Oh Baños!

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11 November: after again not being prepared, I was up early to pack my bag again for a 7am breakfast and and 8am departure back to Tena where we caught our bus to Baños.
After arriving in Baños and checking into the hotel, it was time for lunch and a short walking tour of the town. Being a small touristy town it didn't take long to look around, and after walking it was off to a tour operator to work out some activities to do on the 13th. It was a hard decision with the likes of canyoning, zip lining, whitewater rafting, paragliding, horse riding, bridge swinging and horse riding all options, I settled for level 4 canyoning and bridge swinging. Not much else happened today and after huge burgers for dinner it was bed time.
12 November: Today Diego had organised us a private bus to take us to the Pailon del Diablo, or Devils Cauldron, a waterfall that you can get extremely close to, and even behind that falls around 100 metres. On our way to the waterfall we stopped in at the longest zip line in the area that is 1km long over a river. Most of us took the opportunity to do the zip line, which was pretty fun. After we all had our turn we were of again towards the waterfall. The Pailon deal Diablo was one of the things I really wanted to see in Baños so when we pulled up I was getting a bit excited and we hiked down to the entrance, paid our $1.50 entry and walked down the last little bit to the waterfall. It exceeded my expectations. Was really cool to be able to get so close on the walkway, then crawling through a narrow passage to get even closer and even be able to stand under the edge of the falls were amazing. We walked back up to the top, where we got on the bus for a short trip when we could walk down and look at the falls from the other side. After walking down, viewing the falls again and walking back up it was off to lunch at a nearby restaurant. After this we were off to the Condor Swing, a giant swing where they harness you in you swing out over the edge of the mountain. Another amazing experience I'd do over and over again. From here we stopped at a view point (whose name escapes me) that looks out over the town and has views of the nearby volcano. From here we went back to the hotel where there was the opportunity to relax a little before heading out to dinner. After dinner, some of us took the opportunity to go to one of the local salsatecs. After some beers and some terrible salsa dancing it was back home to squeeze in some sleep before the big day that's planned to follow.
13 November: Today started walking down the street for breakfast where I splashed out and got two croissant's, three biscuits and a juice for $1.65. Went back to the hotel and met the rest of the guys going canyoning and we walked to the meeting place for our canyoning adventure. Joss, Aiden, Sam, Em and I got decked out in our wetsuits and shoes the we were on the bus to a spot around 40 minutes out of town where after a little safety instructions we started our Canyoning experience. After a small walk through the river and a shot lesson on jumping backwards into the waters, we came to what was the reason we chose the level 4 instead of the level 3 which was closer to town and that was a choice between a five, seven or eleven metre jump down a waterfall into a small pool below. We all made our way up to the eleven metre jump. When it came to my turn, they counted me down and when they hit one I started second guessing myself, but forced myself to take the first step and from there there was no turning back and I took my leap of faith, with no idea of the depth of the pool I was jumping into, when I landed I just touched the bottom and it was one of the biggest thrills of my life. The rest of the canyoning consisted of walking through the flowing water and repelling down waterfalls which consisted of jumping and landing flat on you back from various heights into relatively shallow water. One such water fall we repelled down the. It felt like about six metre high, we were told to jump and when standing up after jumping it was into no more than a metre or so of water. The whole experience was such good fun, one I'd do again in a heartbeat. When we finished we walked out past a local trout farm that consisted of probably 10 different pools each filled with thousands of various sized trout. After our included lunch we went back to town, all of us to go on another activity. While the rest all went off horse riding or paragliding, I went Puenting or bridge swinging, something Sam had told me about on my trip to Quilotoa. Diego came to the bridge swing with me to be my video guy on the ground. We walked to the bridge where I was harnessed up and attached to the rope, then climbed over the rail onto a small platform attached to the bridge.Standing some 100 metres above the flowing water below, they counted me down again from three and when the hit one, I again had second thoughts but knew if I didn't go now and stood there and looked at it I would probably back out. So I leant forward and dove head first off the bridge, falling I guess it was 30 metres and the proceeding to swing under the bridge, another heart pounding adrenalin rush like no other. The first words Diego said to me when I had my feet back on the ground was 'I think I missed it.' Not to worry I had my gopro on my head and there was the opportunity to buy a cd with photos and a video on it for $5. After this the last thing I had on my list to do in Baños was a visit to the Casa Del Arbo, a treehouse with a swing that overlooks the Tungurahua Volcano with some spectacular views. My plan was to hire a scooter and ride up but with nowhere offering scooters it was going to be a quad bike, was then told that they wouldn't make it up here so I ended up hiring a small jeep and then I was off up the mountain. I arrived at the Casa Del Arbo I paid my $1 entrance fee and walked up to the treehouse. At this stage the ash could be seen billowing from the top of the volcano, however the summit of the volcano was hidden behind clouds, but they were clearing. So after sitting Round for about 20 minutes, the clouds had all but cleared and there was a great chance for some photos of the mountain with ash billowing from the top. I had a swing, a lot more gentle and relaxing than the previous day's condor swing. Sat around for a while longer and then drove my beast back down the mountain and then back to the hotel for a shower, then out to dinner again and then most of the group went to the salsatecs. Tonight got out of control after we went to a place called the Goodbar where we were treated to happy hour which was two cocktails for five dollars. So after some Mojitos we moved onto the Leprechaun Bar where there is a salsatecs, discotec and an open fire pit all in the one place. We had met up with David as well, from the jungle who had come to Baños for a night out. Tragedy struck not long after getting to the bar, I got my first beer, hadn't even had a mouthful of it when I was bumped from my hand by Tiff (accidentally I think) and I watched almost as if in slow motion my entire beer smash all over the floor. After it was cleaned up I got another beer, took a stronger hold of it and then we floated all night between the different areas of the bar. I think it was about 2.30 came and we headed home where a couple of us sat around for a little bit before all heading to bed. Out like a light I knew tomorrow wasn't going to be the best as we'd spend most of the day on the bus to Cuenca.
14 November: My alarm was set for 7am as we were leaving for Cuenca at 8am after ten minutes in a stone cold shower of cold water and self pity as I felt pretty ordinary from the previous night, it was time to pack the backpack again for the next part of my trip. We loaded the private bus we had upgraded to to we could take advantage of some stops of the way to Cuenca and we were off, leaving Baños behind, as much as I could have spent weeks there. I don't think we were even out of Baños and I was out to it waking up two hours later at the first toilet stop, I got myself a Gatorade, which slowly started to help me feel better. Out to it again I woke at our next stop which was at the oldest church in Ecuador, we had a quick look inside and then a toasted sandwich next door, we were in the bus again to our lunch spot. After lunch and some more sleep we stopped at Ingapirca ruins. We got out and Diego took us on a tour around the site which is the largest inca ruins in Ecuador. We walked around and learned about their traditions and their way of life before we went for a short walk to the Inca face in the rock, which is a natural rock formation in a cliff that looks like a face. When we were back on the bus here Diego asked us about dinner and who would like to try Cuy (guinea pig) for dinner that night, I raised my hand. So we arrived in Cuenca checked into the hotel had a shower and we went down the street to a restaurant that specialised in Cuy. They took us out the back to show us how they were cooked, rotisserie style over an open fire. Between 4 of us we had two guinea pigs, Sam had decided on one to himself and four of us shared the other one. It was a bit in texture like the a chicken leg, but I couldn't pinpoint something it tasted similar to. It's going on the list of things I am happy to say I have tried but will never eat again. It wasn't bad but it wasn't great. Back to the hotel a few people went for drinks for Ludwigs 72nd birthday, but I was still wrecked from the previous night I just went to bed.
15 November: today while the rest of the group are divided amongst a nearby national park and nearby jewellery markets, I have decided to stay in the city, catch up on writing this and just veg out and take it easy, as there is still a long way to go on this journey of mine after having already done so much. Around lunch time I went for a walk just to see what was around found a little place for lunch and then it started raining so I headed back for a nap.Later in the afternoon we went for a bit of a walking tour but being Sunday most things in town were closed. Saw the basilica and some other things like the outside of the Panama hat museum and a street full of street art which was pretty cool. Our last dinner in Ecuador was tonight and was rather enjoyable as it was also our last with Diego. This is where my time in Ecuador ends, a country I probably wouldn't have visited if this tour hadn't begun here, but one I am extremely great fun to have experienced and thoroughly enjoyed travelling around. Tomorrow the bus leaves at 10am taking us to the Peruvian border where we go through leaving Diego and Ecuador behind to start our 26 days in Peru.

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Photos

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Condor Swing

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Baños

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Tungurahua volcano from Casa del Arbol

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Ingapirca ruins

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Inca face in the rock