What Is Your Town Known For?

Here in Equador all of the little towns are know for their speciality.  Makes sense because if they didn't have a reason to be here they wouldn't.  No big factories or employment oppertunities so they are a town based on their abilities.  Otavalo is known as the textile town.  Yesterday we went to Cotocochi which is the leather town.  We started out the day with a recheck at the doctor, Sherrys doing fine.  Charie came with us and then we went to breakfast.  Our usual coffie place is closed on Monday so we tried another place.  They had the Americano breakfast; eggs, bacon, juice, coffee and some wonderful warm bread with butter and jam.  Also on the menu was Pappa Hash Browns, so we ordered that also.  Here they bring you everything at once.  You don't get your coffee or juice until the meal is ready. The hash browns came out first.  It was like a huge potato pancake served with a salad. The eggs came on a small plate with the bacon on top.  Juice here is abundant and you don't go many places that it just comes with your meal.  It is ALWAYS fresh made and the flavor is nothing like what we think fruit should taste like in the States. Sherry and I don't even like papaya, but here we love it.
We decided to go to leather town so we hailed a cab to the bus terminal.  It was about a 15-20 minute ride.  We had heard from some of the friends that there was a shop owned by a brother who sold leather goods for our ministry.  We walked halfway through the town to get to the place only to be greeted by a closed door (siesta time).  Trecked back into the busy part of town and went to a really nice restaurant that Charie recomended and we had banana splits.

The ice cream is so delicious but haven't figured what they make it from. I know it's not cream or milk because I don't deal well with dairy and this causes me no pain.

We walked back toward the brother's shop and we met up with a man who was carrying his little son.  He said to us "I speak English" We asked where he learned and he said "himself". Turns out he is a guide and takes people to various villages where the indiginous people live. He was going to his house so when we got there he took us into his yard where his passion for orchards was clearly seen in all of his various plants. 

It was so interesting talking with Luis and turns out his mother is a Witness.  As we continued our walk we were a little startled by a bunch of goats coming around the corner.  They were followed by a cow and her calf. Then a bull.  Then a young boy.  Gotta love this place.