Sunday, June 20, 2010

Egg diagnosis

On Saturday, my new roomie Pablo was kind enough to let me tag along on his tour of Otavalo, Cotacachi, and Cuicocha Lake. I didn't really partake in any shopping (the main purpose of the tour since Otavalo has the largest artisan market in Ecuador and Cotacachi is famous for its leather goods), but I still had a lovely day!























At a rest stop on the way, this adorable little fella was charging 25 or 50 cents for a photo with his furry friends Juanita and Jonas. I thought it was cute how Jonas the goat kept sticking his tongue out as I pat him, but apparently that was his angry signal!


















Lovely view of San Pablo Lake from the rest stop.




















Pablo and I went to an alternative medicine center in Otavalo to receive a cleansing treatment...


















This indigenous woman rubbed a sweet-smelling liquid onto a raw egg and proceeded to rub the egg all over my body for about 5 minutes. After she cracked the egg open over a pan, she looked at the yolk and noticed a bit of white film in one spot. She said that I had experienced fear and that it was still present in my body. After this diagnosis, she did a cleansing ritual with stones, tapping, rubbing, and pushing on my body while chanting softly under her breath in quichua and making a "shoom" sound as she tapped. It was a unique experience, to be sure!















After Otavalo, we headed to Cotacachi to buy some leather...I didn't end up buying anything...now if only I could apply this self-control to my chocolate consumption. ;) There were some interesting, larger-than-life statues in this town.















We took a boat tour of Cuicocha Lake, a lake formed in the crater of the inactive Cotacachi volcano. Soooooooooooo coooooooooooooold and raaaaaaaaaaaaainy!!!! Saw some cool ducks and some geothermic activity in the form of bubbling waters, too.































On the sleepy drive home, we parted a small red sea of cattle (there were like 10 cows, but I still like the metaphor ;) )

No comments:

Post a Comment