Cabanas Bascun Banos

... quite as intimidating or prosaic as expected and managed to poo poo the old want to put your bag on the top deck trick.<br><br>Banos is completely different and feels well on the back packer circuit frequented by US colleage kids. However, tomorrow I go to the Jungle for a more authentic experience.<br><br>Will update with my selva experiences in a few days.<br>

... a taffy which you can see each individual shopowner making in their shop each day. Nearby is a volcano called Tunguratua which erupted violently in August 2006 causing the partial evacuation of Banos.<br><br>We only stayed 48 hours in Banos as planned. We arrived at 12 at night &amp; over the next 48 hours our stay included... 5 hardy bucks, 2 hostels, 5 ...

... and had a look at the altars, which are gold and very impressive. Next we went to the flower market outside a small monastery, where we had a listen to somebody playing the organ, then finally we went into a free government art exhibition which had amazing colourful paintings of festivals and Ecuadorian people and animals.<br><br>That afternoon there was a huge thunderstorm so we didn´t venture out exploring, we had a lazy afternoon doing our Spanish homework and catching up on some ...

... for a couple of days in a recommended lodge in the Ecuadoran part of the Amazon rain forest. Having experienced the eastern side of the Amazon in Brazil, we wanted one last taste of the jungle in the west before saying goodbye to it for the rest of the trip. So we headed out, thankful for our third bout of R and R in the country. As Renee and I constantly remind ourselves, this backpacking is really tough work!<br><br>Until next time, Love Renee and Eugene xx<br>

... but we are moving on tomorrow (Sat), back to Quito for a night. Our schedule seems to be revolving around the Ecuador/Uruguay match, which obviously I'm looking forward to. Then Mindo Cloud Forest the following day, before flying to Peru on Monday night. More soon P&amp;G x<br><br>Tips for Travellers:<br>If you want to stay outside of Banos (30min walk) in a very picturesque area near a waterfall with nothing or no one else around in a fantastic looking hostal try www.chamanapamba.com

... and having a coffee or two at he hostel.<br>Anyway, D-Day came and it was time for puenting. One of the other guys went first with absolutely no dramas. My turn came and as I stood on the platform my legs started to shake and I keep looking down. I absolutley ******* myself and ended up climbing back over the rail.<br>The other kid went without much problems as well, he was scared but he still managed to do it.<br>Anyway I harnessed back up again, climbed over the rail ...

I would like to think I am over my jet-lag, but I'm awake at six and as soon as we can get the hot water to work for a shower (I gave up hot Africa for the cool Andes - what was I thinking!?) it's off to see the city. G has been in Cuenca studying Spanish for the last six weeks. When he arrived, he could say "I am fluent" with a big grin and that was about it. Now, he's talking circles around me as I try to dredge up verb conjugations and keep French words from slipping out of ...

... hatte - und die<br>sind jetzt natuerlich alle weg! Das hat mich schon ein wenig aus der<br>Bahn geworfen, aber Hauptsache mir ist nichts passiert.<br>Eine<br>negative Erfahrung war dann auch die Polizei in diesem Land - sie<br>bemuehen sich ueberhaupt nicht, ja man koennte sagen, es interessiert<br>sie eigentlich gar nicht. Sie haben eine Anzeige aufgenommen und das<br>wars wohl fuer sie...frustrierende Gestalten.<br>

... an verschiedenen indigenen Stämmen erhielten. Bei unserem Stadtrundgang mussten wir im sehr luxuriösen österreichischen Cafe Sankt Florian einen Stopp einlegen um wieder mal ein wenig Heimatluft zu schnuppern.<br>Am (Samstag)abend nutzte ich die Gelegenheit um ein bisschen durch die tollen Bars zu ziehen, während Stefan zu Hause das Bett hüten musste. Begleitet wurde ich dabei von Mark, Paul (aus London, den wir seit Riobamba ...

... out that night to a french restaurant where we were served by a native american, i was a bit confused and getting by pigeon foreignese all mixed up. we headed towards the irish bar but got distracted by a little cocktail bar with a large 2 for 1 sign but as soon as 10 struck we were off again, using feckers that we are. The irish bar was amusingly called Leprachauns, the only irish thing about it was the rain in the beer garden, even the bloody shamrocks over the ...