Early bath

We arrived in Banos at about 4pm on Friday and when we saw the novelty dragon train coming down the road towards us and the stalls of inflatable toys we knew that we had made a dreadful mistake.

After a quick chat we agree to leave

We decide not to stay for the three nights that we'd planned but catch the bus to Alausi first thing on Saturday morning so that we can ride the 'devils nose'.

See you there!

Raine x

"They're easier to spot than monkeys"

We arrived in Lagro Agrio just after 6am on Monday morning and we were picked up by our tour guide a little after 9:30 for the second leg of our trip, 11 of us boarded the minibus for the two hour ride to the river - and after a quick lunch stop our mode of transport changed from road to river and the next three hours were spent in a canoe on the amazon.

I don't know why but when we booked our trip to the jungle I must have been so caught up in the thought of all the wildlife that we were going to see that I didn't think about ALL of the wildlife we were going to see. It wasn't until our guide told us not to be scared of the spiders and tarantulas that I remembered that spiders the size of cats live in the jungle. I will be forever grateful to Abby and Linda (the 'Mum' of the group) who tucked me in at night to ensure that the spiders couldn't get me!

Our room-mate

Each day in the jungle was action packed, the highlights were seeing Cayman (easier to spot than monkeys), wearing shorts with wellies (a first since 1976) and the flying fish which occasionally landed in the boat, sometimes flew straight over and on more than one occasion smacked someone in the face.

Practical they may be but louboutin's they are not....

The lowlight, the spiders.....

Abs and I agree, we're not cut out for jungle life.....

Eat, Pray, Love

On Sunday our bus to Lagro Agrio was scheduled to leave at 11pm and so with time to kill we visited the Indios market, the walk along Amazonas, which is the main road through Quito, is nice on a Sunday as it's closed to cars, encouraging 100's of cyclists to take to the road.

After the walk we were thirsty and decided to go for a beer, having completely forgotten that you can't buy alcohol in Ecuador on a Sunday! Our hostel shared the legal loophole with us; if you buy food it's possible to get a drink, a burger and a beer it is - we bumped in to Steve who'd just completed a night hike to the summit of Cotapaxi and was also in need of a beer so the three of us headed to Foch Plaza.

With several hours still to kill, we settled down in the sitting room of our hostel and watched: Eat, Pray, Love - which I hadn't seen before, by no means an Oscar worthy film but a great story with travel at the heart of it.

A very appropriate 'chick flick' for us to watch on our travels.

Raine x

What goes on tour stays on tour......

Abs - decided that this wasn't one for public consumption..... So have published 'privately' so that no one else can see.

I know that we both thought that the llama hats and gloves were a functional and not necessarily a stylish purchase but seriously, under the crash caps... what were we thinking.

Note to self: Delete photo's of us in llama hats before going home.

By the way, have you used the 'private' publish option before, not sure that I've done it correctly - let's hope I have!

L 

We climbed a volcano yesterday....

After an early pick up and a two hour drive we arrived at the Cotapaxi National Park parking lot, which at 4,500m is the starting point for the hike.

Van to go up, bikes to go down

We hiked slowly to 'Jose Rivas' refuge 4,810m which is on the snowline, then those of us who wanted (and were able) to then hiked a further 200m with our guide to reach the glaciers at 5,000m.

At the glaciers; 5000m

Descending by bike to Laguna Limpiopungo was an exhilarating experience and the scenery was breathtaking.

On the descent......

School's out for summer.....

Wahoo!

We didn't exactly 'graduate' from school, more fell out of the classroom with relief, but we have the basics and now we just have to 'practica, practica, practica'.

After a couple of post study beers in Foch Plaza tonight we came back to the hostel - left over quinoa and vegetables for dinner.

Tomorrow we're being picked up at 06:45 to climb Cotapaxi - we're mountain biking down which I'm really looking forward to - I really hope that I bought the right insurance policy.....

Hopefully the walking will be good practice for Machu Picchu and the ride should help us prepare for mountain biking on the Yungus Road (Death Road) in Bolivia.

Assuming we make it back we're heading to Astrid Y Gaston for dinner - to celebrate our one month anniversary - hard to believe a month has already gone by.

Then at 11pm on Sunday we take a night bus from Quito to Lago Agrio for our jungle trip to the Amazon - we're going to the area where the two girls were kidnapped in the first week that we were here - we've been assured that it's perfectly safe. 

HHHhhhhmmmm, I really wish I'd brought a copy of my insurance policy with me.

Raine x

Mercardo Santa Clara

Great day at school yesterday, I went on a 'school trip' with my teacher to Mercardo Santa Clara, a fresh food market about 10 minutes away from the school by bus.

I had read that South America has more fruits than we in England have names for and at the market I had the opportunity to see and taste some of them.

Fruit stall

I tasted; Orito, Tuna (a fruit not a fish), Uvilla, Granadilla, Naranjilla, Taxo and Tree tomatoes. Aside from the Tree Tomato which I didn't particularly like, the fruits were delicious and so cheap - getting your five-a-day in Ecuador is easy!

After school and the customary glass of post study wine, Abs and I made a vegetable and quinoa soup/casserole which we shared with Steve who we met at the hostel a few days ago, he kindly donated a bottle of red and some Taxo for pudding.

So, by my calculation, with the seven fruits I tasted, the five I bought for Abs and the nine vegetables in the soup we're on about 21 a day! 

Last day of school today - early start tomorrow as we're climbing Cotapaxi before heading to the jungle on Sunday night.

Raine x