One of my favorite things about Cotacachi is simply how the town feels. Quaint. CLEAN. Safe. In many ways it reminds me of what people describe as small-town America in the 1950’s. Walking down the street you’re almost guaranteed to know someone. People stop to talk in the squares. Kids (and grandpas) weave through town on bikes or walk to the store on their own. There’s a sense of community here that feels increasingly rare in many parts of the world.

The rhythm of daily life comes from the people who work the streets and small businesses.

Every morning Maria — known by nearly everyone as “the strawberry lady” — parks her wheelbarrow at the town’s main intersection selling the most beautiful strawberries you’ve ever seen. At night she hands over the spot to Profe, who operates a tiny rolling hamburger stand. For $1.50 you can get a hamburger and a soda served in a little plastic bag, because that’s just how sodas are often sold here. If you’re still hungry afterward, there’s usually a gentleman nearby selling fresh churros from a doorway.

Most businesses here are family businesses because that’s how people survive. The tiny one-room shop you stop into for bread or batteries is usually run by the owner, their sister, grandmother, or their 10-year-old child — who can somehow do complicated math in their head faster than I can with a calculator.

And speaking of shopping, we don’t really have “supermarkets” the way many people imagine them. We have a few stores with maybe five aisles of food, but if you need ingredients for a full meal you should expect to make several stops. Meat from one place. Produce from another. Bread from a neighborhood bakery. Cleaning supplies somewhere else entirely. Shopping here is less of a task and more of a scavenger hunt.

The celebrations here are also unlike anything many foreigners have experienced.

Baptisms are enormous community events. Giant tents appear overnight. Music blasts through the neighborhood. People dance for hours. Huge amounts of food are prepared. Hervido flows freely — a warm drink made with local sugar cane liquor called puro. Puro is clear, extremely strong, costs about $2.50 a liter, and is famously flammable. If you buy some, don’t forget to bring your own bottle.

Traditional weddings can last for three days. And one of my favorite traditions is the gifts people bring to help support the newlyweds or family celebrating. Instead of fancy registry items, guests often arrive carrying practical gifts: giant bags of rice, potatoes, cases of beer, crates of soda, fruit baskets, or other food staples piled high to help the family get started.

Life here can be loud, unpredictable, inconvenient, funny, and incredibly communal all at once.

And those little “small town Ecuador things” are exactly what make it so special.