We were in good spirits as we headed into Ecuador; the border crossing had been easy, and our next destination, the small city of Otavalo, was only a few hours away. We were also pleased with the realization that we were getting close to the equator. 
Otavalo had been heartily recommended as a stopping point, owing largely to its undisputed charm and its famous market, which is huge on Saturdays. The city has a large indigenous population, and traditional dress is very prevalent. The men wear long, single pigtails, calf-length white pants, rope sandals, ponchos and dark felt hats. The women wear beautifully embroidered blouses, long black skirts and shawls and either interesting folded head clothes or small fedoras. Fortunately, we rolled into Otavalo early enough to enable us to get a good look at the city in the afternoon and evening. We checked into the Hotel Riviera-Sucre, and once again our motos were welcomed into the lobby. On following morning we went to explore the market. While we were there on a weekday, and thus missed the famous Saturday market, it was still a worthwhile experience. We were especially pleased to discover the sweetest variety of bananas, bananas rojas (red).
Of course I had to include a picture of two Danes in black sweaters
We departed Otavalo in late morning and headed to our next destination, Quito, the second largest city in Ecuador. However, our first priority was to find the equator, that point where our North-South GPS coordinates would be a line of zeros. We found that point both on the highway and later at the famous sundial where we took several photos of ourselves and our motos at the more “official” equator.
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