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Published: February 18th 2012
The Challenge and Back to Baños This has been my biggest challenge to write yet. It's the story of how I fell for a girl amidst a bunch of crazy outdoor activities and I hope this entry is as interesting as it is long, whilst somehow not being too detailed. Some things are just for my memory. Enjoy!
I met Mor in Latacunga before leaving for the Quilotoa Loop trek. After finishing the second days walk, I bumped into her again by chance and left the people I was the following morning to walk with her and her friend, Shay-li. Once the loop was over, we found ourselves standing up on a bus, bouncing our way back to Latacunga.
The terrible journey back took two hours of enduring crippling tiredness after the hike, but finally we arrived back in Latacunga under the cover of heavy rain.
We spent some time in the afternoon hunting for a mythical pizza restaurant unsuccessfully before resorting to Chinese food. The food was damn good compensation for the journey and they were decent enough to break the law to sell us a round of beers (illegal in Ecuador on Sunday's). On returning
to the hostel, Mor and I polished off half a bottle of rum I'd left whilst were in Quilotoa and I found myself gently amused at how quickly she became tipsy. Her excuse was that her and Shay-li had been detoxing, her definition of which amused my further, it meant drinking no spirits, whilst beer was OK. My friends can probably picture me having the same logic.
The girls were heading to Baños and I felt I had unfinished business there, which gave me a good enough excuse to tag along.
In Baños we checked into a four bed dorm at Plants y Blanco, a popular hostel. We spent the evening sharing some rum atop the roof, under the stars and in view of the beautiful waterfalls that rolls into the town. I loved my company and I couldn't have been happier to be back - I love Baños.
Early the following morning we were woken by the noise of our Finnish room mate, who proceeded to fart about with her backpack for a long time having been too inconsiderate to pack the night before. Once the noise finally departed we slept a little more before being
woken again at 6am, by the loud and benign conversations of a group of taxi drivers whose rank was located outside of our window. We drifted in and out of sleep for a while longer, regularly being woken by the noise and eventually being confused by the lack of light in the room. On inspection we realised our window was covered by a metal shutter that we couldn't open and our window could not be opened, explaining the stale smell. We got up and checked out and checked into the far superior (and cheaper) Los Piños Backpackers where there was wi-fi, breakfast included, a bar, a pool table, beautifully decorated rooms and a private bathroom for us.
That afternoon Mor and I rented a two-seater dune buggy and I drove us out of town.
Buggying About Baños I knew Baños well from y previous visit and took Mor on something on something of a highlight reel of the best viewpoints. First we drove towards the zoo, stopping en-route at a bridge crossing a deep canyon. We enjoyed each others company as we navigated our way around the valleys, our conversations were easy and her apprehension
over the standard of my driving amused me nicely, even more so after she took over which resulted in us getting stuck a few times and requiring me to pull the buggy around to set us free.
I enjoyed writing that. I can picture Mor's reaction and her protests before making some form of my revenge threat. Horse head in my bed was something I suggested as suitable punishment after been warned too many times for so many things.
She drove us through several villages, our route being enjoyably exploratory, though Andean roads are not exactly suited to manoeuvring a clunky dune-buggy with little power and we found ourselves struggling to move up numerous steep roads and so we turned around and headed back to town. We switched places once more and I drove back out of town in the opposite direction and towards Puyo.
I stopped our buggy at every viewpoint I knew whilst trying to abide by Mor's many rules of the road, winding her up every once in a while by flicking the steering wheel rapidly left and right to make us shake. We stopped and posed for photos atop the duelling falls close
to town; the photos from the first time seem somewhat irrelevant now.
I knew the route towards Puyo well and I began to smile as an evil plan formed in my head. Mor asked me what I was planning, my smug face wasn't subtle, but of course I said nothing. The nose of the buggy darted off the main road and we started down a side trail, following the line of the cliff high above us. Once we rounded a sharp corner Mor quickly understood my plan. I slowed the buggy to a crawl the second before we started to pass through the waterfall. It fell from the cliff above, directly into the centre of the road and we gasped as the mountainous cold water sprayed us. She definitely wasn't impressed or pleased with me but took it well. It was fun, she was fun.
We visited a few other waterfall viewpoints as we dried out; along the way we attempted to converse with a parrot whose Spanish language skills embarrassingly outshone ours. On the way back to town I was still driving and attempted to take a photo of the pair of us whilst I threatened to
drive us back through the waterfall. I love the resulting photo, despite its blurred nature, I look unintentionally incredibly goofy, whilst she is smiling her beautiful big smile.
It was obvious we were getting closer and I was enjoying ever minute I spent with Mor. I found myself wanting to her kiss every-time our eyes met in the buggy. I didn't make the move though. Why not? Because unfortunately I have always been a coward in this respect. Perhaps I was afraid that she was just a nice person and didn't have any of the same feelings. Maybe I was worried that she did and then what next? Either way I was far too pathetic to make the jump.
An impromptu pillow fight broke out that evening between myself and Mor. She was on the bottom bunk swinging away, whilst I was on the bunk above. We swung away for some time before she won, by stealing my pillows. She did eventually relinquish them kindly, but I broke the unspoken trust by taking another swing and it started all over again. I can't remember the reason why it started, but the pillow fight is a good memory none
the less.
Hot Springs The next day was a quiet one and we did very little until the evening when we left for one of the many hot springs that give Baños it's name.
On arrival at the gates to the spring we discovered that they were in fact closed to be cleaned for the next hour, no problem, we took the opportunity to find some good pizza before returning and joining a queue of people waiting to get in.
We got changed and joined a large number of people in the volcanic hot pool and began our evening in this superb town. The hot tub is located at the base of the mountain that surrounds a large part of the town and even better, it was located right next to the towns large waterfall and the sound of the rolling water made it even more tranquil.
Time passed nicely and a fantastically pleasant evening passed by with only one minor complaint, it was not possible to buy a cold beer to cool down with. A minor complaint, but the evening was a good one.
A Personal Bike Race to Puyo
The following day Mor, Shay-li, Klaus (our German room-mate) and I rented mountain bikes and left town towards Puyo. I had begun this 61km route with my English friends on my first visit to Baños and I was disappointed when the trip ended prematurely when one of the bikes fell apart miserably. I don't like leaving things unfinished and this time was going to be different, I would make it to Puyo.
Shortly after leaving town we stopped upon a bridge parallel to the hydroelectric dam. We enjoyed the structure and took some photos as the bridge lurched up and down with every passing vehicle before moving on. We reached the waterfall that I'd driven Mor underneath a few days before, but despite my best efforts, I failed to divert her underneath this time.
Not long after my failed attempt to soak Mor again, we stopped upon a pair of parallel bridges that were laden with a crowd. Atop the railing of the bridge opposite us stood a young female, strapped in for
puenting, the Spanish term for a bridge jumping. From the railing to the river was around a 40 metres drop and the girl
was terrified.
We watched for several minutes, wondering whether she would finally jump or back out. She was close to tears and several 3-2-1 counts passed whilst she remained on the railing, too scared to jump. Eventually she climbed off, petrified and in tears until her boyfriend came over and reassured her with a few words. Whatever he said worked and she clambered back up and made the jump, screaming as she fell and swinging underneath the bridges.
Once the excitement was over I told Mor I was going to leave our group to carry on the bike ride alone. I wanted to get to Puyo and I had seen the waterfalls they were soon to reach previously. None the less, to go ahead alone wasn't an easy decision, I didn't want to leave Mor. I was so hooked that I didn't want to miss any possible time with her.
I picked up my pace considerably, flying past the spot where my previous attempt had concluded. A steep incline tired me, before releasing a mind-blowing downhill section, sending me racing across Puente San Francisco and into a small village. Here I met a Mexican with a glorious
stereotypical handlebar moustache. He was cycling from Mexico City to Patagonia and his bike was loaded with close to 30kg of gear, but it still felt good as I accelerated up a hill, leaving him in my dust. I stopped only once more, at the side of the road above the canyon which had spread out hugely to welcome the jungle environment that I was entering, I was getting close.
When I saw a sign indicating only 6km to Puyo, I picked up my pace once again, only to be hit by three bad things in a row. First of all a dog jumped out from a garden, chasing and barking after me. I shouted and kicked out, managing to scared it off, but my safety was brief as my bike slipped off the road into a drainage ditch. No biggie, I got back on and began to ascend another steep hill. I was panting hard, but continued on as a large truck overtook me, farting a black cloud of smoke directly into my face as it when, causing me to choke and cough a lung out of my mouth. As I regained my composure the third problem struck,
the clouds burst.
Thanks to the harsh rain I was moving faster than ever and I exploded into town... before it disappeared and another '6km to go' sign appeared. The road was incorrectly marked before. I was exhausted, the fast pace had wrecked me but I kept ploughing forward and made it to Puyo, slamming on my brakes just after the bus terminal. I ate and briefly considered trying to find some friends who worked in the area, but due to my fatigue I jumped on a bus back to Baños instead.
I done just over 40km in two hours and was pleased with my days effort. In fact, my pace was so good, I got back to our room only 20 minutes after the others and we caught up about each others day.
What I'd missed by going ahead alone was fortunately something that there was a video of for me to watch. Mor had jumped off the bridge. The contrast between her jump and that of the girl before was incredible. She climbed atop the railing, spread her arms out coolly and gracefully fell forward, knees unbent and smoothly completing her jump with no sound
or motion of panic. The whole thing was brief and hugely impressive. She later told me how afraid she had been, but somehow kept the fear at bay. I was extremely happy to complete my ride, but at the same time it would have been great to have been there for her jump.
Mor and I spent the evening in the hostel bar playing pool, much in the way as we spent most evenings, draining a couple of beers or a little rum. Time was easy, good humoured and fun. That night when the lights were out for everyone to sleep I hung my hand and arm down low off my bed and our fingers met for a brief time. We were getting very close, but of course nothing had happened and other than my cowardice, I think I was also a little uncertain of if anything could because of her country, different cultures can be confusing sometimes! Another problem was the fact that we were getting close. I was hopelessly addicted to being around her and although forming actual relationships are not the best idea whilst travelling generally, they are less so when your plans are to take
you in different directions. The situation was strange and confusing, but I was none the less happy in my confusion.
Quad Biking Mor and I were a little sluggish on Wednesday, lazing whilst the others were off having adventures. I can''t remember exactly what we we were doing now, we could have been playing pool, solving one of many comical food impulses (e.g. melted chocolate and banana) or simply wandering around town, but by the afternoon we found ourselves standing in town on a crossroads where the vast selection of rental vehicles were laid out to temp tourists. We looked at a Jeep but ruled it out due to cost and we'd taken a buggy previously, leaving us with quad bikes instead. There were two options - we could take two mini quads, or one big one between us. You can probably guess what I wanted and I was smug when Mor said she'd like us to take the bigger 450cc bike, but only after I promised not to kill her. We headed out of town.
I am 26 and for my age I would say that I have experienced and lived more than my
share, but through it all, I have rarely felt as cool as I did that afternoon as I drove our powerful quad bike up the side of a volcano with the arms of a beautiful girl, who I was hopefully smitten with, wrapped around tightly my waist.
We were able to speak a surprising amount, even whilst we were in third gear. Though that was probably due to the fact that I had five gears and Mor wouldn't let me go up to fourth or fifth. She had been sceptical about getting the bike, but I had promised to be extra careful and look after her, not that I ever needed to be told to do this really, though I did enjoy to pull the throttle a little more every once in a while, causing Mor to have to hold on tighter.
We stopped at a viewpoint over the city where we took photos as an idea formed in my head. It was so simple; all I had do do was drive further up the mountain and stop at a quiet beautiful view where surely the adrenaline would finally take over my lack of confidence and I could
make a move and kiss her.
Things didn't exactly go to plan. I drove us back from the viewpoint to the main road and quad promptly died. The gear mechanism had broken along with that hope.
We shifted the bike to a hotel that appeared to exist for swingers and called the tourist agency. We waited, me glumly, until a couple arrived to look at the bike. Nothing could be done, but we did need to get the bike back to town.
Mor jumped in the car whilst I gave the bike a push before jumping on, beginning a free wheel down the mountain, probably reaching a pace faster than I had been allowed to go previously. Once back we made an agreement with the agency that we wouldn't take a refund, instead we would take a different quad bike for the remainder of our rental time in a couple of days time. Obviously I was happy, perhaps I'd get a second chance.
I realise that my endless pandering and hopping about probably makes me sound a little pathetic, but the fact is, I'm not used to these situations anymore, my feelings for her were strong
and despite us seeming to be close, I still believed that nothing would happen. To me Mor is a beautiful and intelligent, free spirited traveller and I couldn't see her feeling the same way about me, and of course, strong feelings don't go fantastically well with travelling when at some point you know you have to go separate ways. Unless you are extremely lucky, it can only end with hurt.
Two good things came out of our lousy quad bike breaking down. The first was the simple fact that we had to take the bike on a different day, guaranteeing more time with Mor. The second thing was that our early return meant that we got back before the others, giving us more time alone. Time can be so important whilst you're travelling.
It's fair to say that I've never exactly been enamoured by the Christmas season in the past. My reasons don't need explaining, they are the same as for so many others in the modern Western world, though whilst I was walking around Baños with Mor that evening, I became a Christmas person. A little strange perhaps considering I was walking around a warm town in
Ecuador with a person from a background that does not have Christmas, but none the less, we ambled together happily. Each of trees lining the streets were decorated in such a natural way that each was unique and I believe the decorations were made by hand. I like the idea of a community making decorations to make their town attractive as opposed to a council throwing on some lights, by obligation, to attract shoppers - it felt authentic.
We entered the central plaza where there were more lights, including some wrapped around the levels of a fountain, resembling a Christmas tree, and some scattered across a pair of reindeer’s standing in front of Santa's sleigh. It was in front of those reindeer’s where I took one of my favourite photos of Mor. Despite not celebrating Christmas (not that I celebrate in with religious connotation), Mor seemed to enjoy walking around the park and pushed me a little to have my photo taken with Santa; she could tell that I wanted to have it done. The lights and the good humour about the park could have put anyone in a good mood.
That day happened to be a Friday
and there also happened to be a fiesta going on (no idea what for). This meant that the town was alive for some big parties. Mor and I played pool once again whilst having some drinks before I sat outside and spoke with Shay-li for some time. Eventually though, it was time to head out and a large group from the hostel went to the resident Irish bar. I was feeling very off this evening, my stomach wasn't fantastic and so whilst others danced I remained in the beer garden speaking to several people I had previously met in Latacunga and Quito who happened to be in town. After a few drinks my stomach appeared to have rectified itself and I went to find Mor, who I found dancing. We danced for a while before she said we should leave. I had promised earlier that I would always make sure she got back OK and so of course we left together.
Canyoning I was feeling lousy again the next day, undeservedly considering I hadn't drank much, but I left the hostel with some of the others to try to find a company to take us canyoning
in the afternoon. I'd had a coffee and a juice breakfast and that possibly combined with seeing BBQ guinea pigs sent me rapidly back to the hostel where I was promptly sick. Mor arranged the canyoning though along with an Aussie couple and a Kiwi and I spent the remainder of my morning eating bread and drinking water in a rushed attempt to stop feeling like crap. Despite having done canyoning twice previously, I wanted to go again and you can probably work out my other reason for wanting to go. When the pick-up arrived to take them to the waterfalls I managed to drag myself and throw myself in the vehicle to tag along and we headed out to the base of a tremendous multi-layered waterfall.
We geared up, putting on wet suits and climbing belts before I popped on my Christmas hat with flashing lights on underneath my helmet. I really was feeling the Christmas spirit.
The first fall was around 20m and in turned we all abseiled down, passing through the water, there were a few slips, but everyone made it down successfully. Mor managed to slip before actually beginning her flawless descent, but despite
having a camera in hand, I didn't take photos. That fact seems somewhat redundant now considering that I'm writing about it here, but hey, it amuses me nicely.
The second waterfall was similar, albeit slightly smaller and we went down quickly. The third one however, changed things up nicely. The fall was around 15m, but instead of having control over our descent, we had a single rope that was held by one of our guides, it was a trust challenge. In turn we each had to lean back over the edge of the drop, not touching the rope and simply walking down and through the fall as the guide controlled our pace. As with a other things that had worried her initially (me driving our quad and buggy and hurling herself off a bridge), Mor was a hesitant for the tiniest amount of time before taking her turn, leaning back and making her descent. I think the desire and determination to do what was put in front of her, despite some nerves was one of the things that made her so cool to me and it was definitely one of the reasons that I was attracted to her.
Number four was a 20m slide fall; we were strapped from behind and took the waterfall as a water-slide. Half way down ropes were pulled, leaving each person suspending so that a photo could be taken. I love the photo of me on this one.
The final fall was a big one at 50m. We climbed a few metres down using the ropes to a narrow, natural ledge. Over the edge I could see nothing but the river continuing far below. The Australian pair went first, creeping in turn along a thinner ledge before climbing slowly down a vertical face and out of view. A count of three started and at zero I heard a either a shout or a scream before nothing. Then it was my turn.
Over the years I have various activities that have reduced my fear of heights to a residual one, but as I walked out along the narrow ledge and began to lower myself down the sheer drop, beneath which I could see nothing, I was terrified. The countdown started and as I heard 'zero', I pushed myself off the wall, kicking out with my legs.
I shouted as I flew
out and briefly saw the waterfall before I began to pendulum back towards and through the water and underneath the overhanging rock. The rush of adrenaline was incredible and I enjoyed every second as I was lowered to the ground. Our group had been a great one and the canyoning fantastic. The falls were far superior to those I'd been down in Peru and amazingly, even better those I hurled myself down in the Nepalese Himalayas. The price for the afternoon, including equipment, transport, five falls, two fantastic guides and a drink after - $17. I love Baños.
Saturday Night (and I like the way you move...) As always in Ecuador, Saturday was the big one and I once again began the evening playing pool with Mor, until she became the resident DJ, playing her choices of music. I spent my time flitting back and forth between talking to travellers, playing pool and of course, returning to Mor, who was highly involved with DJing and had been asked by popular demand to keep going. It was during one of my numerous approaches to her set, that she leant forward and kissed me.
It was brief,
but I was left dumbstruck. I realise I probably read like a teenager but, isn't that exactly what it feels like for any person, when something finally happens with the person that you're attracted to?I She told me that she'd been waiting for me to kiss her for some time and I ended up wandering about for a while, trying to subdue my smile.
Some time later it was announced that the hostel bar was due to close and everyone left for town. On the way Mor told me she was drunk (go figure) and I said I would make sure she got back OK again. When we reached the bar Mor went to dance whilst I went to the beer garden to enjoy the cool and to see who was about.
I didn't mean to stay in the garden for long, but I got speaking with three locals and lost track of time whilst speaking Spanish with them. I think it's probably true for all people who are learning a language, that when you find yourself speaking to someone and they actually understand you, it's addictive. We spoke about various kinds of junk, travelling, work and what
I thought of Ecuador before I realised the time, said a quick goodbye and ran back into the bar to find this beautiful girl dancing with a group of people from our hostel. We danced briefly before the lights came up and had to leave the club.
On the way back Mor mocked me gently for having to kiss me first and I pleaded pathetic innocence on grounds of how amazing I thought she was and how I couldn't imagine she'd genuinely like me. She said that it was a mistake, which it was of course, feelings and travelling don't work. But it was addictive and we kissed again on returning, before the others began to return to the hostel. After the others had gone to sleep I sat on the balcony for some time to chill out and give myself a little room. A crazy evening was over.
Mind Clearing The following morning felt a little awkward to me and we didn't speak about the previous night. Everyone was at least a little hungover and I became a little worried about the chances for Mor and I when she left to go for a
walk alone. Her leaving for a walk made me realise that it was probably a good idea for me too, a good opportunity to clear my head of thoughts and of my hangover, and so I left the hostel not long after Mor and I headed out of town.
I wasn't walking for long before I heard something interesting and changed my route, ending up at a motocross competition. I took advantage of being European and stood with my head above the crowd and enjoyed some races before feeling a need to be away from the noise, leaving and heading across a bridge and ascending a valley. I had begun my walk to get my blood pumping a little, but my randomly chosen route turned out to be far more difficult than I had wanted, but I persisted. I struggled high up the valley edge, being gifted with some great views on Baños and it's river before a bench provided me with a spot to grab some oxygen and to compose my head a little. I collected what thoughts I could about the previous evening, over-thinking in my regular fashion, before heading back to town.
Despite my concerns,
when I bumped into Mor on returning to the hostel, we acted completely normal together and when we spotted a beautiful double rainbow from our balcony I took the advantage of a good opportunity and took her photo.
Back in the Saddle On Monday we cashed in our credit and once again I felt incredibly cool as I headed up the side of a volcano with Mor's arms around me. We passed where our last bike died and visited a valley viewpoint before I optimistically took us off-road in hope of locating a viewpoint I wanted to believe existed. Things didn't go smoothly. I led us completely the wrong way, getting us stuck on narrow dirt roads on a few occasions. It took a while, but I conceded my masculinity and asked for directions which led us back to the main road and upwards to another off-road turn-off and I eventually I recognised where we were. I steered us around some wandering cattle and the quad come out into a clearing which led further up the mountain to a viewpoint.
This was the place that I had hoped existed, it was perfect. The view of
the valley was superb and as we sat ourselves upon a tall bench that locals would surely need a step ladder to climb up,. The cloud parted ahead of us, at long last revealing Baños's volcano. We sat awhile, our legs dangling, enjoying the view before I finally sucked it up, leant over and we kissed.
We stayed in what will always be our spot for half an hour, relaxing and enjoying the volcanic valley views before we returned to our quad and visited Casa del Arbol, a treehouse in the sky, before heading back to town.
(Not So) White Water Rafting Our last day in Baños had arrived, the bus was booked for Montañita, but fortunately it was a late bus and we still had time for more madness. In the morning Shay-li and Mor were considering taking a bus to Puyo to visit a friend and so I left the hostel with Kate (our new room-mate) to go white water rafting.
I have seen my word count for the entry and appreciate how long is; fortunately I am not going to elaborate much for a change. The rafting was terrible. Whilst I
have no complaints about our guide, for most of our 90 minute trip we simply sat in the raft chatting, hoping for some excitement. We had no instructions other than 'forward', 'forward faster' and 'stop paddling'. The most interesting part of the trip was the curious amount of time a slightly barmy Brazilian girl took rubbing water on herself in an ecstatic trance underneath a waterfall, very strange.
Word of advice to anyone reading this for advice about Baños, do rafting in Tena.
Bridge Jumping When I got back to town I wandered past Puente San Francisco to check out the bridge jumping, but it was closed. I still wanted to do one more crazy thing before leaving town.
Back in the hostel during the early evening I told Mor I was disappointed not to do the jump and she responded by pointing out that the rain had stopped. Doing the jump was something that I wanted and didn't want in equal parts. To do it would be to do do something that I was terrified of, to not do it would happily just avoid the confrontation. Pretty much all I could think of
at the moment Mor pointed out the lack of rain, which I had not noticed, was arse.
Whilst it wasn't raining anymore, it was cold and fairly unpleasant as I dragged Mor from the warmth of the hostel to the damp bridge. It was completely unpopulated, except for two young lads who work the dull job of hanging around in case anyone arrives, stupid enough to want to do the jump.
We stood atop the bridge looking down to the rocky river in the canyon 100m below and Mor asked me if I really wanted to do the jump. I swallowed before saying something along the lines of, "I think so, but I think I need to pee before I do it". I did my business before returning and she told me that I really didn't have to do it.
The atmosphere for the jump was far from perfect, it was quiet, cold and the clouds hung low. The tourists who normally would've have given some moral support were either at their Christmas destinations or sensibly out of the cold. I said I would jump and they quickly began strapping me into the harness. I have always
said I wanted to push myself and do a bungee jump or something similar and the combination of that and being there in front of Mor gave me a wall to lean against. She told me that she wouldn't blame me if I didn't do it, I didn't have to do it just because she'd done her jump - it was a very different situation. I began to climb up the bridge railing.
I stood on a pathetic wooden platform petruding from the railing as a boy told me how to fall off a bridge - the very idea of which seems comical now. Then he began the count down, "Three... two.... one....". The millisecond before he reached zero half of my mind raced through what I was about to do and I stupidly looked down one hundred metres to craggy canyon and its angry river. At the same time the other half of my mind threw a punch, knocking the panic and final thought of bailing out. "Zero".
I jumped.
It is somewhat difficult to describe the feeling of falling off a bridge, I remember the sheer terror of the free fall, before the tension in
the ropes caught and I was being pulling sideways and underneath the bridge. I tried to act cool by casually yelling "Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeee" as I swung back out into the open and the view from above, but I have seen the video of my jump (as you can on this entry) and I made a pathetic shouting sound as I fell that I cannot remember. Let's pretend a strange South American bird flying past made the sound instead.
Once I was released from the harness at the bottom I was buzzing and I ran back up the canyon and hugged Mor. I know I desperately over-think things, but I'd hoped that we'd kiss at the moment, but it didn't happen. Still, I was buzzing and was happy that at least if I had been so often too afraid to make one leap, I had at least made this one.
Leaving for Montañita Some hours later we boarded to the Ecuadorian coast, for Montañita and for Christmas. My second visit to Baños had been one of the best decisions I have ever made, my time spent there was even more fantastic that the first time. At the
same time, it had also been enormously confusing and as I took my seat I still had no idea where I stood with Mor and nothing had happened since we sat in our spot looking at the volcano. I am heading North to Colombia and she is heading South to Peru, to express feelings could surely only lead to hurt. I was also confused that we didn't kiss after I had made my jump, it seemed like a good moment. I was confused.
As the bus pulled out of Baños the crazy disco lights were turned off, leaving the bus in darkness. It was one-thirty in the morning and I was sitting across the aisle from the girl whom I had perhaps stupidly, but completely fallen for.
In the darkness she reached over and took my hand. I was happy.
Because This Isn't Quite Long Enough Already... A few things that I didn't mention and that may or may not make sense to those reading.
* Enjoying free drinks and an evening out with Klaus watching terrible some terrible dancing in public.
* Me putting too much spice in a soup and almost
dying as a result.
* The relentless hell of eating a soup and finding a chicken foot in the bottom.
* Kate noticing my pining instantly and my feeble confession.
* Mor cooking for the two of us - perhaps that was the evening of the double rainbow.
* "I'm soooooo cool!"
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Backpackermatt
Matt Hassam
Quality update mate - definately worth the wait! I can see why you would love Banos so much - it's beautiful! Just like that Israeli girl of yours...