A pig squeals, confused cows are loaded into pickup trucks, guinea pigs are bought for tonight's dinner, chicks and ducks chirp from crowded crates, a man yells unintelligible Spanish into a loud speaker... these are just some of the sites and sounds of the Otavalo animal market.Every Saturday the small city of Otavalo, surrounded by indigenous villages and beautiful mountains, holds a massive market. Blocks upon blocks of clothes, foods, crafts - anything that can be sold - fill the town center. Tourists come in for the weekend and, along with the locals, haggle over prices with the myriad vendors. You can buy anything from deodorant to Alpaca blankets - of all the markets we've seen it surely takes the cake for size and diversity.
Or, if you want, you can buy a pig... or a cow... or a duck, or a chicken, a kitten, a goat, a puppy, or a guinea pig (the local specialty for the family dinner!). One of the highlights of 7 months travelling is most definitely witnessing the Otavalo animal market. From 5am until about 8am, a giant field is crammed with local farmers buying and selling their livestock and all sorts of creatures. It's a chaotic scene to say the least, the sounds of the animals chattering as well as locals vocally advertising combined with the smells of the livestock and the row of food vendors is complete sensory overload. Sprinkle in a few gringos with cameras and you can begin to get a picture. Make sure to check out our awesome pictures!You have to see it to believe it, but since most of you can't, we did what we could to provide the next best thing. Check out the video below and make sure to watch and listen closely!
Guinea Pig? $5.
Kitten? $2.
Pig? $75.
Puppy? $28.
Chicken? $2.50.
Otavalo animal market in Ecuador? Ridiculous.
5 comments:
and this happens every saturday! i'm picturing all of them arriving their, arranging and setting up all their animals!
I watched the video twice... I did it once with my eyes closed just to take in all the sounds... It was quite an eye opener to see how things are in a totally different part of the world... You can add that experience to all the other great experiences you've had on this trip... Take Care!!! DAD
The pictures are great once again and video is good. Do you still enjoy the food there in Ecuador? Noticed you were on the move again and down near the coast. Are you going to the language school there in that town.? Uncle Steve came down for overnight and your folks came over and had dinner with us and visited a while. Aunt Joyce didn't come because she was trying to get her allerges calmed down from their trip to South Dakota. Be careful, stay safe and healthy. Love Grandpa n Grandma C
The market is amazing. It makes you think about the enormous lifestyle difference from the U.S. with our houses, big cars and nasty political adds. It makes me want to raise pigs. Janet
As an animal lover I am horrified!
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