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quiggsy on tour
So I wrote the longest update the other day and then managed to lose it.... Yes I am a div. But anyway I will give you a round up of what I've been up to for the past week:
After a rather heavy night at our hostel in Baños (we managed to find gin which has proved fairly difficult up to now!) we set off in the morning to go to the jungle. Our transport was these little bus/cart things (see pics) with open sides, which was great for getting a bit of air but it meant I couldn't have a quick nap to sleep off the hangover as I was too scared of falling out the side! We went for a guided trek (slash walk) in the jungle to a waterfall which we swam in, and then got canoes down a river to our accommodation for the night. Awesome.
Due to my excesses the previous night I was in bed in my wooden hut on stilts (which swayed if anyone rolled over in the night!) by 9pm and so missed out on the ensuing hysteria after someone found a spider on their bed which, according to our guide, could kill in under 20 minutes. Nice. Our second day in the jungle started off by meeting the local shaman (kind of like a good witch doctor, they can cure stuff with plants and things from the rainforest). He performed a cleansing ritual on one of the guys in our group who was ill, which seemed to involve cigarette smoke, cologne, and a potent mix of hallucinogenic stuff from the jungle! The illusion was somewhat spoiled by the fact that the shaman was in his civilians - hiking boots, golfing t shirt and slacks......
We returned to Baños then the next day had a LONG drive to Peru. What should have been a particularly boring day sat on the truck ended up being rather eventful. I cut my foot in the morning when climbing through bushes to go to the toilet. Then at lunch time we got harassed by a bull whose owner really didn't seem to care that his bull was trying to attack a load of gringos. One of the girls was climbing into the truck to get away from the bull when she slipped and caught her hand on something, nearly slicing off her little finger. So we tried to put her on a bus to the nearest town to get to a doctor but the bus had a puncture...... One of those days. We got to the border crossing after dark and after we had got over it one of the guys passports got nicked, and although everyone gave chase the guy managed to get away.
So after all the trauma we well deserved a relaxing day on the beach at Punta Sal. Myself and my roommate Reiko went horseriding on the beach at sunset which was absolutely gorgeous. I was actually surprised as the north of Peru is actually a desert, so it was hot and sunny which was a welcome change from the rain in Ecuador!
Anyway, that's enough for now got to go get food - the local speciality here is chicken and chips! Which you pay about a dollar for. Sweet. Adios amigos.
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