Ecuador
September
7, 2012 - The tenth country on this trip. As hard as it was
getting into Colombia, leaving was very simple. Got stamped out,
handed over our precious motorcycle permit (we could have ridden
off and they'd be none the wiser), and got an entry stamp for
Ecuador.
A few cursory checks of the VIN numbers on the bikes and one piece of paper later we were into Ecuador. The amazing thing is that we paid not a single fee in the entire process, a first for this trip. Our goal for the day was Otavalo, to catch the Saturday market. Although pretty touristy, supply outstripped demand by a factor of twenty or more. There were only a handful of tourists.
Earlier in the day my bike decided it needed a rest. The gear shifter had broken on two sides and I could only very carefully get into first or second gear. No doubt metal fatigue as the thing is more than twenty five years old. We looked around for a welder and luckily found one quickly. Two dollars and an hour later we were back on the road.
The market and Otavalo didn't disappoint.
We ran into a food market first before we stumbled upon the tourist stuff.
The main thing to buy on the tourist market seemed to be Alpaca-spun varieties of clothing. I went on a shooting rampage and experimented with colors and shades a bit more. Alpaca wool throws off the camera focus in bright sunlight I found.
Later in the evening we walked around town and took some more pictures.
This little one was eyeing my coffee while her mom was engaged in conversation.
