La Petite Auberge Banos

... and whip it onto a hook on the wall. My guess is to soften it up...not really sure. <br><br>Our Adrenaline Rush X 2 or 3 (Mike)<br>The two of us decided to book something pretty thrilling in Baños after sitting around in Quito. When Mike and I say thrilling....we mean it. Instead on one activity we booked 2 or 3. First we booked a go-cart to rent and buggied around the winding roads between cascades and waterfalls and through ...

So following a strenous first week of early mornings, school, poor surfing, and a vomit peppered ceiling-headering bus ride, we thing it appropriate to check in to Banos, a quiet idyllic village set in a postcard vista of andean mountains and waterfalls. This is home to outdoor adventure and reinvigorating hot springs, so hardly a place to deserve such a Blog title. We stay in hostel ´´flores y blanco´´ (flowers and white) an ...

... they had (including one huge bush of unbelievably spicy berries). As we walked around, the (numerous) children scurried around us, exchanging giggles with each other and the occasional ´hola´ with us. Soon afterwards, preparations for the evening´s ayahuasca began. One of the young men, Delmo, was in charge of the huge pot of water simmering over an open fire; our shaman, the grandfather of the family, directed us to begin whittling the outer layer off of caapi ...

... up and checked in (a bit more expensive here that we really want to pay at $45, but you can´t really complain when you get a hammock on your balcony and free internet). Went to see the waterfall and then to some baths, most of the public ones close at 5pm so we went to the ones at Sangay hotel for a couple of hours, leaving with baby soft skin! The Basilica here is also amazing, there was even a guitarist playing, very relaxing. <br><br>Right, off to get some food now, more soon x

... up while she called for help. The instructor guy came in and took me out and sat me down in water and covered me with cold water and gave me some drink to take. Luckily i was fine but lesson learned. It was fairly scary. Next thing the instructor beckons me to get back in-i did but he kept an eye on me and turned down my heat so i was ok. Poor Shar got an awful fright. After these 3 sessions we got out and were hossed down with a cold water hose and then to finish ...

... involves people chucking buckets of water over each other, and gringos (a not-too-offensive term for Westerners) aren't immune from these celebrations either - as I was carrying on cycling towards Puyo, a pick-up truck with a load of kids on the back deliberately overtook me really slowly just so every little brat could dump the contents of their bucket over me! Well, all I could do is laugh!<br><br>