Toeing the line!

Yesterday we visited Ciudad Mitad del Mundo also known as Middle of the world city as it straddles the line that divides the earth's northern and southern hemispheres.  In the building shown, there was an excellent ethnographic museum which described really well all the indigenous groups of Ecuador in terms of their dress, tribal customs,k language and religous beliefs. 

We spent the afternoon in the City Museum, a former hospital which has been converted into a very good exhibition hall.  RM also had another shearing for the cut price of 2 US dollars (their currency).

Today HJ was keen to visit the Weekly Saturday market at Otavalo, 90 km from Quito as it is said to be one of the very best in South America. Following our less than favourable experience in the Cloud Forest, we decided not to spend $122 per person on a private tour.  Instead we took a taxi to the bus terminal for $8, spent $2 each on the 2 hour bus ride, $9 for lunch and then the same fares back.  Excellent value and no one told HJ that she sounded like a German!  The market was smaller than anticipated and surprisingly very quite, but at least it made browsing easy.  Again, we were very lucky with the weather which remained sunny despite massive thunderstorms last night.  The local ladies were all decked out in their best clothes with elaborately embroidered white blouses, black skirts and strings of golden beads around their neck, often topped off with seemed liked  folded piece of material on their head.

RM thought this headdress might go with his new suit!