Sunday Excursions

A view of Otavalo from our Lechero Tree hike.

Are you aware that the equator runs through Ecuador?

So when I arrived Hauna told me that her and her husband, Kiah, try to go on an adventure every Sunday to take advantage of all the stuff there is to do around Otavalo. They said I was welcome to come any Sunday so since I also want to take advantage of being here and my host family just sits around on Sundays, I have gone with them on two adventures since getting here.

The first Sunday I was here I met them at their apartment in Otavalo, we packed a lunch (PB&Js, a welcome change from potatoes and rice) and we hiked up to the Lechero Tree. The Lechero Tree is apparently very important in some kind of indigenous legend. There were two people in love or something and they sinned so now the man is the mountain and the woman is the tree and they constantly look at each other but can't get any closer. I'm not exactly sure, but it is something along those lines.

Anyway, the hike was super pretty and it was nice to get a break from my host family and have something to do after a few days of doing absolutely nothing because at that point I hadn't started teaching. It was a slightly difficult hike, especially for me newly adjusting to the altitude. After arriving back in Otavalo we rewarded ourselves with beers at a rooftop restaurant. Overall it was a good way to spend my first Sunday in Ecuador and a nice bonding experience.

The Lechero Tree. 

Classic me looking short picture.
This is Kiah, Hauna, and me at the Lechero Tree.

The next Friday (I know, not a Sunday excursion but still an excursion) Hauna's ex-spanish student from the US was visiting and he and Hauna came up to Larcacunga where I taught. After school was over we went out to lunch and then visited Peguche, a waterfall really close to Otavalo. We took the bus there and it is a pretty built-up touristy place with a stone walkway to the bottom of the waterfall. It was still amazingly beautiful and a nice way to spend an afternoon.

The waterfall.

Sam, me, Hauna, and Kiah at the waterfall.

The next Sunday (last week) Tyler (the only other intern still here), Hauna, Kiah and I went to La Mitad del Mundo, The Middle of the World. We had tried to go the Wednesday before because it was the equinox and apparently you don't have a shadow on the equinox but we ended up getting on the wrong bus and not having enough time. So, it turned into a Sunday adventure. We took the bus two hours to Quito and then another half hour to a place that felt a lot like Ecuadorian Disney World. There were little shops and restaurants scattered all around the central monument which marks the center of the world.

The lady taking our picture said "do something" so we were forced to pose.

A yellow line runs from East to West marking where the equator is and there were tons of tourists taking classic "I'm standing in the eastern and western hemisphere at the same time" photos. Fun fact: the line was drawn and the monument was built before GPS technology so it is actually something like 0.8 degrees off. But the damage had been done so we, the tourist, choose to pretend that isn't the case.

My classic both hemispheres photo.

 We went up in the monument and saw pretty cool views of the city. Then we walked through and museum that summed up all the different and diverse indigenous groups scattered throughout the country. It was really interesting.

A view from the top of the monument.

Afterwards we searched for a brewery but everything ended up being closed. Qutio is quite dead on Sundays. We ended up eating a late lunch at a Colombian restaurant and heading back to Otavalo. It was an exhausting but really fun day, especially since it was so totally different than my average day here.