Strawberry Pie

I love pie. I remember the first time I ate blueberry pie. It was delicious. I should learn to make pie when I return.

You may not know this, but Ecuador is a country famous for pie.

Another thing Ecuador is famous for is Otavalo, the artisanal market that I wrote extensively about the last time I went. Since I've already been there and blogged about it, I'll keep it brief.

You can buy a bunch of handicrafts made in a factory or by hand if that's what you're into. Bartering is half the fun. I bought my cool hat here last time. You can also find some weirder things like this. 

What does it mean? Is it Luigi's time to shine? Cookie Monster is a long lost Mario brother?

Despite the beautiful weather and creepy Mario hats, I was feeling pretty down until I stumbled across this local artist's work with my friend Bryngus. 

Unlike a lot of the vendors there, this guy was actually the creator of his wares. Really beautiful. Makes me want to start drawing or painting again. I think if there's anything I've learned this past semester  I should drop everything to sell pictures of lizards in flea markets.

It was after seeing the bird paintings that we found the pie shop and ate delicious pie. What a successful trip. Birds and pie. What else is there in life? (Lizards). I'll end by saying that even the parking lots in this country are scenic.

PS: Watch this video: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2013/01/125-yasuni-national-park/behind-the-scenes-video (I went to this place!)

I'm gonna have to break my promise about how there would be no more monkeys on this blog. There are a few in that video; viewer discretion advised. Despite these boring and stinky mammals, it's still worth watching.