Go the day before market day and stay over
by BE001903
We took the bus to Otavalo the day before market day, so the bus was very quiet and so was the market, which gave us time to buy the stuff we wanted (at lower prices than on market day). The actual market day the whole town gets tranformed into a market and as we stayed the night we were at the market before most of the other tourists arrived. This gives you the opportunity to check out how the locals spend their morning at the market getting their breakfast. We left for Quito with the bus at around 11:30 so again the bus was rather empty and comfortable.
Local people
by filipdebont
The local people are called Otavalenos.
In contrast with low social position of most Indians, this group is economical and social very appreciated.
Because of this appreciation, they managed to get some special advantages.
Like when they need to go to the military service, they could keep their pony tail, while others needed to have their hair cut very, very short.
To me they were very friendly. No doubt, it is an advantage if you speak some Spanish, like this it is much easier to get some contact with the locals. The friendly local people
Local Dress Code
by filipdebont
Also visiting a local market is kind of ideal to observe how the locals dress up.
And the advantage of visiting such a market is that this is not a tourist attraction point. What I mean is that the locals do not dress up especially because of the few tourists which are visiting the market. No, here you can see how the dress up daily.
It was very typical to see the ladies with such hat over here.
THE MARKET
by RACCOON1
If you arrive at the market at 6:30 am you will notice that there is an absence of men at the stalls. Most of the men arrive at the market at 4:00 am to bring in the livestock and then sell the livestock .
Then they go on a drinking bing . By noon you can see them passed out on the sides of the roads .
Plaza de Ponchos
by malianrob
This is a great place to get your souveniers and if you get there early you might be able to get an even lower price. Here you will find leather goods, llama skin tapestries, pillow covers, blankets, wood carvings, wool sweaters and alot of local food. It does get very crowded on Saturdays which is the main shopping day but you can go any day during the week and you can find many of the crafts that are sold on the Friday and Saturday market.
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Lunch lull
Ruminahui
In the Workshop
King Vulture, just one of the birds you can see
