Blogs from Baños, Centre, Ecuador, South America - page 31

This morning we were up relatively early for all of us bar Kasia to go canyoning. Canyoning is basically a way of getting from the top of a river to the bottom in an extreme fashion, so much abseiling, zip lining and unnecessary jumping ensued. With one slight problem. I have no sense of balance as some of you well know. So on the first abseiling bit, I slipped and fell after about 2 steps. I managed to get back up, before slipping and falling to the side, too close to the edge and a 30 foot drop for my liking. I lay there for a bit, crapping my pants whilst the guide shouted obsceneties at me in Spanish and told me to put my hands on the rope. My hands were on the rope, but ... read more

HI all. Didn´t realise it had been quite so long since last blog but guess time flies when you´re having fun!! Plus considerable amounts of dodgy internet connections get a bit wearing after a while! Following on from the fantastic Copan Ruians we headed across Honduras to the Carribean coast to spend a couple of blissful days soaking up the sunshine on Roatan island. With a hotel in a fantastic location right on the beach, pool overlooking the sea it was a fantastic place to recharge the batteries, although was not especially restful due to the plethora of activites offered. Snorkelling with dolphins (playing catch with them and sea gras was especially entertaining!) was absolutely fascinating, as was having the opportunity to get a couple of introductory dives in amidst the surrounding reef. Sadly due to ... read more

So after my recent conversion to Vegohood, I found myself in a Govindas restaurant in Quito where a giant poster advertised a yoga eco lodge, featuring photos of bare chested young men drumming under waterfalls and requesting volunteers. Vrndivan is a planet you can go with a REALLY good KARMA ticket and there is Krsna God living with his Gopis (woman) and its all very beautiful and no one dies. Its also the name of the community that I arrive in a few days later which is between mountains and jungle. After arriving I am asked if I´m a vegetarian by everyone I meet and having the extent and length of my vegetarianism investigated. My friend Ariel has been vego since the age of 13 so they are ready to initiate her right there and then, ... read more

Hola everyone! Sorry it has been a while since my last entry, all of the other students from a different program have had huge papers to write so computers have been taken all week. But this will be a fun entry now! On Friday morning my host mom, Gladys, took Sarah, Nicole and I down to the trolly and rode with us to the bus station. Then, she went with us to buy tickets to Baños and thank goodness she was there because she asked so many questions that we would have never even thought to ask. ´She kept asking, are you positive that this bus goes directly to Baños? No extra stops? We want a direct bus!´ Then she went and got a policeman to confirm that the bus went directly to Baños and got ... read more

Hej allesammen Endnu en gang tak for tilbagemeldingerne. Det er hyggeligt at laese. Opholdet i Ecuador lakker mod enden, og i den forgangne uge har vi vaeret i Baños (udtales til boernenes store fornoejelse banjos). Byen ligger i 1800 meters hoejde mellem Andesbjergene og en stor og aktiv vulkan ved navn Tuagurunha. Vulkanen kunne ses taet paa byen, og ind imellem gav den nogle gevaldige puf af stoev, der roeg langt op i luften og efterlod et fint lag stoev naeste morgen. Miljoeingenioeren vurderede, at maengderne af stoev skulle maales i kg. pr. kubikmeter, og det er meget. Der var dog ingen lavaudslip for tiden, saa det skulle vaere sikkert nok. Byen har et par termiske bade, hvor vi tilbragte en del tid med at bade i det 30 grader varme vand, og hvis det blev ... read more