The best deal of our whole trip

After staying in Quito for a few days we continued north to Otavalo, Ecuador. I had been patiently awaiting our arrival and this was the one place I wanted to visit in all of South America. Otavalo is a village in the Andes of mostly indigenous people with a population of around 90,000. The Otavalos are known for their handicrafts and travel all over the world to sell their wares. Here in Otavalo is the largest handicraft market in South America. People travel far and near to come this market.The biggest market being on Saturday which spans several blocks with animals(chickens, roosters, cuy, llamas,goats), handicrafts , produce and meat. Because of the  popularity of the market, it is now present every day of the week with the handicrafts. The Otavalos can be recognized by their traditional dress. Woman wear a white,  embroidered blouse with bright colors ,dark skirt and colorful woven belt with black espadrilles and  long braided hair. Men wear white cotton pants, black poncho and long braided ponytail. I am completely fascinated by indigenous clothing. They are so talented in so many crafts and everything they wear is hand made. Whenever I see them with their traditional dress I just stare in awe. Their clothing is so beautiful and detailed with beading or embroidery. Their clothing varies by village and culture and so traveling through South America we've had an opportunity to see the diversity in traditional dress. What amazes me is the fact that their culture remains intact despite living in a progressive world. Here's a link to google images for Otavalo. Unfortunately, I was too busy shopping to remember to take photos. Here are the few I did take.

 

Here's the crocheted bag I bought for $12.00

Tagua necklaces for $3.25

Embroidered bags   $8.00

https://www.google.com/search?q=otavalo+market&hl=en&tbo=u&tbm=isch&source=univ&sa=X&ei=enWiUIigGOXEyQGXr4DYCw&sqi=2&ved=0CDQQsAQ&biw=1725&bih=850



We booked our hotel on booking.com which is our default source before anything else. Hotels are usually 50% off their usual rate. We have actually tried calling the hotels and asking if they could match the rate they have on booking.com and some of them couldn't do it. A couple times we wanted to stay longer at a particular hotel we had been at for a few days and found a lower rate on booking.com, so we just booked it online to guarantee the lower price. We just learned to work the system. The best deal we got was for Hotel Acoma in Otavalo, Ecuador. It had a high rating of  9 out of 10. I usually look at the reviews and price and try to find the best value for our money. If a hotel has a rating between 8-9 and is in our price range , then it's in the running. It's hard to find a budget hotel with a rating higher than 7, so when you do find a higher rating you jump on it. The ratings are based on cleanliness, comfort, location and staff. Hotel Acoma was priced at $17 for a double room , with free breakfast. The usual rate was $40 a night for a double.When we arrived the owner and her daughters came out to greet us at the curb and helped us with our luggage. The hotel was beautifully decorated, spotless and bright and airy. The room was not too small, clean and the bed was comfortable. The best part was the huge bathroom with an extra long bathtub. We were very pleased with a our bargain. After wandering around the hotel, we discovered that some pretty prominent people had stayed at this boutique hotel. There were photos of some famous people who had stayed at Hotel Acoma on the walls including Hugo Chavez! Here are some photos of Hotel Acoma .Unfortunately, I don't have the original booking page to show our $17 deal but at least you can see where we stayed.
http://www.booking.com/hotel/ec/acoma.en-gb.html?sid=cf64b6f7a795db29cb94c24a32e5c6c1;dcid=1;checkin=2012-11-13;checkout=2012-11-14;srfid=6b7ad0d092348563269d586190b523140953dfd5X1