Last year I read an unforgettable article in the April edition of NG Traveler about the Ecuadorian Highlands. Ecuador was always on my list, and I had a geographical coincidence scheduled for October, that suddenly made it a possibility.
Six of us traveled north from the capital of Quito, to the highlands of Otavalo-and I mean highlands
as in 9000 feet above sea level. This where all those gorgeous ecuadorian roses come from that sell for $4 a bud here and $4 a dozen there.
http://traveler.nationalgeographic.com/2009/04/ecuador-photography
There we settled in to a 400 year old hacienda surrounded by volcanoes and which happened to be a frequent nightstop for Simon Bolivar. The generous old rooms looked out onto gardens and had fireplaces that were lit nightly with fragrant wood, while we enjoyed great meals and Chilean wines in the whitewashed dining room. Pre dinner cocktails were in an old stable tack room, and a traditional indigenous flute band made us feel a million miles from home. The famous Otavalo Market was incredibly authentic and colorful, full of roosters, spices, alpaca wools, leather and nearly all the vendors were in various traditional clothing. We explored this area for two days with a great guide and private van, before taking a 30 min flight to sea level.Pretty much straight down! This is a country to return to.
