Christmas - Blogabond

We came to Otavalo after crossing the border early in the morning, we had heard allot of bad stuff about the border but it went without any problems what so ever. First we went to one hostel that was recommended in the guide book and it seemed nice but it didn’t have any good hangout areas so we weren’t really happy with it, so instead we went walking around town and the first thing Steffi did was buying a hammock for 8 dollars, I ended up buying one a little later and had to pay 50 cents more but after that we went looking for hostels and we found one that was really nice, about 4 dollars more expensive but they had a fire place and the rooms had a really nice and cozy feeling. So the next day we moved there instead.
This day we spent walking around town on our own fixing the Christmas presents to each other since we spend 24hours a day 7 days a week with each other it’s really hard to fix a present. So this day we had decided to just spend the whole day fixing stuff and we did, presents were bought packages were wrapped but even so the next day we were not quite done so also that day was spent on fixing stuff and wrapping the presents.

Merry Christmas

Finally the day had come Christmas Eve and instead of waiting until night we had decided to exchange gifts in the morning, also Steffi had a plan so the night before I had to take 2 mild sedatives so she would be sure of waking up before me and that I was going to sleep although she was fixing things in the room.
I woke up by Steffi pulling the blanket away of me, Christmas music started to play and at almost the same time Steffi shutting the door. So I was alone in the room and the first thing I saw was that in the window she had hung presents 3 of them to be precise and when I checked them one said “do not open until 6pm” and the other said “Open me now.”
So I opened it and my first present was a new string for my necklace, I thought this was it and that she would come back so I waited for a while, but no one came.
I went around looking at the hostel thinking maybe she had prepared breakfast but still nothing and so, as I got back I found that she had written “Merry Christmas” with candy cars (Ahlgrens bilar) on the nightstand and also a small note saying “ turn me around” and on the other side I found a small map leading me to the park and there I found Steffi sitting with another present (a small painting) and then also a clue to lead me back to the room and the final gift.
it was her moleskin (notebook) that she had taped up behind the mirror and in it I found drawings and a text that we would be doing a bungee jump together during the trip. It was the best Christmas present I have ever got and definitely a really unforgettable one. The bungee jumping is going to be a incredible experience!

For Steffi I had bought several gifts and then I had bought a bunch of Christmas tree balls and also table tennis balls that I painted and hung up in a bouquet of bougainvillea and so I made a small Christmas tree full of Christmas presents. It is quite hard to explain but it looked better than it sounds.

During the day Christmas Eve day that is we went bike riding together

having a moment with a tree

with a woman from Hawaii but born in France named Sunni. With her we went to a beautiful waterfall that the Indians use for some of their rituals. It is located in a nice spot with some protected forest around it and then we also rode down to the San Pablo lake, the biggest lake in Ecuador and it is also really nicely located between some huge mountains and small villages crawling down the mountain sides to the edge of the lake.
We went down to the shoreline were we met some children, and like so many other children the first thing they asked for was a gift for Christmas, meaning money usually. But none of us likes to give money to beggars and especially not kids so instead we took them on our bikes and gave them a ride on the beach and after that we had a nice connection and we got to talking to their parents. They had a beautiful home right on the shore and the man was working as a farmer but he told us that he was planning to open a hostel in their home, and with that location I don’t think it could be much more than a success story.

Un regalo por navidad

We went on riding our bikes and saw some angry looking kids blocking the road with a rope made of grass begging for a “Christmas gift” or they wouldn’t let us pass. They let us go anyways. Since we already had stayed longer than the time we had rented the bikes for we took a different road back that wasn’t quite as steep but on the other hand a bit longer, we went around the “mountain” instead of over it but as I and Steffi had stopped to take some pictures of a piglet and some ducks Sunni had found a pick-up willing to give us a lift back into town so we got there a lot quicker.
After we got back we met up with Stefanie and Berndt, some other people at the hostel and together we went out and had a Christmas dinner together.
After dinner we went back to the hostel and at this time Sunni had already left since she had decided to start doing some volunteering in the morning at a school close to the village. But the rest of us went on and we built a fire in the fireplace at the hostel and there we shared a bottle of rum, some coke and nachos. It was almost a perfect Christmas day.
On Christmas day we didn’t do much, we had planned to do a lot, like shopping at the market but we all felt the day before and didn’t do much at all instead.
Until night when we once again built a fire and this time we had a little barbecue with some sausages shared 5 bottles of wine and had a great evening once again.

The next day was a Saturday and every Saturday in Otavalo there is a animal market in the morning that both me and Steffi, Berndt and Stefanie wanted to check out so we went but I think we came there a little too late (7 in the morning) because all the bigger animals were sold and they only had the chickens and guinea pigs left. So we tired quite quickly and instead we went to the huge arts and crafts market that spread all over Otavalo center on Saturdays, I bought a hat and some gloves made of alpaca and I think that’s all we bought.
That night Stefanie and Berndt had found out about a cock fight in Otavalo and since it is a big part of the culture in Ecuador we went to see it. And it actually is as horrible as you can think, the fights last for a long time and it is just like one long bloody beating and both the cocks walk away with bleeding heads and almost hacked to death.

Cock fight

On the Sunday all 4 of us went horse riding for 3 hours in the mountains and it was absolutely amazing. Fantastic scenery with huge mountains and big canyons little rives flowing past and everything else is green, really really deep green. We thought that the ride would take us to some crater lakes that are quite close by but apparently we had misunderstood the information. But as compensation the guide took us to some medicinal springs where we got to bathe and cool down for a bit before we went back to the ranch so all in all we were very happy with our excursion even though it didn’t really end as we had thought.

After the horses we just went to the bus station and caught the first bus to Quito.

Bye bye

Chris

written by

Steffi & Chris on December 24, 2009 from Otavalo, Ecuador

from the travel blog: 212 days

Send a Compliment

comment on this...