About a two-hour drive north-north-east of Quito is a town of about 40,000 people called Otavalo. On Saturdays, Otavalo markets take up a lot more space than the central plaza. On the edge of the town is an animal market. In the central plaza and the streets that surround it, vendors set up stalls to sell all sorts of things. Otavalo is well known for its textiles.

We’ve been in Quito for a month now and we’ve had the pleasure of communicating with several friends and family members back home during that time. For anyone relying on this blog to know what we are up to, I apologize for my lack of information here. The fact of the matter is that we have been quite comfortable here in Quito. The cost of living seems quite reasonable and the Internet connection is quick and stable. We’ve been able to get a lot of work done and all the rainy days have just given us all the more reason to stay indoors and work.