From Otavalo to Termas Papallacta

Following our trip through the Old Town, we returned to our hotel to complete the check-out procedure. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, we could not visit Mitad del Mundo or the Middle of the World. While we were on our way to Otavalo, we made a quick stop to meet the lovely Betty from our local partner's office. Meeting her in person was fantastic! We did have a nice quick chat.

After meeting Betty, we continued our drive to Otavalo, passing by some strawberry fields and flower plantations. I was so amazed by the Ecuadorian roses that were sold for only $1 in the streets. I wanted to buy and bring one home! But I couldn't, as it is not allowed in the Galapagos. That made me quite sad because an Ecuadorian rose in Manila is not that cheap!
 
Even though the big market in Otavalo takes place on Saturdays, we were still able to find quite a large number of stalls that sold various goods, including sweaters, blankets, paintings, silvers, shirts, and decorations, among other things. We bought some souvenirs and tried our hand at haggling over the prices, of course, with Daniel's assistance. Because we were unprepared for the chilly and windy weather, Mai and I also purchased alpaca sweaters for both of us. It was a great buy as we used it many times on our Galapagos cruise.

After leaving Otavalo, we stopped at the Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological Reserve and took a brief hike. The eruption of the once-active Cotacachi volcano resulted in the formation of Cuicocha Lake, which offers a stunning view of the surrounding landscape. Those who have a passion for nature will find this an ideal destination, as they will have the opportunity to observe a diverse array of flora and fauna while hiking through the area. We decided to take the shorter hike because we were not dressed appropriately for the weather, and the wind was blowing too hard.

We also went to Cotacachi's leather town, where we were surprised by how inexpensive leather shoes, wallets, bags, and other souvenirs were. We purchased some coin purses for a dollar each!
 
We spent the next two hours traveling to Termas Papallacta. We arrived safely despite the foggy roads leading up to Termas, thanks to Daniel's excellent driving skills.