Greetings, this is Arielle and Gavin!

We woke up around seven thirty and began the day with the delicious breakfast prepared for us by Pati which consisted of homemade granola, fruit salad, fresh bread and a special orange-colored tomato juice.
After cleaning up breakfast, we started to make our way to Otavalo, a city famous for its large open-air market. The ride was a little nauseating, but the excitement overshadowed the discomfort!

Once in Otavalo, we broke into smaller groups with a meeting point and time to meet up, as well as a few tips on bartering with the vendors. The smaller groups were all offered a series of quests to complete by lunchtime. Some of these quests entailed: taking a picture with a roasted pig, buying an avocado, or buying something for our hosts and leaders with 5 dollars. This monetary restriction encouraged us to barter and to step out of our comfort zones. We then broke off into groups, and explored what the city and market had to offer.

At 12:15, we regrouped and decided after a majority vote to have lunch at a Sicilian pizza place. The wait for the pizza was lengthy, and while good, it did not match up to American standards, and even less Sicilian standards! At this particular restaurant, however, we were given the opportunity to connect to wifi (and thus the world) for a few minutes. We then had some more time for exploring and impulse-buying.

Later in the afternoon, the group was assigned with the task to help Pati make a corn dish called ¨humitas¨. Although we have not had dinner yet, we await dinner with excitement to try this traditional meal.
Although tiring, today was a day to remember!