Day3 (on the road) - driving to Otavalo-Peguche on 10 Day Ecuador & Amazon Adventure (May 2014)
Saturday by noon (May 24, 2014), we left the Middle of the World (La Mitad del Mundo) and back on the Gate1 tour bus, heading to the beautiful mountains!
The weather was wonderful and the 3.5 hours drive was almost a breeze as we kept busy enjoying the beautiful scenery, especially the immense Lake San Pablo
(our next hotel accommodations will be right by this lake's side, at the amazing Cabañas del Lago, San Pablo)!
(some of us took a nap as our Gate1 driver, Johnny Jesus, did such a great job driving so smoothly)
Half way, we did make a STOP for refreshments and leg stretching!
OTAVALO - The city that you always return to -- here you can have a true understanding of the Ecuadorian culture and people.
The landscapes, mountains and people make Otavalo a place that you will always want to return to.
One can visit small Indian villages near Otavalo like Peguche, Agato, Carebuela and Iluman, where they produce textiles, blankets, bags, etc.
PEGUCHE is an indigenous Quichua community in Imbabura province just north of Otavalo, surrounded by high mountains and inactive volcanos like Imbabura (5380 mt.) to the South, Cotacachi (5940 mt.) to the North West and Fuya Fuya (4950 mt.) to the South West.
Also near Peguche are Pablo Lake and Mojanda Lake and the popular attraction Peguche waterfall.
The production of local arts and crafts is the main economic activity. The natives of this area, Pegucheños, are pioneers in making and designing textiles and often travel around the world as handcrafts merchants.
Their skillful hands have inherited the Pegucheño traditions in weaving, creating marvelous textiles out of a diverse number of materials for tapestries, blankets, sweaters, jackets, purses and many other items.
Pegucheño textiles are known world wide for their excellent quality and attractive designs.
OUR next stop: the gorgeous Peguche waterfall -- a natural park admired by both Ecuadorian and foreign tourists.
(2 pics by Kathy)