A Fruitful Visit to Otavalo in Ecuador, Otavalo, Ecuador

Ecuador Highway 35 between Quito and Otavalo passes through some of the most spectacular scenery in Ecuador. On one side the land drops away into the valley and on the other side peaks of the Andes tower above. Workmen balanced on these heights repairing the ravages of recent landslides and protecting them against future rainy seasons. This road forms a section of the Pan-American Highway that covers a total of nearly 30,000 miles stretches from Alaska and Canada to Chile, Argentina, and Brazil. Originally conceived as a single route in 1923 it has grown to include a large number of designated highways in participating countries and it is a mixture of state owned and privately owned roads. In Ecuador it is privately owned and as there is no road tax in Ecuador it is financed by the payment of tolls. We stopped to enjoy the panorama of this road clinging to the side of the mountains.

As we continued on our way the scenery around us changed constantly from wooded slopes, scars of limestone and fields of every imaginable crop. The volcanic soil of Ecuador and its many micro-climates means that a huge variety of grains, fruits and vegetables can be grown all year round. When we emerged from the mountains above Lago San Pablo, the largest lake in Ecuador, we had our second stop and I was delighted to discover not just a café for refreshments but also an outlet for a local industry, the famous Panama hat. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).