Otavalo and Mindo

After another day in Quito, which we used to visit the Basilica and go for a run in Carolina Park, we took the bus to Otavalo.

Otavalo is a small town about 2 hours north of Quito. Not much reminds you of Quito here. There are greenhouses everywhere around the city and many people come from the indigenous culture and therefore wear traditional clothing. The many greenhouses result in fresh fruits and vegetables available everywhere in the city, including strawberries and blueberries. Otavalo was not originally on our plan, but we ended up really liking it. Especially because of our super hostel, including a roof terrace with a view of the whole city.

Otavalo is especially known for the largest indigenous market in South America. We visited it on Saturday. The whole city becomes a market then. You can find a lot of woolen goods, such as ponchos, blankets or sweaters. Every now and then, there is also something to eat or drink. Since it wasn't too crowded, we were able to stroll past the stands easily. And with the great weather we had, it was really fun.

On one day, we visited a waterfall just outside the city, which was quite nice, but not a must-see.

What is really worth it, though, is hiking around the Cuicocha crater lake. You can reach it from Otavalo in about an hour by bus and taxi. It is a water-filled crater with two islands in the middle. The circular path is 12 kilometers long and goes up and down. There are various viewpoints from which you can look at the lake. The hike is really strenuous, but we had a lot of fun despite that. Since it is a circular path, you have a great view of the lake the whole time.

We could have stayed longer in Otavalo. It is really relaxed there. There are some nice cafes and restaurants, and the streets with many small shops invite you to stroll around. Also, there is a truck that transports gas cylinders throughout the day and plays pan flute music all the time. The pan flute music fits really well with this place where so many indigenous people live. However, since we had already booked our next accommodation, we had to leave after 4 days and head to Mindo.

Mindo is a small village in the cloud forest, so it is very humid and it rains every day from around 2 pm. Therefore, we had to plan our activities for the mornings.

In Mindo, you can visit several chocolate tours with different providers. Although cocoa plants do not grow well in the local climate, there are still some providers of self-made chocolate. We followed the recommendation of our host and did the chocolate tour at Mayas. First, we received some information about the cocoa plant and the production process before it got practical. We were allowed to make our own chocolate paste, which we could later pour hot water over and taste.

The first step of the process was roasting the cocoa beans over the fire, stirring constantly until the shell comes off. Then we had to remove the inside of the bean from the shell. From this, a paste had to be made. For this, we were given a large stone in our hand and had to grind it until a chocolate paste was formed. After the work was done, we tried our own hot chocolate. Without sugar, it was a bit bitter, but with some sugar, it was very tasty.

Furthermore, we were shown how the chocolate paste is made industrially and how the chocolate bars are made afterwards. Since chocolate is also supposed to be good for the skin, we applied a facial mask directly.

Finally, there was a tasting of the different chocolate varieties from Mayas and a small snack consisting of a brownie, fruits, and chocolate tea. We really enjoyed the tour, and it was really interesting to make chocolate in a traditional way. After the tour, we went to eat Persian food. It was mega tasty and something completely different to eat again.

On the second day in Mindo, we planned to go ziplining. With our tour, we could glide over the forests of Mindo on 10 different cables, sometimes even in the Superman position. The view was really cool at times. In addition, our booked tour included a Tarzan swing. A bit like bungee jumping, but without hanging upside down. It was quite exciting and a lot of fun.

On the third day, we went on a hike to several waterfalls. After walking about 5 kilometers uphill, we reached the Tarabita, a kind of cable car that can be used to cross the valley and reach the hiking trails to the waterfalls. It was quite daring, as it is only a small open gondola and you cross a pretty deep valley. On the other side of the valley, there are three hiking trails that lead to different waterfalls. We walked all three trails one after the other. The landscape there was really beautiful, and the paths went up and down along the mountainside with great panoramas. It was not always easy to reach the waterfalls. At one point, we had to balance on a log to cross the river. On the third hiking trail to the largest and most beautiful of the seven waterfalls, it started pouring rain, unfortunately, already at 12 instead of 2 o'clock. As almost always on our last day somewhere, we got completely drenched. But it was worth it because the waterfall was really impressive. We returned with the Tarabita and then took a taxi back to the village.

Mindo was very relaxed. The place is really small and consists almost only of restaurants. Since there weren't many tourists, there wasn't much going on either. Our accommodation was also not in the village, but a bit secluded in the forest. So we could enjoy the peace and use the large terrace to do a bit of physical fitness😉 Since it always rained in the afternoon, we had plenty of time for that.

You can find the video about Mindo here:

https://youtu.be/4KeJ834iN-Q