More Highlands

This morning we woke and met our guide Gustavo and headed to north towards Otavalo. He took us to the mitad del mundo on the way. We also went to several smaller towns, each with its own specialty. There was the biscuit town, where they make biscuits, the leather town, and the weaving town. I of course don’t remember the names of any of these towns, but each town surrounded one particular trade. In the late afternoon, through all the rain again, we arrived at the Hacienda Pinsaqui. What a place! Gustavo managed to get us room #1, which was where Simon Bolivar himself had stayed in the 1800s. The room was gorgeous and huge with a fireplace and sitting area. The grounds were all perfectly manicured, and each room was decorated just right. The hotel hosted everyone with a welcome drink and entertainment. Afterwards, we had dinner and spent the rest of the evening glued to the TV in one of the sitting rooms with a couple from California. We watched election coverage until after 1 am, staying up until after Obama had give his acceptance speech. What an incredible place to watch such an historic election!