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16th-18th August
In the morning we met up with the Swiss girls and shared a taxi to the bus terminal, which was lucky for us as we didn't realise there were two bus terminals and we were going to walk to the closest one. When we arrived (around 10 minutes later) we got shoved on a bus to Ambato and were told to change there for Banos. I was so pleased we had to move buses as there was a drunk pervert standing over me for the whole journey and kept whispering 'gringo, gringo' when I ignored him!
We got to Banos in the late afternoon and after some confusion with our room we explored the town and had a look at the different thermal baths that the town has to offer. In a lot of the small shops you can watch the owners making toffee from sugar cane, I bought a small piece and it was pretty nice, but a bit sickly after a while. In the evening we went for a meal but I wasn't feeling well at all and couldn't even stomach some soup. I then proceeded to throw up in the toilet that was very close to where everyone was eating and James said you could hear everything-nice! Fortunately James had finished his food and we scarpered, quickly.
The next day I spent in bed as I was still feeling poorly. Our room still hadn't been sorted so we moved to the hostel next door. James went out and took some pictures of the town and he observed a very strange birthday party which looked as if the whole town had congregated for a 15 year old, she was in a big ball gown and everyone else was wearing regular clothes-weird.
I felt much better today so we did hired bikes and completed a long and very scenic bike ride to some giant waterfalls. Along the way there was a lot to see and James did a canopy ride over a big canyon to a waterfall. He seemed to enjoy it but was not convinced of the safety standards; he was just attached to the metal runners with rope, no over use of carabineers here! I felt a bit faint as I hadn't eaten so thought it was best to leave the experience up to James. When we got to the main waterfall we had to leave our bikes and hike down to the bottom. It was pretty amazing and very noisy but it is difficult to compete with Iguaçu! We couldn't figure out the buses back to the town and were unsure whether they would take us with bikes so we hitched in a pickup truck with Juan a very nice guy who even looked after our bikes whilst James got an ice cream.
After a short rest I was back to full fitness so we went out for a delicious meal at the Lonely Planet's top rated restaurants in Banos. Mike, Michelle, Adam and Agape were also eating in there and we found out they had also been ill (apart from Agape) so we think it may have been something we ate in Isinlivi, or the milk as it was fresh from the cow and defiantly not pasteurised. They were also feeling a bit better and were planning to go out for a few drinks so we met them at their hostel and had some shots whilst playing more Presidents and Arse holes and then we headed out, without Michelle as she was feeling a bit delicate still. The strip of bars in Banos was really lively and we went into a mini club and we were the only gringos. It was really fun and Agape and I danced a bit and the boys looked out over the balcony. The boys still didn't feel great so left a little early but are back in Quito at a similar time to us so we will hopefully meet up again.
Our last morning in Banos and we had yet to visit the baths! We had read that it the baths are empty in the mornings so we got up earlyish and joined the mega long queue to get inside, we had clearly read it wrong! Although we had to queue for around 30 minutes and the baths were rammed it was a great experience. We were the only gringos (stood out like two little milk bottles) and the Ecuadorians were using the time to wash and attempt to swim. The baths themselves were lovely and warm but a bit on the dirty side.
We packed our bags and walked to the bus station. We just arrived and a bus was leaving for Tena, our next destination. We were shoved on the bus, a running theme in Ecuador so far and it was only then we realised there were not enough seats for us, we had to stand. This would usually be pretty rubbish but with a hangover and the humidity it was a terrible combination. James spread himself in the aisle and after about 1 ½ a lovely young man offered me his seat. After 2 hours a few people left and we managed to both get a seat which was lucky as we were heading deeper into the Oriente and it was getting hotter by the second.
- comments
Mummy Mansfield Oh dear, not the best of times......
The bloke who said turn right at the lights I'm surprised James knows enough of the lingo to pronounce "gringo", so well done!
G Dawg Not a good episode this one - dirty pervert, poor food and long journeys - glad to hear you have recovered tho! Tell James not to take toooo many risks please!