Hello From Otalvalo: You Want a Blanket With That?

Greetings from Otalvalo, where the following are numbered among the many tourist attractions:

Extreme Sports, Sidewalk Edition : The walkways of Otalvalo are among the most perilous I have encountered so far, and I am including Calle Bolivar in Cuenca, which is a highly populated and heavily trafficked street which is CURRENTLY under full cement-truck construction. Random metal stakes jut out at odd intervals, no longer in use for connecting cables to poles. Huge gaping holes await the unweary, and dog crap is absolutely everywhere.

Sinfonia de Basura: Every night, the garbage trucks make their rounds, announcing their presence with tinny, ice-cream-truck music.

Let's Make a Deal: Otalvalo is best known as home to the largest indigenous market in South America, largely due to the presence of many talented weavers and artisans. Haggling is an art form here, as every Saturday brings hundreds of tourists to entice and exploit with blankets, weavings, and such. Since this is my fifth trip to Otalvalo, I've long sense made my peace with the bartering of the market, but this trip, I've noticed that even the restaurant folks are getting in on the act. When the waiter sees my plain water and attempts to raise it to a passionfruit smoothie, the charm begins to wear off a wee bit.

Fortunately, I'm not just in Otalvalo to poke fun at it. We are using this pretty little town as a home base for our work in Ibarra. Today was the first of a two day training and informational exchange: we met with dozens of early intervention workers and a handful of teachers and therapists. Tomorrow, parents and families will be joining us, and we will be making materials together to serve children with and without special needs.

It has been and continues to be satisfying work, and as we wrap things up for this year's Project, I am intensely grateful to play a part in it. Although the good salespeople of Otalvalo do remind me that, if I were to play 20 parts instead of just the one, I would most likely get more colors and a discount.