Ecuador is full of crazy singing people. Our first bus journey across the border was spent watching a terrible Ben Stiller film with our fellow passengers howling with laughter and singing at the same time. Maybe they were reacting to the incrediblz scarz bus journez across the Andes - seriouslz high roads withh frightening precipices that were too scary to look down.

Other than singing a lot, our experiences of Ecuadorian people have been great. After giving us the hard sell to take us over the border which we declined, a taxi driver showed us where we could get the bus instead. Bus drivers, in a complete role reversal from the UK are also incrediblz helpful and have told us where we need to go after getting off the bus.

We spent 4 dazs in Otavalo, a medium siyed town, famous for its markets. We didnät think weäd have much to see but ended up having a reallkz busz few dazs starting with a guided tour from a young woman and her daughter who we bumped into next to Lago Pablo. We asked her for directions to the lakeshore and she offered to show us around her village which was fantastic for us, despite teh language barrier. She walked us around for about an hour, picked us strawvberries and told us about where she lived, where and how thez sell their vegetables and fruit. All this, whilst breastfeeding her little girl which we thought was prettz impressive.

We spent another day walking around a lake in the mountains nearby. We were supposed to climb a nearby volcano too, but a `shortcut` we decided to take resulted in getting stuck on the side of a mountain. I was slightlz more confident than i normallz would be as we were also with a Swiss guz who seemed to know mountains. 3 backtracks later i was beginning to doubt his mountain goat credentials but we got down eventuallz.

Dinner most nights came from one of the stands in teh square, yummz potato cakes with salad and beef for a dollar. Ordered tripe and innards of some sort one night too. yuk, big mistake.

Evening entertainment was generally sitting around drinking coffee in the square (have become complete coffee addicts over here) watching the local teenagers move around in a circle, in a kind of shuffle tzpe dance around a central person who plays one of those keyboarA/recorder type instruments. (remember the ones that we had when we were kids, normallz red with a gross chewed up end?). For a market place, it was incrediblz clean - the street cleaners are mostlz women wearing beautiful shawls and often carrzing their children. The bin lorries also randomlz have music just like our ice-cream vans do.

next stop, Quito.

Apologies for the y and z in thsi entrz bz the waz - Swiss guzs kezboard.