Weaving

Since Ecuador has so many volcanoes, it has some that are relatively dormant, including the one near Otovelo which has a crater lake in it. Like many dormant volcanoes it has two peaks (islands) in the middle. However, this volcano is not entirely dormant, as it has bubbles coming up through the lake, so when you take a boat out to the edge of the islands, you can see the bubbles coming up through the very deep clear water after the boat stops. There are also trails of foam as you go along, that must be other bubbles.

After seeing the crater lake we went to a town that specialises in leather. Next was another town and a shop that makes South American musical instruments. 

Down the street from the music shop was a place that weaves traditional patterns from the people who live in this area. They originally come from Central America (centuries ago), so much of their weaving is similar to Navajo and other weaving from that area. I was very interested to see the work they do, and as I have done some of it myself, we had a reasonably long conversation about the various types that they do. Ginny, who went with me said that they were obviously interested and amazed that a foreigner had so much knowledge about their work. Unfortunately there are only three families who now do this work.