Hostal el Eden Banos

... very uncomfortable. We did carry on to a view point, and then headed to a bus stop and shelter while waiting for a bus (or at that point anything!) to take us and our bikes back. After about 15 minutes, a local bus rescued us, and we got back to Banos around 4pm - just as the electricity was being turned off for the next 4 hours! We finished the day with a delicious meat fondue in the local Swiss Bistro, before settling in for another sound nights sleep!

... old. They all wanted to see me safe inside a hostel as I arrived at night. It was truely so lovely they drove me all around the city until they found a place suitable and safe. Its really touching and nice to know there are still so many great people out there!<br><br>I`m off to the Galapagos tomorrow, managed to get a pretty good last minute deal. Cant wait! Today I am with a guide around the city

... Loop. He came with us for dinner and we found a little place to eat and had dinner of different types of yummy meat and veggie skewers for $1 each.<br><br>The following morning during class we both went on a short excursion with Shelley and Carmita to learn some new words and some things about Cuenca. First we went to the beautiful old Supreme Court building which now houses many lawyers and has a beautiful ceiling and floors. We entered the big Cathedral which dominates Parque ...

... public officials backed down, but said those returning were doing so at<br>their own risk. The risk remains - with the volcano alert still on orange, meaning an eruption could occur at anytime. <br><br>Renee would never let an erupting volcano get in the way of a good pedicure though. Following lunch, Renee, who loves pedicures like the homeless love shopping carts, made her way to have her feet rubbed (as it turns out) in jojoba oil by a woman in a white coat ...

... and we've had time to hike up to the top of one of the surrounding mountains, rent bikes and cycle the waterfall route, experience our first earthquake and get covered in mud, dance around in public then get in a box/sauna. The latter part about mud/dancing/saunas is apparently perfectly normal. After applying the mud treatment, they put on a dance/exercise video and we were instructed to dance around to it. Peter was in his element and certainly learned some new moves ...

... for a hour and found some dirt roads in the town to tear it up on, doing donuts and fishies! I dont think some of the people in the street were that happy, and the guide had given me a map of places I was meant to take the cart, but whats the fun in that!<br>After driving around like Colin McRae for an hour, I took the cart back and ended up siging up for what they call puenting. Its basically jumping off a bridge and swinging underneith it. So sort of like bungy for the ...

... the open ocean). met some nice israeli peeps that we will meet up with in tel aviv when we are there. did a lot of snorkelling and hiking. will upload pix soon but can{t now as we are in bus station in guayaquil waiting to go to peru (mancora) where we will do some surfing and pig out on ceviche. MMMM!!!<br><br><br>

... gemerkt! Erst<br>als ich gehen wollte, fand ich meinen Rucksack nicht mehr. Ich hatte<br>ihn unter dem Tisch zwischen meinen Fuessen eingeklemmt und habe nichts<br>bemerkt! Zum Glueck ist mir nichts passiert und Geld habe ich immer im<br>Hueftguertel. Die Dokumente waren bei der Gastfamilie. Das einzige sehr<br>Traurige ist, das meine kleine Kamera im Rucksack war, mit der ich<br>viele Unterwasseraufnahmen auf den Galapagos ...

... als Weltkulturerbe gelistet, für mich ist es eindeutig die schönste Stadt in Ecuador. Die meisten Gebäude der Innenstadt sind renoviert und vor allem der Hauptplatz mit Park und den beiden Kathedralen ist wirklich sehenswert.<br>Um auch mal etwas von der Kultur mitzukriegen und dem Nieselregen zu entkommen gingen wir ins Museum der Banco Central, wo wir Infos über die Kulturen vergangener Zeiten und die recht verwirrende ...

... cuenca is in the southern highlands. they didn´t have cars here 20 years ago...but now they are more than plentiful. cuenca is known for its cobbled streets and old houses - the colonial charm. cuenca is the center of the panama hat industry and one of the best places to buy straw hats. also its proximity to the nearby village of Chordeleg means that it is also the best place to buy silver and seashell jewelry....and i obliged :)