Back to Quito, again

The very day after my birthday i left San Augustin and headed for south, i must have been looking fairly rough as the driver got me some water and aspirin at our first stop! This first bus journey (and definatley the bumpest) was 7 hours until i had to change buses and continue for another 6 on proper made roads in a real coach (ooh the luxury). I spent that evening in Pasto, just north of the columbian/ecuadorian border- arrived late and then left early so i didn't see any of the town. Back on a small bus to the border, i was the only gringo on the bus and so my fellow passengers said they would help me and make it clear where i needed to go, we got off that minibus and were boarding a second to the nearest ecuadorian town where i realised i needed to find the immigration office. They pointed me in the right direction and i went inside and joined the queue, i waited almost an hour before reaching the front and being informed by he helpful guard that i needed an exit stamp from Columbia before i could enter Ecuador- it seems i had crossed the border and not realised. So of i went in search of columbian immigration on the other side of the bridge, it wasn't a huge problem except that the queue on the other side was twice as big! Once i had officially entered Ecuador i set of for Otavalo where i would send that night, only 4 hours by bus (nothing at all).
Saturday morning is market day in Otavalo and i got up very early (5.30am) to go and see the animal market, where pigs, sheep, goats and chickens were all been traded live and, once the deals had been done, carried away on the backs of their current owners wrapped in blankets. The noises and smells were more than enough for me first thing in the morning, so i retreated to the relative safety of the produce market only to be confronted by an entire cooked pig carcas being carved in front of me. I moved on to the fruit and veg section quickly. I returned to the hostal about 9ish to have breakfast and meet up with my shopping partner (Anna, a swiss girl i'd met the day before). Luckily Anna was as enthusiastic as me when it came to spending money and had a very good morning before we both took the bus back to Quito, on which she showed me how to weave bracelets from coloured string. This has now replaced my knitting as my bus pass time (i never got more than 2 lines into the hat anyway and i've nearly done half a bracelet already).
Quito is just as i left it, except it seems to have stopped raining. I've spent the morning doing all the tourist things i never got round to when i lived here and this evening i'll catch up with some of my friends that are still here. Tomorrow is back to epic bus journeying, woo hoo.