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I thought it was about time I did my next journal entry and this time I also have more to say! I´m sure you´ll all be glad to know I did make some friends who are on my trip! There´s currently 20 of us going ass far as La Paz and then 10 of us will continue to Rio. Bit of a mix age wise, there are a few guys who are 18/19 gap years and then quite a few of us early/mid 20s. There´s also an older guy who´s 56 but he kinda keeps himself to himself really, funnily enough he doesn´t seem interested in playing drinking games!
Anyway, had the Tuesday in Quito with some of the girls just wandering around and shopping etc. Then Tuesday evening we went for our first group meal, possibly the best start to the trip as I had the best fillet mignon with pepper sauce! Then the next day we had our first meeting with Mamasita (our truck) and we made our way to Otovalo which was a really nice little market town. It was boiling sunshine when we put our tents up and never having put a tent up in my life we just kinda whacked it up and went off into town for food, shoping and a beer! Needless to say, whilst in town doing the important things, it POURED with rain and most of our tents got soaked! Not a good first night of camping....
Left the next day and headed to Mischaulli which is in the Amazon rainforest. We spent 3 nights there and had the best time. The first night we arrived we all had a few drinks, managed to sink 7 bottles, you have to when it costs 75p and is good stuff! Then the frst day we went to a school and to a local family´s house to drink chi cha which is the local alcoholic drink which tastes like gone off yoghurt, think I´ll stick with the beer! Then we built a raft (well the boys did) and rafted down the Napo river which is Ecuador´s largest. It was awesome as we were all jumping off etc and then we had some small rapids to go over as well. In the afternoon we went to the local village and saw pottery being made and wood being carved into various random things.
Saturday we went for a 2 hour walk in the Amazon where we ate leaves which tasted like cinnamon, other leaves which tasted like garlic and wait for it.....lemon ants which surprisingly tasted like lemon/vinegar! Such a weird sensation when they crawl round on your tongue as they´re still alive until you crunch them! After this we waded down a stream/low river in the middle of the forest and had the best time as well as getting a few bruises and cuts along the way from falling over in my wellies! Don´t worry I do have a few pictures of me in the Amazon in wellies and shorts, it´s a pretty picture!
Then Saturday night we had a shamen come into the place we were staying. He´s a kind of witch doctor guy who has various ´healing´methods. It was rather long and I couldn´t really concentrate after on of the girls said hesounded like he was doing the housework because he had a bunch of twigs/leaves which resembled a feather duster and was whistling through out! It was remotey cultural I guess but I´m a little sceptical as to whether or not he was a real shamen...
Then yesterday morning it once again poured with rain just to prove to us that we were staying in the rainforest! We left the campsite and drove for 4 hours to Banos which is where I am now until Wednesday morning. Yesterday we just got to town, picked up a few bits, went and set up our tents and then had an amazing BBQ and then had to play some drinking games of course...
To recover from our obviously very strenuous lifestyle 4 of us girls have come into town this morning for massages! I have just had the best hot stone massage for an hour and it only cost a tenner. I was hoping it may help my back, as it´s playing up at the moment from the travelling and very bumpy road yesterday, but I don´t think it has. Never mind, I´m going canyoning tomorrow morning so that will either help or make it much worse... Canyoning before you ask or google it is extreme abseiling, waterfall jumping and climbing! It sounds and looks amazing and Banos is the activity centre of Ecuador situated right next to volcano Tungurahua which is active and with loads or rapids and waterfalls so what better place to do it!
This afternoon though I am planning on relaxing, walking down to a waterfall and we also plan to get a cable car to cross the gorge. There are a couple of resaurants on the cliff face as well so may even have to have some food and a beer, it´s a hard life!
Then as I said tomorrow is canyoning day and then I may possibly do a bridge jump which is exactly what it says on the tin-you jump off a bridge! I have to see how my back is though. Wednesday we have a 20 hour ish drive to Punta Sal which is in Peru so my first country will be as Gordon Ramsey would say, done!
Until my next entry, hasta luego! x
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