunch in the market as it was recommended for local produce. And quite rightly outside there was plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables etc. But inside was another story. None of us fancied trying our luck with the food, most of it was not recognisable as anything we would readily put into our stomachs, and when I saw the sheep?s head just sitting there on the counter, complete with fur, just minus a body (!) we made a hasty retreat and found a more reputable restaurant instead...

After lunch we headed back to Quito and arrived late afternoon. Luckily I arrived at my hotel minutes before the biggest ever rain storm I think I?ve ever seen. First it was just rain, then thunder, then lightening and then hailstones. The lightening was very scary, you could see the flashes in the reflection on the building opposite, both fork and sheet lightening. It lasted for a good few hours before I finally decided to brave it back outside. I had planned to venture over to the other side of town where I had been living with my family and when I got there I couldn?t believe my eyes. The ground was covered with what looked like snow and people were having to clear the shop fronts and pavements. In one street it was so bad that the cars were blocked in and a someone had to get their 4x4 to tow them out. The children were out in the street throwing snowballs and people were frantially searching for cameras to take a photo as it hasn?t snowed in Quito for about 20 years or more and before that no-one seems to know, so for many people it was the first time they?d seen it. Not sure whether it was actually snow or just a massive deluge of hailstones that sort of fell as snow but wither way it was certainly a sight to behold.