Muddy Brook in Ecuador: Getting from Cuenca to Otavalo

Too bad, clouds covered most of the volcanoes and the only one that was clear was on the other side of the plane. Less than an hour to Quito...

I was up to here with buses by now and the bus to Quito is only about $10, but its 10 hours or 8 if you go at night (and miss the Avenue of Volcanoes). The alternative was a flight (1 hr for $42). Then you have to get a bus to Otavalo, which usually leaves from Quito. But the taxi from the airport to Quito is $26 in the wrong direction and that bus is only $2. I grab a taxi and ask to go to Pifo, which is about 15 min from the airport and I understand there to be buses to Otavalo. My sources are vague... The driver wants $10 to go to Pifo and he is not too positive about the bus connection I am referring to. About 5 min into the trip he says he can drop me at the first traffic circle and all buses go by there. He still wants $10 for getting me out of the airport...what a racket. The airport is brand new and is lacking the infrastructure to make it work well. Needs a high speed rail system or something. In the photo below, you can see the bridge they are still building to connect the city with the new airport. Right now you still have to drive to the bottom of that gully, over a rinky-dink bridge and back up the other side.

So here I am at the side of the road with all my possessions and trucks and buses enveloping me in clouds of diesel, and I have no clue which bus to flag down unless it says Otavalo, but none do. I have a map, but I am not sure what road I am standing on. I ask some questions of some road workers and get conflicting answers.

After studying the situation a while, it seems I am looking for a bus to Cayambe, and may need to change buses there. After about a half hour the Cayambe bus appears and for $1.25 I am off and running.

The terrain is pretty along the way, especially after changing buses in Cayambe. Cayambe is one of the large volcanoes. Often hiding in the clouds.

Aproaching Otavalo, we pass San Pablo del Lago (hey, a lake!) at the foot of Imbabura Volcano

In Otavalo, Hostal Riviera-Sucre is a short seven blocks from the bis terminal. It has a delightful atrium and sunny outside eating area. It os owned by Belgians, and the local family running it could not have been nicer. Rooms are brightly painted...doors use old-fashioned church-key locks.