We arrived in the late afternoon at Cotacachi, on the last day of the Flower Festival, towards its end. Since we were too tired to go explore the city but too excited to sleep, we decided to have dinner downstairs in the hosteria's restaurant and then go for a short walk. The locals we spoke with were very friendly. Their Spanish accent was a bit different than what we were accustomed with, but we managed to communicate.
Sunset on the road leading to El Batan Colony in Cotacachi
We walked on the cobble stones and noted that the streets were empty. Only a few people were on the streets. Couple of hours earlier they were filled with people, excitement and music. Now it was all deserted. It felt as if we were having a stroll in Naples during siesta time.
Before we knew it we reached the outskirts of the city and saw the cobblestone road turn into a dusty one. Later on we discovered we had entered the El Baton colony, a neighbourhood where the Quechua indigenous people lived. They seemed a bit more reluctant to talk to us, but then later on, I was told also that most of them speak only their language: Quechua. The golden hour made the landscape look even more beautiful. The sunset in the Andes was breath taking! As for the clouds and the views on the two volcanos Imbabura and Cotacachi, I was sold! I loved seeing the landscape change so fast as the clouds and the wind played with the mountains. Although the sun was still up, the temperature was dropping and the wind felt colder. Fearing that we might catch a cold, we headed towards the hosteria. Cotacachi is located at an elevation of 2,418 metres (7,933 ft); no surprise it was chilly outside! On the way back, we took another road and discovered a gated community with houses build from adobe, but at an American standard. One of the following days we met an old American retired couple and thanks to them, we ended up visiting this community. Before seeing these gorgeous houses I was under the impression that it wasn't such a great idea to have a house built from adobe. Two visits there and I would have moved in right away. At that point only half of the homes were sold. It turned out that the constructor was building a similar project in Cuenca as well. Cotacachi is also known as the "leather town" as there are many leather craftsmen living in there. There were more than 50 artisanal shops selling leather goods for some prices that would make you laugh. Probably a quarter or less than what you would be paying back home. As for the quality and design of their goods, I was blown away! While we were in town, we also visited the Santa Fe Ranch and had a great time in there. It's an amazing place to have lunch or dinner. A bit pricy but it's an unique experience. Why I loved Cotacachi? Because it was very clean, probably one of the cleanest places I have visited in the whole country. This is how the street looked like after the fiesta! I think we have to learn a lot from these people who managed to host a crowd in the order of thousands and still have their streets so clean! In one of few days we stayed in Cotacachi we also visited an eco-friendly farm ran by a Japanese woman who married a local. An incredible woman who dared to leave everything behind and move across the world to build a sustainable farm. She and her husband were building their house by themselves, using adobe and straw bale. The photo below was taken inside of their house which was still under construction at the time. Here are other travel related posts: HIKING IN MONT-ROYAL PARK, MONTREAL ZUMMER FUN BUS RIDE IN CONSTANTA, ROMANIA THE STONEHENGE OF ROMANIA: SARMIZEGETUSA REGIA ECUADOR SERIES - DUE DILIGENCE TRIP LAURENTIANS MOUNTAINS: COTTAGE TRIP AT LAKE CACHÉE OTTAWA LIGHTS SHOW ON PARLIAMENT BUILDINGS HIKING AT DANUBE’S GORGES, ORSOVA, ROMANIA DECEBALUS CARVED STATUE, ROMANIA PIRATES TREASURE PLAYGROUND, CONSTANTA, ROMANIA DOLPHINARIUM 2, CONSTANTA, ROMANIA DOLPHINARIUM 1, CONSTANTA, ROMANIA GONDOLA RIDE IN MAMAIA RESORT, ROMANIA BEACH DAY IN CONSTANTA, ROMANIA BUBBLES - INDOOR PLAYGROUND IN CONSTANTA, ROMANIA VISITING DAMARLI ESTATE IN BOQUETE, PANAMA BAHIA DE PAQUERA, NICOYA GULF, COSTA RICA EXPLORING AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS MACKINAC BRIDGE, MICHIGAN, USA CHASED BY TORNADOS IN MINNESOTA MINNEHAHA FALLS REGIONAL PARK, A GEM IN BETWEEN THE TWIN CITIES BANFF, A RESORT TOWN INSIDE THE BANFF NATIONAL PARK, ALBERTA, CANADA OLD PORT OF CONSTANTA, ROMANIA TEN FACTS OR MORE ABOUT BOQUETE, PANAMA
Road paved by the community El Batan without the help of the local authorities
Inca Sun - sunset bathing the fields of El Batan
View over the fields and the Imbabura volcano
Santa Fe Ranch lobby
Street in Cotacachi
View over the farm from the main bedroom
View of the lunch area on her farm
Adobe house interior
You sure caught some great light in these photos. And the cleanliness of the city is very impressive. I am in SE Asia now but Ecuador was on the top of my list to move to when I made my decision of where to come. I'm still in some fb groups for there because it is still on my list for future. I see people complain about litter sometimes in posts. Next time I see a trash post, I have this one bookmarked to send in into the fray :)
Ecuador, although is a small country is incredibly diverse, you won't find to places that are the same. It's one of my favourite countries ;0) Thanks for stopping by!
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You have no idea of how much I loved these photos. The colors are so warm, gentil and suttle!
I am really glad to hear you enjoyed them! Thanks!
Thank you for taking me on a quick journey. Those are good photos and a good little story.
You're welcome! ;-)
wow, such a beautiful landscape, and the light! I really catch the feeling of walking in the deserted peaceful place!
It was strange and beautiful feeling to walk on those empty dusty roads!
Your photos are magical. Really.
Thank you!
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Dear really interesting photos and post...The way you have written your post is very very amazing because Your writing style and the picture you have used and the information you have shared are so much interesting that I have compelled to read your whole post....
Glad to hear it kept you captivated till the end. ;-)
Loved that sunset and must have been cool to see the volcanoes when you were staying there! Are they active? Did you "have a closer look"? :)
Cotacachi and Imbabura are dormant volcanoes. I did not have a closer look though I would have loved it. There are other active ones in the Volcanos Valley, in the middle of the country. Those are amazing!
Ah awesome, volcanoes are scary hikes sometimes but well worth the adventure... as long as they don't erupt when you're nearby of course :D
The photos are perfect !
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Wow those photos are incredibly awesome!
🎉👏👏👏 😁
Thanks! I appreciate you stopping by ;-)
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Hello that is a beautiful post with some stunni g photos i really like the very first one in black and white and the photo of the bikes with flowers:)
B&W photos have their own charm. I could not help myself from slipping one in here ;-)
Great post, interesting and nice place, thank you for sharing!
Thank you for your visit and support!
Thanks for sharing your travel experiences! My favorite photos are Adobe house interior, white house in the light and the photo where there are trees bent in the wind...
Those adobe houses fascinated me! They made everything look warmer inside. ;-)
I don't even know where to begin :) First of all I'm happy I could see such a wonderful and unique place thanks to you! It's amazing how small communities can be so united. That shows how they left the place clean after a fiesta like that. It's also lovely to see those newly built houses, totally different from the local environment.
Visiting the whole country was an unique experience. Usually indigenous community do not see much help from the local authorities and they have to rely on each other. That road was done without a having a dollar spent by the authorities. They have collected the rocks and by rotation all the men worked on it.
Unbelievable? Knowing this comes the question, what do authorities exactly do? What's their role? Anyway, it must be nice to be part of a community like that.
Like most of the indigenous communities in South America, these people are very poor and they can only rely on each other. The authorities usually allow corporations to steal their lands.
That's really sad! I hope things are going to change soon.
@lymepoet Charming to participate in a flower festival. The flowers transmit a lot of peace and joy. The golden sunset is beautiful. How beautiful bicycles completely decorated with flowers. How cozy and tender the house they were building with adobe and straw bales. All the shots are spectacular. I liked your trip. A big greeting.
Thank you for the read, comment and support! Adobe and straw bale do make a house much warmer, cozier as you said. Cooler in the day and warmer in the night as the walls retain the heat accumulated from the sun during the day. Have a wonderful day!
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I totally agree with that part when you said that we have to learn a lot from Cotacachi regarding to how clean the city is. And it's sad that other places can be so clean and ours can not, or better said - some of us really don't want to.
Now talking about Cotacachi, I find it really interesting that it's situated between two volcanos and I'm wondering curiously how it appeared? It was there from the beginning or after the volcanos stopped their activity?
Anyway, it's a great place for sure and I would love to check it by myself one day too. :)
The city is nested in a valley between the Cotacachi and Imbabura volcanos. The last eruptions must have been thousands of years ago. You would love it in there, I have no doubt. You'd love the entire country because it is so diverse and beautiful. ;-)
Cotacachi seems like a really interesting place to visit, I personally have never heard of that place. Well, the gems always seem to be hidden, what a great experience you had exploring that place.
Love your photos, especially that of the sunset, it is just fascinating!!
Before planning my trip to Ecuador and looking more into the areas I wanted to explore, I did not know about it either. Actually it was not on my itinerary. I was supposed to stay in Ottavalo, a bigger city but since I could not find accommodation in there, I ended up in Cotacachi. A hidden gem, indeed!
Some amazing discoveries aren't always planned, the somehow happen by accident; A beautiful accident! Even though things didn't go as planned you ended up discovering a gem, and that sure is worth it!
Each country has a few hidden gems or even more. I was lucky to have ended up in there. Now I know that everything happens for a reason. I wouldn't have seen this place if there was accommodation available in Ottavalo where I was supposes to stay.
Yeah, for sure! Everything happens for a reason, sometimes, we just have to let things unfold so we can discover those reasons. Ottavalo is a big city, hopefully, you will get to explore that soon... Maybe on your next visit to Ecuador?
I have not heard of Cotacachi until now, although I have heard of Santa Fe. Thank you for bringing us to Cotacachi @lymepoet. Interesting that the houses were built with adobe. They don't look like that at all. I would have moved in too! :D
Seriously? Wow, they are clean! A normal-after-fiesta street would have been covered with trash.
I love your photos. It looks like a very calm and peaceful place to live in. Would you move there if given the chance?
You knew about the Sante Fe Ranch in Cotacachi or about the Santa Fe in New Mexico, USA?
As for the clean streets, I found it astonishing that after having over two thousands people attending the fiesta, the streets looked spotless. I would move there for couple of years. The climate is a bit colder for my bones but I would give it a try though. ;-)
Ah that would be Santa Fe in New Mexico, USA. There are restaurants here that serves something they named as Santa Fe Quesadillas which are totally yummers. Probably refers to Santa Fe in New Mexico too.
The clean streets, I found it unbelievable too. How can it be that spotless after a fiesta? It does show the kind of people who lives there. Disciplined and clean and care about their city very much :)
Oh ya, it will be kinda chilly to live there but it will be a nice, cooling experience :)
Wishing you a good weekend there @lymepoet :)
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Quesadillas are generally yummy. I can imagine those from Santa Fe must be even more delicious. Have a wonderful weekend!
Oo ya, food from the origin must be, slurp slurp. Thank you @lymepoet :)
Wonderful Cotacachi photo story, @lymepoet.
Thanks for stopping by!
Hey @lymepoet thank you for sharing your wonderful photo gallery of Cotacachi. I have never been and actually never heard about that place but looking at your amazing capture of that beautiful areas, in contest with sunset, evening sky and clouds, where the sun trying to come through that tell me you have a soul of artists. I love those bicycles on street, decorated with beautiful fresh flowers. Again looks like everything inviting tourists to visit that place. The house that you capture looks astonishing, and it is a real contrast to hay in a little barn.
Love your collection,
Cheers, from art-supporting blog @art-venture
I am an artist, as you have already guessed. I paint with acrylics and once in a way I share my works in here. Lately I have been sharing my son's paintings ;-)
The photos were wonderful and special. Like the others, I have not heard of Cotacachi. From your photos, it seems is a beautiful and peaceful place. I love the sunset photos you took. The angle of the light shine the whole city. I was attracted by the stones road. It was amazed how the local paved the stones road. Wonder it took them how long to complete it. How was the food in Cotacachi? Have you tried any special or interesting food there?
Thanks for writing this post, I believe its gonna help out a lot of people that would love to travel there. Wow from all the article you posted, you've been travel to a lot of places @lymepoet
I can't remember how long it took them to finish the road,how many months. As for the food, it was delicious.I loved their soups which had a thick broth with lots of vegetables, meat and corn. And yucca, off course!
@lymepoet,
Great article ... no pictures at the moment. I shall return!
Quill
Glad to hear you enjoyed it!
awesome the spectacular photos @lymepoet one of the things that I liked about Gocatachi was the cleanliness and how they treat you there are foreigners up to Japanese that good if it would be very good to spend a vacation in gocatachi first time I heard this beautiful town was hidden until that you published it @lymepoet and that it is a neighboring country a greeting @neymath10 of Venezuela
Thanks to the leather artisans in town, this small city saw more and more tourists from various countries. A big part of them were from South America and then from Europe.
When we talk about building adobe houses, we're talking about a millenary practice. Here in Venezuela still some natives make their houses with this material. It is understandable knowing that in cold temperatures, the walls of an adobe structure absorb and radiate heat throughout the house when the sun illuminates them, and in summer, the temperature of the house remains comfortable.
Beautiful photographs of a beautiful place.
Greetings.
A millenary practice which enables one to build a self sustainable house. I have seen them built in colder climates and they were great!
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