Bob and Joyce
Ecuador and Galapagos Islands Adventure

Northern Highlands

Indian Crafts in the town of Calderon, just north of Quito.
The base of the dolls are made of bread dough and exquisitely decorated by hand
Fresh vegetables are always available in this land without seasons.

 In reality, seasons are determined by altitude, not the calendar.
Gonzalo purchased this on the street and we opened and tasted the sweet fruit inside.
Ecuador is the source of roses for export. They often are grown under plastic in the valleys like this.

Most inns we visited had huge bunches of glorious roses available for maybe $1 a dozen or less.
Here we had a view of several volcanoes including Cayumbe in the background. We could get a good perspective here of the separate ranges of the Andes mountains.
We had lunch on this lake (Lago de San Pablo) at the base of the Imbaburra volcano. This was the view from our table.
This different lake in an old volcano caldera had no fish since the shoreline goes straight down and leaves no place for  eggs to be laid or hatched.

We saw many birds and wild orchids growing all around the sides.

 
The town of Cotacachi, with many shops for leather.
Towns often have specialities. Most shops make and sell the same types of products, in this case leather belts, purses, jackets, vests, saddles, etc
The streets. The fuzz on the wires are bromeliads.
The town sits in the shadow of the Cotacachi Volcano.
Hacienda Hosteria Pinsaqui in Otavalo. An old country inn where we stayed.
Our room.
One of the hallways at Pinsaqui. Outside were gardens and ponds plus a beautiful chapel and stables for horses.
The view of the volcano from the back of the inn.

Next
 Otavalo Indian Animal Market
 Galapagos Islands Animals

© Copyright 2003 Robert E. Graf

Ecuador Adventure Home