Cotacachi and Laguna Cuicocha

Cotacachi is a little prretty indigenous town close to the volcano with the same name. Cotacachi is famous for its leather works. Its inhabitants make incredibly beautiful nd fine leather works which are exported to the USA and Europe. 

When I arrived at the bus station I first went through the market, which is nearby. Markets are the best places to eat good and cheap food, in Ecuador as well as in Colombia. And it is a wonderful place to watch people, especially those indigenous markets. 

They make all kind of pretty handicrafts out of totora reeds. 

and here a little look at the city itself

From Cotacachi I took the bus to Quiroga, another little  town with a beautiful church

and from there a taxi to Laguna Cuicocha. 

Volcan Cotacachi erupted about 3000 years ago, It must have been a huge eruption and as a result it collapsed and this lake was formed in its crater. Laguna Cuicocha is 3 km. wide and 200 m. deep! There is a trail leading around the lagood , 14 km. long, but as I arrived there a bit too late to walk the whole trail I walked only part of it and made a boat trip on the lagoon.

The volcano was hiding its peak in the clouds most of the time. here I got a glimpse of it. 

The boat trip was beautiful. We went around the islands in the middle of the lake, which were formed at a later eruption. They are covered with dense jungle , surrounded by totora reeds and the vegetation is beautiful. The water is cristal clear. The volcano is still active as there are gases coming out sometimes. 

the water has a fantastic color

look at this dense vegetation on the island

there are lots of birds living there. (the lagoon is at an elevation of about 3060 m.) Little ducks, swimming around,

and those gorgeous white birds  nesting in the totora reeds. 

As I walked along te trail I had the rare oportunity to see the peak  of  volcano Cayambe (5790 m. high), which is mostly in the clouds. You can see the peak covered with snow. Unfortunately it was very hazy, At the bottom you see Otavalo. 

here with the zoom

and the third gorgeous volcano near Otavalo, Volkan Imbabura, was also hiding most of the time, which made him look even more mysterious. By the way, the indigenous people call Imbabura- taita Imbabura, which means father Imbabura and the volcano Cotacachi - Mama Cotacachi. When it rains in Otavalo they say Taita Imbabura is pissing in the valley.

Here you can see him in all his majesty. Look how huge he is.

When I walked along the trail I saw so many beautiful flowers. It is amazing what grows at this height. My favorite is this green flower, I have never seen it before. It is so special.

and this white one is also so pretty, it grows very close to the ground

there are so many different kinds. Here just a few.

As I walked partly around the lake it looked different from every angle. 

and the view down the other side was also fantastic, just a bit hazy. 

this is on the way

and when I came back down, suddenly Taita Imbabura lifted its veil

The region around Otavalo is really fantastic. I am staying here for 5 days. 

back to Ecuador- Otavalo

Otavalo is an indigenous town. Otavaleños are known for their exquisite weavings and have been exploited for their textile-making skills by the Incas, Spanish and eventually, Ecuadorians. Life improved for many of the indigenous people after the Agrarian Reform of 1964, which abolished the long-standing tradition of serfdom and permitted local land owner- ship. Still, many villagers struggle to profit from their crafts. That said, otavaleños are the wealthiest and most commercially successful indígena people in Ecuador, an achievement that has allowed many to live in relative comfort. The indígena people wear traditional clothing and take extreme pride in their appearance. Women wear white blouses embroidered with flowers, long wool skirts, fachalinas (headcloths), woven belts, can- vas sandals and strands of beads. Men wear felt hats, blue ponchos and calf-length pants, and braid their hair in one long strand. They are so beautiful to look at. For hundreds of years, Otavalo has hosted one of the most important markets in the Andes. It takes place every Saturday and it is the largest and most beautiful indigenous market I have ever seen. People come from the surrounding villages, not only from Otavalo, to sell their goods and beautiful handicrafts.The tradition of swapping money for goods here stretches back to pre-Incan times, when traders would emerge from the jungle on foot, ready to conduct business. Here some impressions from the Saturday market:

It is a heaven for photographers

these people work really hard

these blouses are all hand embroidered. It is an incredible work. 

They have such beautiful colorful weavings

the whole market sis so colorful

and I find the people so beautiful

mothers must take their babies with them to work

The men all have beautiful long braids

and the women big necklaces and these interesting hats. I think this one put a pair of tousers on top to protect her from the sun. it can get really hot here at daytime when the sun shines, although Otavalo is at a height of 2550m. but at night it gets really cold, actually as soon as the sun sets. 

and beautiful earrings

I find the old women so beautiful to look at. 

this one is selling choclo con queso, that is sweet corn (cooked) with a salty cheese. Delicious. 

There are also plenty of places where you can eat at the market. Here it almost looks as if the pig was eating the people. Poor pig, it has been grilled and they cut pieces off and sell them for lunch, the head remains. Or do they eat it too?

I love to photograph people

I wonder whom these 2 are talking about

I wonder if women this age can sit like this in our western world

I wasn't able to upload some photos into my blog, I have no idea why. But I guess you got an impression. These were just impressions of the market. In the next post I'll show you some pictures of Otavalo. Have a good night.