Hello again. It is now Tuesday. Sorry for the delayed blog update. We left Otavalo on route for Banos around noon on Sunday (having to transfer buses in Quito). The trip from Otavalo to Baños was uneventful with the exception of three things. The first was a major accident on the highway just out of Otavalo. Not sure what happened but two cars and one bus went down a 20ft embankment into the front yards of some surprised looking Ecuadorians. The accident must have happened about a half hour before we arrived. We were unable to tell if anyone was injured or killed. It looked really bad though. The bus was upside down and all the windows were smashed. Same situation with the cars. The situation was very unnerving because the bus was very similar to the one we were riding out. (The roads here are built on the sides of mountains and are littered with curves... to top it off the bus drivers all drive way too fast and like to pass other buses on hairpin turns.) One quick side note: there was only two police cars and one ambulance on the scene.. no fire trucks.

The second event from the trip. First case of food poisoning. Maya suffered dizzyness and a near fainting spell from the cheese empanadas we ate before leaving Otavalo. Off the bus in Quito, some water, and decent food, and she was good to trek on.

The third event of the trip: the drive into Baños. We knew the volcano next to Baños was active, but we were quite surprised to see erupting lava and smoke as we drove along the foot of the volcano into Baños. Since 1999, the volcano next to Baños has come back to life. The town was evacuated once in 1999 during a major eruption. Two smaller eruptions occured again in 2006. While Braden is concerned and Maya is loving every minute of the thrill of being next to a volcano, we are told by numerous people that the actual town of Baños is safe because of its location (there is a mountain and ridge between us and the volcano that will distribute any possible lava to the edges of the town). In the event of an eruption, the number one concern is gas poisoning. We have been informed of the best route out of town should this be the case.

Baños is Beautiful. Situated in amongst numerous mountains, you can walk across the town in ten minutes. We don´t have to worry about being out late at night like in Quito. Every street is one way... and the sidewalk and boulevards are huge. It is very pedestrian friendly. We haven´t had much time to explore yet because we are again enrolled in Spanish lessons. However, tonight we are going to natural hotsprings and tomorrow we are going white water rafting with some people we met on the bus and a guide they introduced us to.

Our hostel is great. 11 dollars a night. Private bedroom, shared bathroom. They make excellent breakfast in the morning. Interesting side notes: there are no laundromats here, instead you give your clothes to someone to do personally (Needless to say, we washed our own underwear...); on the mountain wall that protects Baños from the volcanos there is a huge neon cross on which apparently someone hung themselves from last year - the cross represents the towns patron saint that protects the town from the volcano; it is very hard to be vegetarian here.... the name of every second restaurant starts with chicken (Pollo) or beef (Carne).

Heading off now... hope you are still reading. Will post more photos soon. Miss you all lots.

Love always,

Maya and Braden

xoxo