Cotacachi and Otavalo

We said our goodbyes to everyone at Finca Sommerwind and headed south. But first I had to reattach the RV antenna to the roof.I stopped to change oil for $48, not bad. They had 5w20 and I supplied the filter. I noticed some grease on the driver side wheel. I did not see a tear in the CV boot.We then went to a supermarket and tried to find a bakery and butcher shop but most places were closed. Christine had heard that Hans, the owner of Finca Sommerwind was going to sell his pretzels this morning at Cotacachi so it was sheer luck to drive there and finding the farmers market he was selling them at. It was almost noon and they were closing and all the pretzels were gone. We said thank you to Hans for building a great place to camp, not mentioning the terrible bites from sand flies we all had. 

We found a boba tea stand run by a woman who was 1/4 Taiwanese. She could speak Mandarin. She was as excited to talk to us as it was for us with her. We bought two cups of boba tea ($5). We also found a slice of chocolate cake that Dd wanted for $1 for his birthday tomorrow. We stopped and bought some pork for $4 and various vegetables and fruits for $5. It was so much fun because all the bags were $1.We also bought some tamales for $4.50. Cotacachi we later learned had become an expat retirement community which explained all the foreigners shopping at the farmers market.

We then drove to Otavalo and went to their artisan market area. It is supposed to be one of the largest artisan markets on Saturday but there was a permanent market areaat the Plaza de Ponchos. We ended up buying a bunch of souvenirs, none of which I am convinced were necessarily made in Ecuador. There were Bob Marley and Jack Daniels on some of the blankets and ponchos. 

We then drove the 90 minutes to the campground in Quito.

We made it to CoDa vista campground on the edge of Quito by 4pm as the clouds were rolling in. The view over the city was gorgeous. The temperature was in the 50's F and started to rain a little.There were three dogs: Coffee with a lump in her hip from being hit by a car, Minka, and one other one. Coffee kept following the kids around. One Australian man in a Sportsmobile was parked there. He has been there for two weeks. We met Andy the owner, Canadian and his girlfriend Gavi and later met Felipe and his 8 year old daughter Valentina, their neighbors on the property next door. As the kids played and Felipe showed us his home and two airbnbs units above his home with spectacular views. Felipe had recently given a Ted talk in Quito and gave us the YouTube link. His home was awesome. Another van pulled in and it was a Russian family with their 5 year old girl Emily. They had been here before and Emily came walking in to Felipe's home with a bowl of strawberries, looked for Valentina, and didn't find her, and then walked out on the darkness. The kids wandered into Andy's house. 

It was cold and rainy but it was very fun being there and talking to Felipe and having the kids and dogs to play with. These campground experiences in Ecuador have been amazing. It is so fun to meet these people.

We were cozy in the RV for dinner and settled in for bed.