Otovalo, Ecuador to Redding, CA

The next morning we woke from our slumber with a slight headache of the abundant South American wine flowing from our finale dinner. We boarded the busses and headed into Otovalo. The first stop was a livestock auction. When I was younger, my parents had an office at the Shasta Livestock Auction, so I essentially grew up around the livestock auction culture. Basically this wasn’t my first rodeo. When we arrived I was awestruck by the loosely organized chaos that was termed an auction.

Animals of al shapes and sizes were moo-ing, clucking and snorting. The alpacas stood their ground off to the side and held their heads high, obviously the nobility of Ecuadorian animal agriculture. The pigs were rooting around for the coolest spot they could find, as the sun was already starting to get high in the sky. Large crates of chickens and chicks were tended to by various locals. The cattle were the most abundant animals around- the Holsteins there were very skinny and in poor flesh. The oh so famous cuy were often found in large burlap sacks, people pulling them out one by one and examining them. I walked around with my camera dangling from my chest, finger on the shutter snapping photos in an inconspicuous fashion- I wanted to give these people respect with their culture and not be a slob tourist (pretty tough being light skinned with a camera around my neck!).

After the fascinating walk through the auction, we took our lives in our own hands and crossed the road towards the central market area. Otovalo is famous for hosting the largest Saturday market in South America. We first took a walk through some of the produce stalls, looking at the variety of products. The colors were vibrant, the food looked fresh and healthy. The meat department was filled with the usual roasted pigs and piles of chicken feet. Touring the meat department is always a personal highlight.

The textile market was next on the agenda. This market held anything imaginable, colors as bright as you could imagine and all sorts of crafts and clothing. We walked around, haggled over a variety of goods I wanted to take home. I was enjoying the bartering process, ah, the free market at work.

Our small group retreated to a coffee shop along the edge of the market and I enjoyed some espresso. Eventually our class converged at the designated meeting spot and we meandered back to the busses. Back at the hotel, we had a quick talk by one of our Campus Coordinators- Dr. Thomas (animal science professor at Fresno State). In the typical Dr. Thomas fashion, he covered the potential to transmit animal diseases from the livestock auction. He especially talked to Joyce and I (Joyce is a poultry farmer in Riverside County) because we spend a lot of time around animals. Heck, I have cattle in my front yard, so he explained the best quarantine procedures for me and my clothing. I sanitized my shoes with bleach and took a long shower, scrubbing every square inch I could to prevent the introduction of some nasty Ecuadorian endemic animal disease to our livestock. It’s going to be hard to not get out on the ranch as soon as I get home- I’ll take my quarantine more as hibernation in my bed!

We had a ‘Synthesis’ session at the hotel, which consisted of discussing the various aspects of our trip. We talked of the extremes we witnessed, the arid deserts of the Peruvian coast to the Amazon rainforest. Discussions rambled from oil exploitation to agricultural systems. Before we knew it, the time had come to board the bus and start the lengthy trip back home, bus to Quito, flight to Lima and then on to Los Angeles.

Once we arrived in Quito we knew we were in for a long trip home. The LAN Airlines are based out of Santiago, Chile, which had just suffered a 8.8 quake. Their computer system was down and they had to hand-write our boarding passes. It was a nightmare. When we arrived in Lima, we discovered our flight was cancelled. Miraculously, we wound up on another flight (all 23 of us!) and were headed home, although delayed. We witnessed many class mates at near break down mode- but luckily nobody completely snapped. Landed at LAX, I had to hustle through customs and barely made my flight to Redding.

I'm back, Shasta County!!!