A number of years ago, I had an amusing experience at the fried chicken place in town. The worker didn't know any English and I forgot the Spanish words for wings and breasts. But I pointed to what I wanted. She confirmed my order by flapping her arms and then putting her hands on her breasts.

Woman with firewood in the Cotacachi commune of Turuku. I took this photo a number of years ago. In rural areas, there are still many families that cook with firewood. You will never hear rural women complain about the loads they carry.

Ecuador occasionally gets tornadoes, though it's a relatively rare phenomenon. Twelve years ago, Cotacachi came close to having a tornado. I remember standing at a window, looking outside, when I saw a funnel forming in a cloud. But fortunately, it never touched the ground and eventually dissipated.

In many bakeries and grocery stores, a sweet bread known as Rosca de Reyes is being sold. It has candied fruits, figs, chocolate, dulce de leche and nuts. January 6 is Epiphany or Three Kings Day when, according to tradition, the Magi visited and brought gifts to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

First Supermoon of the year. Very bright in the sky over Cotacachi.

List courtesy of author Stacey Gustafson

Ritual cleansing and purification is a tradition in indigenous communities. These rituals often take place in the highland moors at pogyos (small natural spring waters) which are designed to catch the good energy of the water and land. The pogyos are considered sacred sites.

Backstrap weaving is a technique that is slowly dying. But there are still Ecuadorians who do it. José Manuel Fuerez is a very talented weaver in the Otavalo area. He is helping to keep the backstrap weaving tradition alive. José is a former student of the legendary weaver Miguel Andrango.

Angochagua is a rural parish in Imbabura Province. It is southeast of Ibarra and not far from Zuleta which is famous for its embroidery. The whole area is known for embroidery and has been designated the "Ruta de los Bordados." The inhabitants try to maintain their ancestral traditions.

You never know who will answer when you knock on a door in Cotacachi.

There are indigenous people who do modeling. It's interesting how their philosophy differs from that in other cultures. "We do not seek to compete. Our identity as indigenous people is not merchandise. It is a living culture that we seek to maintain.

Oilbirds (tayos) are nocturnal birds that live in caves in northern areas of South America. The Amazon is not the only place where you can find oilbirds. There is also a Cueva de los Tayos in the Intag region of Imbabura Province. Oilbirds produce this high-pitched sound that could wake the dead.

The various faces of Mama Cotacachi, as seen from different viewpoints. The first is at sunrise, as seen from town several years ago. The second photo shows the mountain on the drive between Cuicocha and Intag. The third photo shows Mama Cotacachi as seen near Cotacachi-Cayapas National Park.

18th Century illustration of Cotacachi. The town was founded in 1544 by Friar Pedro de la Peña. He was a Dominican priest who later became a Bishop of Quito. So what does Cotacachi mean? According to some, it's a reference to the town's once-thriving salt market.

It's estimated there are 10,000 merchants and musicians from the Otavalo area working overseas. They are considered the cultural ambassadors of Ecuador. Many people around the world get their first exposure to Ecuadorian culture through them.

Some of my neighbors in Cotacachi. My wife and I adopted the orange-colored cat in the middle when he was older.

The Yumbos were an ancient people in Ecuador. The Danza de los Yumbos is an ancestral dance of pre-Spanish origin. Try picking up a cup of chicha this way! Only a few villages in the Cotacachi area still perform this dance: Cumbas Conde and San Nicolás.

Mahatma Gandhi once said, "The true India is to be found not in its few cities, but in its seven hundred thousand villages." Ecuador is a little like that. Around Cotacachi and Otavalo, there are dozens of villages and communes where many of the indigenous live.

When I first came to Ecuador, I was surprised to find that artichokes grew so well in the Andes. I had always thought they needed a lower elevation. But they do quite well at close to 8,000 feet above sea level.

Photos of Taita Imbabura at sunrise, taken over the years.

It used to be a common sight in Cotacachi to see people traveling around town with goats. You could get goat's milk delivered right to your doorstep.

An indigenous wedding I once went to in Cotacachi. The wedding was like many Christian weddings, including the throwing of rice at the newlyweds as they left the church. Many indigenous people are Christians. Kichwa weddings often have a washing ceremony the next day.

On November 2, Ecuadorians will observe Día de los Difuntos, known as Día de los Muertos in other countries. It's when people visit the cemeteries and pay their respects to deceased loved ones. Sharing drinks and food, cleaning the graves, praying and singing are some of the traditions .

On the mountains of Otavalo, the Condor Park Foundation opens its doors to the research, rescue, preservation and reintroduction into the wild of birds of prey, owls and the famous Andean condor, which live in special habitats for their optimal recovery and growth. The place is called Parque Condor.

Mama Cotacachi is the tallest mountain in Imbabura Province at 16,250 feet above sea level. It's more than a thousand feet taller than Taita Imbabura. It's not the easier mountain to climb. Five years ago, two mountain guides were killed in a rockslide. www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVEd...

It measures about 8 centimeters, is epiphytic (that is, it grows on other plants) and has flowers in shades of yellow and pale green: it is Telipogon villonacoensis, a species recently described by scientists. The first specimen of the orchid was discovered in Loja in 2023.

The Union of Campesino and Indigenous Organizations of Cotacachi (UNORCAC) led a peaceful march through the streets of Cotacachi. This mobilization took place, despite the fact that the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) declared the end of the national mobilizations.

The only known specimen of the Phyllophaga sumacoensis beetle, a species new to science, was discovered at an altitude of 1,750 meters in Sumaco Napo-Galeras National Park, Napo province. Scientists used a light trap to attract the individual. www.eluniverso.com/noticias/inf...

Midwives are still very much a part of Ecuador's culture, especially in rural areas. In Imbabura Province, some midwives will demonstrate how they deliver babies, using a volunteer and a baby doll. In rural Kichwa communities, the expectant mother gives birth while squatting.

A group of scientists described a new species of orchid found in the Río Manduriacu reserve, located in the Toisán mountain range, Imbabura Province. This is Porroglossum hildea, identified only in two locations in the reserve and with an estimated area of ​​just 4 km².

Today is National Flag Day in Ecuador. Students throughout the country swear allegiance to the flag and vow to defend the Tricolor in all emergencies. During a ceremony, students hold the flag while kneeling, making an oath to the banner (Juramento a la Bandera).

An Ecuadorian is a world champion. Juleisy Angulo won the gold medal in the women's javelin throw at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo. The 24-year-old El Oro-born athlete threw the javelin 65.12 meters, improving on the national record she had set in the qualifying round. ¡Felicidades!

Jorge Perugachy is one of Ecuador's best-known artists. He has both a national and international reputation. Perugachy was born in Otavalo and studied art in both the US and Ecuador. Perugachy paints landscapes, portraits, still lifes, but focuses on the human figure, especially that of women

Parcheesi game at Plaza de Ponchos in Otavalo. This is what the vendors did when things were slow. They often played for money. They used homemade boards, sometimes made from the top of a barrel.

Chochos are a popular snack food in Ecuador. They are rich in protein, healthy fats and fiber. Cevichochos (Ceviche de chochos) is sold by street vendors in many cities and towns. Chochos are known to some foreigners as lupini beans. The purple-colored plant is cultivated in the Andes.

My one dollar lunch in Cotacachi: Papas con berro (potatoes with watercress). Very filling. A study by a New Jersey university concluded that watercress is the healthiest food in the world due to its components that could also act in the prevention of cancer.

In many indigenous communities in Imbabura, plowing is done the ancestral way, with a wooden plow and bulls or oxen. This is the time of the year when the plowing and sowing take place, in accordance with the lunar calendar. There is a celebration called Tarpuy Raymi, the Fiesta of Sowing.

In the town of Ilumán, it is common to meet renowned healers known as yachaks which means wise or knowledgeable. They are people who have acquired special knowledge that allows them to heal illness, diagnose diseases, provide advice and even be spiritual guides.

Hornado is one of the signature dishes in the Sierra. It's pork, slow-roasted in a wood-burning oven. The entire pig is cooked. There are many places that serve hornado. But the best hornado chef, in my opinion, is in Otavalo at the Mercado 24 de Mayo. Her name is Rosario Tabango.

The members of Humazapas, young people from the Kichwa community of Turucu, just outside Cotacachi, have been working for more than 10 years to make Kichwa ancestral music known. They wanted to prevent the music of their indigenous ancestors from disappearing.

The Fiesta de la Jora parade in Cotacachi

Horsepower, old and new, in Cotacachi

The drive through Cotacachi-Cayapas National Park is something I enjoy. Miles of páramo. Great views of the volcanoes. The park might seem desolate to some. But I enjoy the natural beauty with almost no signs of human activity.

La Bomba is a musical genre originating in the Afro-Ecuadorian communities of the Valle del Chota in Imbabura and Carchi Provinces. The culture, history and ancestral knowledge are among the characteristics. In 2020, La Bomba was declared an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Ecuador.

You might be surprised to learn that acupuncture is an alternative form of medicine practiced by some Kichwa people in Otavalo. They provide their services at the Centro Integral Jambi Huasi. Around nine doctors, all indigenous, and volunteers work there.

This woman in Cotacachi was harvesting alfalfa. Even when you cut it, it grows back. People use alfalfa to feed guinea pigs and other animals.

Parque Bambú is a permaculture farmstay in Imbabura Province. It's owned by a Belgian man named Piet Sabbe. In 1995, he bought 15 hectares of degraded land, depleted of topsoil, on the Western slopes of the Andes. He has been doing ecological restoration, planting hundreds of trees and bamboo.

Night volleyball in Cotacachi. In Ecuador it's called ecuavóley or simply vóley. The net is higher than the one used internationally, and it's played with a soccer ball here. Ecuavóley is one of the most popular sports in Ecuador. No matter where you go in the country, you will see ecuavóley nets.

Miguel Andrango was probably the most famous weaver in Ecuador. He was a true legend among Ecuador's artisans. He lived in the community of Agato near Otavalo. Articles have been written about him in international publications. Andrango passed away several years ago.

Garage door artwork on calle Alfredo Albuja Galindo in Cotacachi. The artwork is no longer there. It was painted over after it began to deteriorate.