Otavalo

Well yesterday we were all good consumers, spending the remaining money we had at the market in Otavalo.  What an amazing place!  Like a swapmeet of the Andes, vendors were selling everything from food to jewelry to alpaca products for prices that made you gasp.  Beautiful hand made items that you felt guilty even bargaining for as the starting prices were so cheap.  After that, we visited a sacred lake created in the crater of a volcano when it exploded some 300 years ago.  We took a pontoon boat out and listened to the guide´s narration of the site´s geology and history.  Again, another amazing road trip, where we encountered some creative business strategies of the local children.  They would stand at either side of the roadway holding string across the road to force our car to slow down so they could come to the window and beg.  Even though giving money is not the best way to help them, it was hard to resist throwing our extra change out the window in appreciation of their entrepreneurship…

The beauty of this country is overwhelming.  It is hard to remember some times how poverty stricken it is when you meander through miles and miles of verdant green mountains interspersed with rushing rivers and cascading waterfalls.   Property like this would go for millions in the states; perhaps it serves as some consolation to those struggling to make a life here that they live in a virtual geographic paradise.  Overall, the people we encounter seem happy.  Griselda caught a snapshot of one very ancient woman pulling the string trick on the roadway.  Her face glowed with joy and glee when we handed her a few coins out the window.  She blessed us and giggled and Griselda caught this amazing look on her face that we all sat and stared at for miles afterward on her camera.  The picture of her beautiful face was much more of a gift to us then the few coins she gained from our wallets.