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Published: June 21st 2007
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Hi Everyone! We had a very adventurous day in Banos. The rain just wouldn't let up, so we got our hands on some fashionable rain gear. We rented 4-wheelers and set off to a town called Puyo. Near Puyo is the biggest waterfall in the area called Diablo, which is in the Amazon jungle. I can't believe we actually made it back. We had to drive on the road with the rest of the buses and cars. There are 3 tunnels on the way to the waterfall...the first we were supposed to go through and the other 2 we were supposed to go around on a side trail off of the road. I heard that the tunnel could be kinda scary, but I was not prepared for the heart-racing-black-as-night tunnel adventure! The first tunnel we went through was long and had curves and we couldn't see anything except black...it was crazy!
If you've ever driven along a mountain side, you know how scary it can be with the steep cliffs just a few feet away from the car. Imagine being on a 4-wheeler and driving on those cliffs! Not to mention, the Andes Mountains! At one point I looked over
the edge. It took about one second for me to decide that I wouldn't be looking over the edge again while driving. We pulled over a few times to take pictures. It was so beautiful and green with waterfalls all over the mountain sides. I was really in awe.
We were able to go around the 2nd tunnel just fine and actually enjoyed being off of the road for a few minutes. The 3rd tunnel approached and we took the side path. We went a few hundred feet and hit an obstacle. Apparently, a mudslide brought down some debris from the mountain above. Dan made an attempt to go through the mud and rocks and I got a stomach work-out from laughing so hard. Mud was flying everywhere! Luckily, we had rented big boots because he sunk up to his calves in mud. He was litterally covered from head to toe in mud. Luckily, there was a waterfall nearby to rinse off in. He got unstuck after a few minutes and we realized we had to go through the tunnel that we were supposed to go around. I was pushing on the gas lever as hard as I could
to get through that tunnel!
We eventually made it to the waterfall after the amazing ride there. We hiked down into the jungle and ended up at a HUGE waterfall and it was beautiful! We had to cross a shaky bridge that had a 5 person limit to get to the side where we could see the falls the best. It was definitely worth the trek.
We started our return journey and were looking forward to getting back to a hot shower. We were about half way there and my 4-wheeler sounded kinda funny. The next thing I knew I wasn´t going forward anymore and my engine started to get really hot. Dan said it was the clutch and we knew we were screwed. Dan said before we even left that we needed to get 2 4-wheelers in case one broke down. We were not at the ideal spot to be broken down...right on a curve around the mountain so we had to move it to the other side of the road. During the whole process, Dan´s 4-wheeler decided it didn´t want to start at all. After a few minutes, Dan worked his magic and got it started!
tunnel
one of the tunnels we drove through on the 4x4´s We drove back both on his 4-wheeler and left the other one there. We told the people that it broke down and they didn´t seem surprised.
We woke up in the morning to a rooster and the sound of rain. Ugh. There's so much to do in this town and it was pouring again! Finally, in the afternoon, the sun came out. We were so happy! We attempted the hike up, which goes up and around a mountain. With the sun blazing we made our way to the trail to find a mini waterfall flowing down the trail we were supposed to walk up. We went up anyway and made it about 200 yards before we decided we had to turn around. We made this decision when we saw some local kids turn around.
It was just a big trail of deep mud and water running down. It was beautiful while it lasted. We then began walking to a "cable car" ride about an hour walk out of town. We were walking for quite some time and asked a local how far away it was. He showed us on the map and recommended that we try to catch a
bus. We got lucky and a taxi drove by and he picked us up. He took us to a bridge to show us the river. It was a raging flow of rapid dark brown water. It was very wild! Our driver then took us to where the cable car ride is and showed us that it wasn't possible to ride. There was a crazy waterfall just below it and a landslide so they had to shut it down. He took us to a few other sights and Dan got to take some good photos.
Although we would have preferred to have had sunshine the whole time, we had a good time and got to see some cool stuff. Tonight we are going to the natural hot springs that are heated from the volcano.
Take care.
Peace,
Nikki & Dan
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Jackie
non-member comment
outstanding
Love the rain gear!!!