June 14, 2016
We continued our exploration of the Imbabura Province by heading to the town of Otavalo. This is a largely indigenous town most know for its food and handicraft markets which date back to pre-Incan times. On the way we visited a local musician's workshop and were treated with a demonstration of his instrument making skills and a short musical performance. We also had the opportunity to tour a rose farm and enjoy a lunch at the owner's home.
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| The musician's shop |
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Nanda Manachi himself-
expertly crafting a pan pipe |
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| The finished instrument ready to be played |
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He could play and make many different instruments from Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia and other parts of South America-
-all by ear and all self-taught- truly a gifted musician! |
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| Otovalo Market |
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| So many fruits we had never seen or eaten before... |
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| But now we know and have tasted babacos, tomato de arbors (tree tomatoes), naranjillas, and granadillas and we think that moras (Ecuadorian blackberries) are far superior to the ones at home! |
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| You can also select meats... |
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| Notice the beautiful embroidered blouse and gold beads worn by the indigenous women |
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| Handicrafts market full of paintings, weavings, etc. |
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La Compania Rose Farm-
We learned how labor intensive is this industry- the planting, pruning, picking...all done by hand |
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| ...even the sorting... |
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| ...the dyeing... |
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