Scott's alarm broke the silence and our deep sleep. Otavalo was thankfully free of Quito's night scene so we all had an excellent night's sleep. We rushed out of the hotel determined to take advantage of our time in Ecuador. After all, we'll have plenty of rest time in the hut on Cayambe over the next few days.

We arrived at the market, but it was deserted. A few venders were just arriving and setting up. At first we looked about in amazement, either the largest craft market in Latin America isn't all that or my map reading skills were off. We found a cafe to sit down in and have a cup of coffee. Watching a few more venders trickle in we learned that the market didn't really get going until 7:30 or 8.

We walked about talking to the few venders who had arrived including one man who had a whole photo album showing his loam and the process of weaving his wall hangings. Another lady was hanging hammocks from one of the trees for display.

We made our way back to the hotel and joined everyone else for breakfast then made our way back to the market. This time it was a much more lively place. Tables were filled with pottery, paintings, wool hats and gloves. Booths were setup showcasing panama hats, tapestries, hammocks, and t-shirts. Ignoring pushy vendors, watching a lady sell coffee out of a bucket she dragged around the market, and bartering with the crafts people was surprisingly enjoyable. Some of the items on sale were very odd, such as the guitar made from an armadillo's shell.

After our shopping spree we once again loaded ourselves into the Land Cruiser for the drive up to the hut on Cayambe. Finally, we were going to get into the mountains. But, first we stopped in the town of Cayambe and walked through the local food market for last minute perishables. I found a whole bag of the spicy red peppers for only 25 cents. Charles bought a bunch of short, sweet bananas. Steve and Scott told me about the isle I missed of all the meats for sale that nearly turned them vegetarian.

Leaving town we began to climb through the farmlands on an increasingly rough road. Travis had hooked his MP3 player into the car's stereo, which blasted out house dance beats. The contrast between the club music inside and the farm scenery outside grew increasingly surreal.

Cayambe was covered in clouds the afternoon clouds when we arrived at the hut at 14,600 feet. We had the place to ourselves however, and spread our gear out over the bunks. I was feeling pretty good for just having come up 4000 feet, so Scott and I played hacky-sack in the hut with participation from Steve and Charles.

A Spanish couple arrived, already acclimated from attempting other Ecuadorian volcanoes and planned to go for the summit tonight.