Northward bound we go through the mountains towards Otavalo; a bustling town home to a large indigenous population, noticeable by their traditional garb of wool hats, golden necklaces, intricately embroidered blouses and long black skirts. To charge up for the ride ahead we will stop to try a local delicacy of biscotti with cheese and caramel--a real sweet way to begin our adventure! Our ride takes us over the hills and through dirt-patched paths and roads used to connect the farms of local families, passing pastures of quinoa and other grains that are the way of life of the people in the region. Our final stop takes us to the colorful and captivating Otavalo Market. The largest indigenous market in Ecuador, let the aisles of locally crafted fabrics, sweaters, carvings, and jewelry inspire you to take a piece of Ecuador home with you in your heart and in your suitcase.

After a tasty breakfast, we go on the Panamerican Highway for few minutes towards San Pablo Lake. Here we will have a safety talk from our guide and then start paddling across this magical lake with views of the local towns and the ever-impressive Imbabura. For the local people this is a sacred volcano, so they respect it very much and have some interesting legends your guide will share with you, the San Pablo lake is also very important for the surrounding communities as they depend on its water to irrigate their farms, their main crops in the area are: corn, quinoa and straw berries. After our paddling adventure, we will have some delicious lunch and then go visit one of workshops where they make tapestries and all kinds of handicrafts.

This morning we will head to the Cotacachi Cayapas Ecological reserve, our challenge will be the 8 mile trek around the Cuicocha crater lake, along the trail we will view colorful orchids, Andean flowers and curios lizards, with some luck we might view the majestic Andean condor, the largest flying bird of the Andes. From the highest part of the trail, we will be able to see the whole crater and the two lava domes that where created from its last eruption. In the afternoon, we will go back to Quito.