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Published: February 17th 2011
Baños to Puyo
This cable car took me from my cycle route down towards twin waterfalls en route to Puyo from Baños...a welcome respite from my cycling!Sorry folks, I'd gone awol again though this time not due to illness, rather that my current abode is a farmhouse 3000m up in the Andes Mountains and internet connection is slightly limited!
I began a two month voluntary programme on an organic farm last Friday which is going really well. As well as developing green fingers (digging flower beds, feeding chickens, milking cows) I'm also getting the chance to teach English in the local high school (average class size of 40!) and doing a bit in the local village primary school as well. It has been great getting right in amongst the locals and it is certainly a slower pace of life than the hustle and bustle of Quito!
Before arriving at the Hacienda Picalqui, I managed to squeeze in a trip to the Spa town of Baños around 3 hours south of Quito. The town, and its surrounding areas, are reknowned for their picturesque waterfalls and adventure activities. On my first day there I hired a mountains bike for the day and headed for the town of Puyo which is the gateway to the Amazon rainforest. The route (which I was assured was mostly downhill) was littered
Baños to Puyo
The waterfalls in all their glory...the spray was incredible! I got as close as possible but had to turn back for fear of damaging my camera! with beauty spots and amazing waterfalls. The "Pailon del Diablo" waterfall was the most powerful force of nature I have ever seen!! You could walk, climb, then crawl up to a vantage point which took you underneath the waterfall to experience its full force...needless to say I got a free shower into the bargain! The 25km to Pailon del Diablo was, for the most part, downhill riding and hence...fun. My curiosity however took me further...the subsequent 20km were much tougher. I would say it was probably 50/50 as far as uphill downhill, the problem being the downhill parts took around 20 seconds, the uphill parts slightly longer!
Day two I spent white water rafting. My only previous flirtation with this sport was on a stag do last year in Aviemore. Well the river in Baños renders Aviemore's equivalent a mere brook in comparison. One word...exhilerating! Thankfully I managed to stay in the boat for the duration and clear of the piranha infested waters!
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Pete
non-member comment
cycling, climbing, rafting... danger!
Ay-oop lad, glad to hear you're dicing with death over there on a daily basis! Hope you had a great birthday in the midst of all this as well, your most exotic one so far. How's the temp over there? I see you're sporting the classic shorts and sandals, a far cry from my trip this week when it never got above -18, bloody Ruskies. Any photos of the Pailon del Diablo? It sounds amazing. Glad to hear you're already set up with a volunteer placement and (predictably) meeting and befriending plenty of people. Keep the blog posts coming! All the best bud, Pete ps Careful with those salsa lessons you're inevitably going to end up taking - you'll probably want to get those glass ankles of yours strapped up...