From Panama
To Bolivia
Many borders, many wonders
OTAVALO. 0°14’ 3” NORTH .78° 15’ 39” WEST
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Traditional costumes
We are in Otavalo, few ours far from the border between Colombia and Ecuador. We are amazed by the colorful distinctive clothing of Ecuadorians, that varies from region to region, as we have been told. There are around twenty ethnic groups, with very different cultures and traditions living in the country. Typical woman’s dress for the city of Otavalo consists of a long dark skirt fastened with a belt, and an embroidered white blouse with lacy sleeves. The gold bead necklaces symbolizes woman's importance in the local community (more beads = higher status), while the red bracelets are believed to protect from bad spirits.
OTAVALO. 0°14’ 3” NORTH .78° 15’ 39” WEST
Having lunch
We turn the corner and let our noses bring us to a meat paradise. I find myself in front of a lady offering me a piece of roasted pork. I have never tasted it in my life, because I don’t like the idea of eating a pig. But this time I just couldn’t resist. I don’t know if I was influenced by the particular atmosphere of the food market, but I have to say, that it was delicious.
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FROM INSTAGRAM
OTAVALO. 0°14’ 3” NORTH .78° 15’ 39” WEST
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7MILAMIGLIALONTANO
@7MILAMIGLIA - 7h
#7MML exploring the #Otavalo #FoodMarket. It's an art-piece in terms of colors.
Otavalo fruit & vegetables market
After the yummy lunch, we got immersed back to the local open-air fruit & vegetables market. It seems like if a bomb of colors exploded here. Pounds and pounds of healthy vitamins hidden in an incredible variety of fresh goods.
OTAVALO. 0°14’ 3” NORTH .78° 15’ 39” WEST
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FROM INSTAGRAM
FROM INSTAGRAM
OTAVALO. 0°14’ 3” NORTH .78° 15’ 39” WEST
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7MILAMIGLIALONTANO
@7MILAMIGLIA - 7h
Farmers from the surrounding villages sell organic fruits and veggies they harvested the same day on their farms. #Otavalo #FruitMarket
7MILAMIGLIALONTANO
@7MILAMIGLIA - 7h
#7MML at the market in #Otava. Locals and tourists alike both bargain for the best price of any items they desire.
OTAVALO. 0°14’ 3” NORTH .78° 15’ 39” WEST
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Shopping fever
Almost one third of the town becomes full of stalls selling everything what you can imagine, from textiles, bijouterie, leather goods, musical instruments, purses, clothing, spices, dry food, raw food… You can see young children often working with their families here. Even if accumulating of stuff is not what we wanted to do, it was too hard to resist, especially for feminine members of the team.
QUITO. 0°10’ 50” SOUTH .78° 28’ 4” WEST
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Fresh lemonade
There is
nothing better than a fresh homemade lemonade or limeade. Generally speaking, fruit
juices are very popular here and Ecuadorian families normally consume different
types of jugos with breakfast basically
every day.
Our advice is to try
at least the most typical ones, such as - Chicha de piña, Colada
de avena or Colada morada. They are all very
particular.
QUITO. 0°10’ 50” SOUTH .78° 28’ 4” WEST
Andrea Gilberti - Photographer
Andrea was born in Brescia in 1977. He started to take photos at a very young age, thanks to his father photographer. His passion for photography was growing until he became professional. He likes to collaborate with artists and artistic institutions. One of his favorite genre is reportage. He is the author of Settemilamiglialontano book titled B-side travel. He took part in some important photo exhibitions such as Matières Sensible, Discontinuità narrative (Milan), Settemilamiglialontano (Brescia)
Valeria Lo Meo - Driver
Valeria comes from the beautiful city of Palermo. She studied International Political Science and she currently lives and works in Verona. In 2006 she decided to turn her passion into a profession and became freelance video director and editor. She is the author of the video for the project 13 Coins, which kept her busy for 6 years when she was traveling around several countries such as Brazil, Philippines, Greenland, Belarus, Mali, Burkina Faso, Malawi, Uganda and Amazon. In 2011 she won the 1st place at the FEP (Federation of European Photographers) Awards for the best photographic reportage book of the previous 3 years. She is also the prizewinner of the Media Stars Award (greatest Italian prize in advertising) for the best direction and editing of 2012.
Alice Cristiano - Journalist
Alice was born in Verona in 1982. She is graduated from law. In 2001 she started to work as press officer for the Integrated University hospital Company. In 2008 she became a collaborator of TV broadcaster Telenuovo. Recently she work as TV & Events presenter in Verona and it’s province, she moderates political discussions and writes her personal blog.
Diana Facile - Journalist
Diana originally comes from the charming city of Puglia, but recently she lives in Lombardy. According to her words, she is a nomad at heart. She loves writing and travelling. She holds BA in European and Extra-European Languages and Literature. She works as interpreter and cultural mediator. She has published some of her novels on the magazine El Ghibli. She won the second prize at the literary competition Fuori al Cassetto. Recently, she publishes travel diaries and articles for the online magazine Il Giornale dei Viaggi.
Alberto Petrò - Photographer
Alberto was born in Brescia in 1980 as well as his team colleague Andrea. He got closer to photography when he was 19 years old. After a period of various experiences abroad (Berlin, Marseille), he turned back to Italy. He has been working as photographer for more than 15 years and he has participated in many national and international photo and artistic exhibitions. Recently he lives in Brescia where he has his photo studio - INLIMBO.
Matteo Rossato - Driver
Born in Padua in 1985, Matteo left his home town in 2008 and started his adventure as a full-time backpacker. A burning desire to learn about new cultures and fuel his passion for photography led him to spend the last six years of his life between Australia, Asia and Central America: surfing and meditation helped him develop a relationship between sea and mind. An old worn-out backpack and a camera as his companions, he travels through continents, countries and cities, rides the wave and lives his adventures deep in touch with the natives and their cultures. And this makes him a real traveller, someone who can come up with a new life in every place and find his own dimension: yesterday as a tour guide discovering Vietnam, today as a cook on a boat sailing the Pacific Ocean and tomorrow as a driver of the 7milamiglialontano expedition.
