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I left off in Cuenca last time. Since then I have had a fairly hectic week and a bit of travelling. I headed off to Guayaquil to meet up with a girl called Mercedes but she called to sya that she was actually in her home town, 2 hours away from Guayquil in a province called Los Rios. Naturally I went, onyl to find that I was in the dodgiest part of Ecuador I have ever seen: swamps, bananas, shanty towns on stilts and alot of mosquitoes! I stayed in a ´´hotel´´ in this shanty town for 2 nights. 3 of the walls in my room were MDF boards that didnt reach the ceiling and the shower...well I dont want to remember it. One evening I found myself on the back of a moped with a guy who I had met an hour earlier, driving at a good 60mph...I thought I was going to die.
On my way back from this place (which has absolutely no tourists) I got jumped by 3 guys on the bus. One started smaking my head whilst the other kept grabbing at my pockets. needless to say I got slightly concerned but luckily I managed to escape the situation unharmed and withouht having lost anything. The fact that I have lived in Macas for 3 months and that I have a spanish passport really helps my situation, in fact it saves me everytime! Well after this I went down south to some mangrove swamps. I actually ended up climbing up some rainforest clad hill with no insect repellent and wearing shorts, a wife beater and some flip flops...big mistake. I got eaten alive! There were som many mosquitoes that I could see them all down my arm and every time I brushed my arm blood went everywhere. I was dehydrated, being atatcked by mosquitoes, and then slashed my leg open on a branch-all in all a good day! I even ran into spiders webs that spanned 3 metres.
Having escaped that, I went to a southern port called Machala, which despite its reputation is actually very nice. I stayed the night there and then moved on the next day to a place called Puyango on the Peruvian border. It was a petrified forest so I thought it would be fun. I ended up having to walk 6km with my full pack, and then got lost for 2 hours in the forest. It was incredible forest and had truly prehistoric looking trees. The fosilised trees themselves were actually the least breathtaking part. Contrary to advise I left the path and spent a long time wondering where the hell I was. I seemed to cross the same river 3 times and ended up falling over on a hill. Somehow I suddenly ended up where I started and walked the 6km back and waited for a bus back to Machala. A man dressed in military uniform headlocked me and told me that he was going to take me away. He suddenly burst into laughter and gave me a good slap on the back...I didnt find it so funny!
After another night in Guayaquil bus station I went to Montañita (for the second time) and met up with Tony and Mel. We spent 4 days there relaxing and I managed to burn my upper thighs considerably. We then went back to Macas for the last time. As we came to Macas we went around the volacno Sangay and watched it exploding over the mist covered rainforest, truly beautiful. We had a day in Macas, said our goodbyes, and then headed up to Latacunga. This is in the Andes and is at almost 3000m. The next day (yesterday 7th) we went to a crater lake at 3800m called Quilotoa. It was a beautiful crater with a turquoise lake in the middle. We walked down and relaxed there before heading up again. On the way down I praticed my hill running and almost went careering off the edge. Now I am back in Quito.
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