Ecuador – Highlands – Travelogue 2
The highland crops are far from the oldest. However, because of their geographical location in the Andean highlands and their good accessibility, they are the best known and most visited. Many of these communities share their habitat with other Ecuadorian cultures. Despite all external influences, they hold on to their cultural traditions and traditions in clothing, language and festivals.
Only 100 km north of Quito you will find the Indian Market of Otavalo, a must for every visitor to Ecuador. This market offers beautiful hand-woven textiles, tapestries, bags, dresses and other products of the majority Native American population. These products are also manufactured and delivered from the surrounding villages of Peguche, Illuman, Imbaya, Natabuela and San Pablo. In the plateaus, washing day becomes a family event. Several generations more or less help with the washing work on the river. A typical village scene in the highlands of Ecuador. The children, with their school bags on their backs, are on their way home. They often have to travel for hours to the next larger city.
The picture below in the middle shows a main train station in a small village in the highlands of Ecuador. The scenery looks staged, the station and the rails as if they have been abandoned for years……… on request, we are told that the train comes once a week. The highlands of the Andes are impressive in every way. A magnificent landscape opens up to us. The people do their part. These people are very proud and have not lost their cultural identity.
In the remote villages, the families still slaughter themselves several times a year. This happens, as all life does here, on the open road. On our drive through the highlands, we are often at or above the cloud line. Many paths are not paved and you can never plan concretely in advance how many kilometers you can cover. It is therefore important not to look for accommodation too late.
