I am into the next hemisphere . . . sort of looks like the last one. And my toilet still flushes in the same direction. . . I checked this morning. 
North
The Saturday market in Otavalo, Ecuador is the largest outdoor craft market in the Andes. I went early to see the animal market which is also huge. People stream in from the surrounding countryside to haggle and sell all manner of beasts. The market is loosely organized by animals grouped in different areas with people standing around. A guinea pig costs $7.50. A young bull (less than one year) costs $170. Your ears are filled with the endless protests of animals, especially squealing pigs. The streets are filled with all manner of crafts and overflow with food.
By mid morning it has already been a long day.
I escaped from the madness of the streets and animal market into the covered municipal food market for a big bowl of soup with pork, mote (corn), potatoes, rice and a beer. A much calmer setting with few tourists - not that there are that many but they tower conspicuously over the Andean throng with their big lenses poking everywhere. Everything costs me $2.25. Food is very reasonable - in preparation for leaving I bought 2 days of dinner vegetables and fruit for $1.25. I had my choice of 15 varieties of potatoes - got the ones with the best flavor (I am told).
After crossing the Ecuadorian border Matt, Dylan, and I agreed to stop in Tulcan. Made for a blessedly short day for me - we needed it after the monster climbing session into Ipiales. Nobody really recommends Tulcan, Ecuador as a tourist destination, I believe Lonely Planet refers to it as a "cold, windswept, gritty, commercial city." Just a border city with a bunch of people going 
about their daily business - surrounded by lots of potatoes. We caught the afternoon World Cup game, Paraguay v. Spain 0:1, at a Chifa (Andean Chinese food) and sampled Ecuador's beer selection. We stayed at a friendly family run hotel by a small plaza and church with a wedding. The city was downy jacket cold but an enjoyable place with people going about their business - plus it has a velodrome and Matt's dad lived there as a child!
Ecuador is immediately different. A kind of bluntness that some use to characterize the Andes. Not to make others sound false but there can be an honesty in advertising like this mural in front of a military installation that is nothing like the "Army of One" or heroics of Colombian military ad campaigns . . .
A soldier is lying in the foreground with a hole in his head and people are getting blown to bits in the background. And alcoholism in Ecuador . . . not a disease or a choice but a defect.
I'll drink to that, after I pop my over the counter diazapan (Valium), and smoke a cheap cigarette. Initially, we enjoyed the escape from the heat into the high mountains but now it is raining and cold. The weather is uncharacteristic for the sesaon but reminds me of the first two months in the United States.
After 40 odd kilometers of rain - through beautiful green country side - we stop at a chifa in San Gabriel. I spent about five minutes ordering and explaining that I did not want ahi no moto (msg) - "yo no quiero ahi no moto" (x8) then "oh! ahi no moto" . . . uh yeah . . . After finishing eating, watching the rain, and trying to discern how many butt cheeks were in the boteroesque statuary in the small plaza - we decided to wander into San Gabriel to find a hospedeja. 
We dropped our stuff at the Residencial Montufour ($3 night) on the main square and we headed out to cruise the Sunday scene in San Gabriel. The town appears to be a small regional center with neatly laid out streets ascending into the surrounding hillsides - perhaps 5,000 people living there.
People are out socializing with a few drunks wobbling about the main plaza but overall streets are quiet. We walked past the church to look up at the enormous San Gabriel Angel rising from the roof. Men are playing a curious game with large wooded paddles covered with small rubber cones and ball about half the size of a soccer ball. Occasionally, an errant ball rolls down the street to the valley below and boys on bikes give chase. In the field adjacent, in front of the gymnasium, is a spirited game of volley ball. 
The rain appears to be tapering so we grab a a few beers and walk across town to climb five blocks of stairs to a lookout. We sip our beer while a group plays guitar and sings nearby, apparently a few beers ahead of us. 
As the clouds clear we catch our first glimpse of a snow covered peak in the distance and are thankful to not be setting up camp despite the clearing.
Upon walking back towards the center and relaxing awhile, Matt mentions that it is the Fourth of July and he noticed a burger place, Krusty Burger (The Simpsons are a popular export). Besides not really wanting to cook in our room we deem burgers the proper way to celebrate Independence Day.
But that is everyday life to which we all owe our existence.
More Observations from Matt Kelly on Vimeo.
"One must climb on a bike and ascend the mountains in order to comprehend the significance of pain and effort." Hector Chiles - Ecuadorian cyclist and damn good climber evidently
Too bad i forgot my track bike! The Velodrome in Tulcan.
The Cyclists of San Gabriel - Within 24 hours I am starting to get the idea that Ecuadorians like bikes!
