Ecuador – Lago San Pablo, Inti Watana – Calendario Solar, Cascada de Peguche, and Otavalo Market

**** No food in this one; so if you’d like to return tomorrow…..

I had another private tour scheduled for our second full day in Quito. This time we’d be heading North to Otavalo. Like on our previous day, we had a light breakfast in the Executive Lounge of the JW Marriott.

We enjoyed the view from the lounge as it seemed that the clouds and weather was constantly changing in Quito.

Our guide arrived right on time and then we were off. We took a short coffee/bathroom break in the town of San Joaquín.

Which seemed to be at the crossroads of two highways.

And then we were off to Muelle Flotante de Cachiviro on the shores of picturesque Lago San Pablo, the largest natural lake in Ecuador. The lake is resides at the base of Imbabrua Volcano.

A lovely little town with a “muelle flotante” a floating pier.

There was a curious pooch who followed us around.

The view from the pier is stunning.

We were told that even though Imbabura Volcano has not erupted for over 7,500 years, it is not considered “extinct”!

In spite of residing in the shadows of a non-extinct volcano; things were so peaceful and calm here.

Though we were told that just up the road was an area very popular with ex-pats who have started moving here.

We were given some bizcochos and Queso Ecuatoriano, basically stringcheese to snack on.

The next stop was one we really enjoyed. We parked and walked thru a city gate.

This is the village of Peguche, which is famous for weaving and the music; though there were two other things the hamlet is known for.

The Quichua (Kichwa) are the largest indigenous group in Ecuador. Those people, like the Incas whose influence spread into the area in the 15th century celebrate Inti Raymi which celebrates the Sun God (Inti). And to be able to determine dates, there’s Inti Watana; the solar calendar.

It’s pretty amazing!

There’s also some neat acoustics going on as when I stood in the middle and whispered, you could hear me clearly anywhere in the structure!

From here, it was a nice walk to our next stop.

We were told that next to the market in Otavalo, Cascada de Peguche (Peguce Waterfall) is the second most popular stop.

This is where; during Inti Raymi, one would “cleanse your soul”. In fact, it is something that is still done today and access to the falls during Inti Raymi is limited to locals.

The falls are 60 feet high. Can you imagine “cleansing your soul” here?

We returned to the village where things were very quiet on this day.

And there was a reason for this. It was a Saturday. And though Otavalo’s Plaza de los Panchos is always busy; Saturday is market day , when all the indigenous craftsmen are present. It really didn’t seem overly busy.

And the Missus enjoyed shopping.

And even bought a couple of things…..

After which we headed on back to Quito. We had decided to get a light lunch in the lounge of the hotel.

Where we could take in that ever changing view of Quito.

We had dinner reservations at a highly regarded restaurant, so we thought we’d save our appetite for dinner.

Stay tuned!