Ecuador Day 7

We are in the home stretch, folks! Day 7 is here with only one more day to go...

First stop.....Equator!  Yes, I've officially been in two places, two hemispheres to be exact, at once!  Below is the proof!  This was pretty cool.  There were some shops around this area as well as a bug museum (gross!).  Some of the group ended up going up into the museum, but I didn't because I thought it was too expensive.  Kind of kicking myself for that one now...

I'm standing in two hemispheres!

Melissa and I attempting to do something cool.  The photographer didn't quite catch it!

With our translator for the week, Erick, at the Equator

After visiting the Equator, we started making our way to the Otavalo Market.  It was quite a drive, about two hours, so we stopped for lunch along the way.  We stopped at a really nice little restaurant that was right against this lake.  The water literally lapped up to the glass walls of the restaurant.  There were some little bungalows that people could rent and stay there.  Also, there were llamas.  This lovely little place was called, Puerto Lago. 

Beautiful view at Puerto Lago

Pastor Lori, Melissa, and me

 We walked around Puerto Lago for a little while after eating and then loaded up and continued toward Otavalo.  Otavalo had a HUGE market.  Seriously, so big we only went through a fraction of it in a couple of hours.  This is where I got the majority of the stuff I brought home.  You had to haggle with the vendors, which I am terrible at, but I managed to get some good deals.  This was mostly due to Pastor Lori's great haggling skills.  Didn't really see animals at this market, it was mostly crafts, or at least the part we saw.

Shopping at Otavalo Market

Vendors at Otavalo Market

 Erick bought a hat at Saquisili and I could not be outdone.  So, I made it a point to get a similar hat at Otavalo, so of course we had to take a picture. 

Modeling our matching hats

 One last final look at Otavalo and we were off.  On the way home we stopped at a chocolate place.  I wasn't feeling well (to be fair, I didn't feel well the entire time-pretty sure it was altitude sickness) so I did not partake, but I hear the hot chocolate was awesome!

Goodbye Market!

We finished the evening at Pizza Hut for dinner and then went back to our respective hotels for the night.  We had to pack up because the next day was our last!