Ecuadorian market days

December 15 and 16

No rest for the curious, I suppose. Up early once again to head south of Quito on a day trip to the town of Saquisili to take in its weekly market. Ecuador has many weekly markets but the one in Saquisili is supposed to be the “most authentic” of the Andean (indigenous) markets. We hired a guide in Quito (Enrique) to make it easier to navigate our way both to the town and around its 7 separate market areas.

The first market section we visited was for buying and selling animals – pigs, llamas, goats, sheep, and cattle. The animal market starts about 5 AM and as we didn’t arrive until 11 we missed most of the true chaos.

Enrique led us through the maze of streets and squares and through concentrations of potato sellers, fruit and vegetable sellers, and flower sellers. Other areas sold prepared food including roasted guinea pigs (which we declined) and the usual array of live fowl. The artisan section was small, a true indication that this market saw few tourists.

Throughout the whole market men and women were dressed in the traditional styles and colours of their indigenous communities, with unmistakable variations in the skirts, blouses, knee socks, shawls, ponchos, hats and pants. We found the people to be quite shy and always looked away when I smiled. Everyone was incredibly short. (Brodie would tower over most of the population.) There were many young women, looking no older than 16, with babies strapped to their backs.

On our way back to Quito we stopped for lunch at the Hacienda La Cienega. The main house was built in the early 1700’s. It offered quite an insight into the elegance and richness of Spanish colonial life – grand gardens, stables and a private chapel. It is still an operating ranch. The whole region is dominated by the volcano Cotopaxi but only the lower slopes were visible.

The next day we again headed out again with Enrique to the north. A 2.5 hour drive brought us to the town of Otavalo, the site of Ecuador’s most famous indigenous market. The area was obviously far more prosperous than Saquisili with better agricultural lands and more tourism. The market was great - full of colour and more very short people. It began to pour but we did our best to be good tourist shoppers under the plastic tarps.

Photos from the markets...

Ecuador markets