La Laguna de San Pablo, Torora Sisa and Flowers
Hola
We have been busy! We went to a reed basket market called Totora Sisa. Where I found several baskets, placemats, Christmas mobile and angel. The reeds come from La Laguna de San Pablo which is an ecosystem that includes species such as herons, ducks, some amphibians and many aquatic plants. It is also found at the foot of Imbabura volcano, from which water flows and is discharged by the waterfall Peguche which I wrote about in an earlier blog. La Laguna de San Pablo (lake) is one of 28 lakes in Imbabura Province.
The local communities make handicrafts from the reeds such as carry out mats that are synonymous with floor mats or carpets that the Ecuadorians use in their houses. The reeds are dyed different colors and then woven into different patterns by the artisans. We are planning to go back in a few weeks to pick up a reed mat for the patio and the house.
Next, we went to the beautiful restaurant, marina and cabanas located on La Laguna de San Pablo. The dining was open air and we sat directly on the lake and enjoyed a delicious meal with our friend Linda and our taxi driver John. The view was unbelievable and it reminded me of Hawaii with all the flowers, coy fish and grass hut like buildings.
This is what Bill and I had for lunch! Enough to share.
Best of all they make a Chocolate Liquor that tastes just like a milk shake which is packaged in a beautiful blue bottle. The liquor is made in San Pablo from an old German recipe. Of course, I had to buy a bottle and now I am back into collecting pretty bottles.
We also visited a landscaping center and found some of the plants we were looking for which included the Ecuador type Lantana. This Lantana grows very tall and has vicious thorns. The plants we bought were very small. We got 150 to line all the outside walls. Once these plants grow they will also serve as security for anyone thinking about climbing over the walls. Luckily, the gardener will plant these!
I also found a pretty blue morning glory vine that I had been looking for and had not been able to find. Turns out the Ecuadorians consider this a weed! So the lady at the garden center thought I was nuts but pulled up the weed and gave it to me.
In addition, we found real pots made out of pottery and not plastic as well as some hanging baskets. All the plants were delivered to our home for $5.
Yesterday, we went with our friends to a little restaurant called Cherie’s for brunch and Bloody Mary’s and Huevos Rancheros.Turns out the Bloody Mary was made out of beet, carrot, celery, horseradish, vodka and who knows what else. They were ok especially after the first one but not what I was expecting. I prefer the ones made at the Monkey Bar with real tomato juice or even the one we make here with Clamato. We had a great Mexican breakfast and wow our friends are so interesting. Each person here has their own story and we are learning so much.
The Otavalo mall and shops are all decked out for Christmas.
Today we are going Otavalo to Computer World for a wireless card for Bill’s computer and to check into Direct TV.
Hugs ~ Family and Friends
