After the jungle I toyed with the idea of going white water rafting but the time constraints and long bus journeys put me off! Instead I decided to visit Otavalo where I could see South America's largest market and hoped to do a little hiking! I arrived on Saturday morning after an overnight bus from Lago Agrio to Quito and another bus from Quito to Otavalo. In true traveller style I hadn't booked accommodation and because it was a Saturday morning struggled to find some, but the third place I tried had a room. I spent the morning wandering around the markets, they were cool but I managed to escape without picking up any tat! I also managed to organise a short hike with one of the hostels for Sunday. In the afternoon I visited Peguche waterfall outside of Otavalo, a very picturesque waterfall! I had a quiet evening ready for my hike in the morning.

The hike began with a drive to Mojanda lake, which was a stunning picturesque lake in the andes. We then began the walk up Fuyu Fuyu, the mountain behind the lake, it was an enjoyable walk, only about 2km and up to 4263m, near the top there was a little scrambling on a big rock involved. We then crossed and ascended to the top of a nearby peak, it was only about 20M higher but involved some significant scrambling up rocks!! On a clear day you can see quito, and the southern glacial volcanoes of Chimborazo and Cotapaxi, unfortunately it wasn't a clear day and we couldn't even see the lake below! The views we had during the walk were stunning though and it was a really enjoyable hike! Definitely a good way to spend a Sunday morning! That afternoon I made my way to Quito where I would meet Sanchia and Emma on Monday morning!