Casa Kanela Quito

... the others who were washed away numerous times - an over zealous guide! The second day I went biking 20 km though the valley past waterfalls a plenty, Ecuadorians bridge jumping and piles of smelly cars full of tourists - finishing off with a bit of a hike. Then me and 15 other gringos (plus bikes) piled into the back of a small lorry and were transported back to town, with the odd local hopping in and out on the way ...

... s amazing bartering techniques or whether because it was fairly quiet (the former I´m sure), but we managed to get some good bargains and I even was getting into the swing of bargaining in the end. It was great fun looking around and purchasing some goodies, we even had to buy a small bag to hold our things. The town itself is really pretty and the locals still dress in traditional clothes, the women in embrodied tops and long black skirts and men wear their ...

... to life, custom officials taking their seats, baggaga handlers waking up from their slumber in platic airport chairs, police in khaki uniforms and bambu canes cleaning out the waiting lounge. I presume a good impression to first time backpackers from Europe must be on their police minds.<br><br>When among the crowd of scruffy alternatives, a bit like rejects from the former Asian hippy trail, wearing second-hand clothes with unshaven faces and weary eyes due to twenty or more hours ...

... field study is focused on the volunteer experience, hence other volunteers than me. Therefore I might swap between the different projects in the coming weeks in accordance with the new volunteers that will show up.<br>Until now I&#8217;ve been primarily working in the vegetable garden funded by FEVI. Every morning I get up around 7-7:30, eat my breakfast and then I go down to water the plants, open the plastic curtains to the green houses and remove unwelcome herbs, branches, insect ...

... from his body. This involves being dressed in white, standing in the freezing river whilst a &#8216;priest&#8217; wearing an open white shirt with a Germany football top underneath, spits liquid at him, rubs him with eggs and greenery and speaks some mumbo jumbo to the god of the waterfall. This goes on for hours. We stayed for some while because Chasqui assured us that the poor chump would be pushed under the waterfall but we got bored so we left.<br><br>So, another week has passed ...

... like lychees. Another fruit, which is about the size of a softball, is green with brown stripes, tastes like honeydew and has the same name as a cucumber ¨pepino¨.<br><br>You should hear Abigail rattle off in spanish now! The kids go out daily and play with other kids in the complex, on some days, from morning til sunset. All this exposure to spanish kids has made Abby absolutely fluent now. And when spoken to in Spanish, both Sam and Zoe ...

... of beer later it was time to wander home with a pit stop in Mc Donalds and KFC... the dreaded munchies.<br><br>Following day we were not able for much, hangover at 2900 metres high is tough to deal with, luckily our hostel had a cinema room so sat in darkness for the day watching Lord of the Rings, you got to love the hostels over here..<br><br>Time ...

... to mug me. It was the first time i have been harassed h**e. (This was like the 2nd day i arrived) So i headed back down to the main city, it was disgusting in ev**yway. I would have love to take pictures, but knew it would have been stolen immediatly. <br><br>The things they sell..<br><br>So people h**e sell ev**ything. The most popular item...TV remotes, go figure right. Th**e are more tv remotes and cell phone stands than they is food. Also you will ...

... has been discovered to be 240 meters south of the actual equator. <br><br> After snapping dozens of pictures of us straddling the equator with the other tourists (surprisingly, we were only two in a handful of gringos sharing the day in the countryside with many local families), we strolled through the town of stores and restaurants that service the park. <br><br> We ate our first lunch of empanadas ...

... not be able to see anything¨ as we were getting off the bus, not to be malicious, just saying. But alas, from the crater you could see all the way to the bottom of the lake and all around the old volcano. I did the walk around the crater and almost lost it. The sign post said that over the course of the trail you would gain 1000m of elevation, which i took with a grain of salt. It was a crater and surronded the lake, easy trekking. By the time I was tree ...