Ecuador - kicks off in Otavalo

We had 7 nights in mainland Ecuador before we flew to the Galápagos Islands.
We split this between the town of Otavalo and the capital Quito.
We first headed first 2 hours to the market town of Otavalo. The drive there is worth mentioning as it was amazing - it was in roads carved or blasted through mountains as we zig zag up, down and through some pretty amazing scenery.
We made a pit stop on route at the actual Equator where we had heaps of fun taking photos, walking the equator line and Rob checked us in on the tracker.
In Otavalo we enjoyed the markets, some great meals out, and a huge walk up the nearby hillside to reach El Lechero (the healing tree) and a Condor Sanctuary. Here Sophia and Olivia were lucky enough to each have a go holding one of the smaller condors in training. Ecuadorian General’s daughter and her American family.