A La Orden
Trip Start
Sep 03, 2010
1
21
44
Trip End
Ongoing
Otavalo, Ecuador
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Again, it was a quick and pleasant ride.
The bus stopped right by the entrance of Otavalo and several people exited, including us. It was Saturday and we went to Otavalo to take a lot around and shop in their Saturday market. It’s supposedly the biggest outdoor market in South America. Before going out to look around, we wanted to find a hostel to dump our packs. So we collected our bags, took out our trusty Lonely Planet, and navigated our way to a hostel. Check in was painless and everything was fine except that they lied to us about wifi.
A few minutes after choosing our beds, Laurent starts to talk to himself out loud. He had his camera case held open, but his camera wasn’t in there. He then went on to rummage through his backpack and started to raise his voice and searched more frantically. He asks us if we remember seeing either of his cameras and Charlotte and I both shake our heads. He muttered that he remembers packing them in the morning and can’t understand where they could have gone.
Just then, I noticed a hole in the bottom of his backpack. Upon closer inspection, it was clearly cut by a blade of some sort. There were two holes and we figured that both of his cameras had been stolen from him on the bus. We pieced the puzzle together and figured that the assistant who came around must have played a role in it. He was so adamant that we put our bags under our seats and had a concern for our stuff that I had not seen in all the time that I have traveled. Other bus drivers since have told me to hold my bag on my lap. Surely this guy got a cut of the stolen goods. The strange thing was that none of our hands came close to fitting through the holes. There were kids in the bus going back and forth who eventually settled down near us.
For the next half hour, Laurent was cussing in French. He was shocked and in disbelief that it could have been organized by someone who worked on the bus and then possibly have been carried out by kids. He lost all of his pictures from the trip and was reasonably upset. He got over it rather quickly and said that he was sorry and that he wouldn’t allow his frustration to ruin our trip as well. I thought that he handled the situation well.
The Saturday Market was pretty exciting. There were booths set up in the main plaza and branched out to every street. They sold mostly textiles, including ponchos, clothing, bags, blankets, and hammocks. There were food stalls, jewelry, and hats. Most of the vendors sell more or less the same things, but it was lots of fun walking around and shopping around. I was tempted to buy a poncho, but couldn’t find one that I loved. I really wanted to buy a blanket or two, but didn’t really know how I would carry them with me. I didn’t end up buying much because I didn’t have space in my bag for more than a couple shirts. Still I had a good time looking around and people watching.
The local people were pretty interesting and I wish that I had the opportunity to get an inside look into their culture. Traditionally, the men have long ponytails and the woman wear hats. Their outfits are cool and their sense of culture must be strong for them to keep using their traditional attire. I couldn’t imagine Korean people walking around Korea in hanboks on a daily basis. The culture of the west has prevailed in most countries. So to find pockets of people who are seemingly impervious to be influenced in this way amazes me.
Something else that I found quite interesting is their response when they are thanked. Instead of the common "de nada", they say “a la orden.” Literally this means “at the order”, but I think it translates to “at your service”.
There were a few vendors the next day, but only in the main square of the city. It was much, much smaller and we were glad that we made it for the Saturday market.
Comments
ur getting quite the cultural experience