Not too painful a start, although our Spanish isn't getting any better (closest we got on the ship was ordering dos cervesas, and talking French to our Belgian co-diners)! So we still guessed at breakfast. Luckily scrambled eggs seems to be universal.

Pierre, the co-owner, Swiss by birth but having lived in Africa, Italy, and several places in South America (courtesy of Save the Children), collected us and took us on the 'ecoroute' over the Pinchincha volcano via a town called NoNo to the hostal at Pachijal. Pachijal is a river in the cloud forest, and there are a few 'resorts' of various sizes which have been built for the travelling hordes. Some are big - Mindo, for example, is a whole village/town seemingly created around the cloud forest traveller, but Pachijal is on its own up a 3 km long patchy road. It has 6 rooms in one building, which Pierre and Renato, the owners, have gradually built to its current level.

The route, by the way, was fantastic - over the mountain instead of around it by highway. Longer but with spectacular views over Quito, and passing over 3,600m high along the way. Finn got a nosebleed! It was in many places unfinished/tarmacced, but there was still a traffic light at the top - by a school where children walk up to an hour each way every day! Totally unnecessary, and apparently it's always on red - both ways!

We arrived just in time for lunch, which probably was whatever time we arrived. Trout cooked in banana skins with plantain - and all the kids tried it, although it wasn't a massive hit! Then after we had settled into our 2 rooms it was off for a hike with Wilson to the cascada. Although the walk didn't start well with a wasp attack - targeting Siena, Alan and me - but worst affected was Siena as the stings on her hand swelled up that evening.

It was a true 2 hour hike down some steep jungle, massively dense and at times you couldn't see up through the canopy - wet under foot (so we had borrowed 'robber boots' J) and full of ferns, moss, vines on trees, flowers and a bug or two! We arrived at the cascada, which itself was impressive, but then we proceeded to climb up it to the next 3 smaller waterfalls which fed it. We were practically walking up the river! By the time we got back to the hostal we were tired, it had been very steep in places and with the wasp experience we were keen to get back. Next couple of hours was spent relaxing, reading and observing the hummingbirds at the feeder.

The evening meal was huge again, and we felt quite guilty leaving so much - but that was a pattern to be repeated several times over the next couple of days!

We all crashed out fairly soon afterwards - well there wasn't much to do, it was dark most of the time and we didn't fancy turning too many lights on because of the bugs, which we as a family are not particularly good at handling ! we were the only ones staying there too, and the team catering for us didn't speak any English or particularly mix with us so it was very quiet - apart from the cicadas!

We didn't expect too brilliant a sleep, given the concerns we all had about noise, bugs, spiders and so on - and for the younger 2 and Suzanne it was a bad night with 2 hourly interruptions and musical beds.