What we thought would only be a 5hr journey was actually 8!We checked into to a lovely hostel called Plantos Y Blanco which had a huge roof terrace and was a perfect spot for people watching. We wondered around town (which took all of 20mins) and then went for dinner in a lovely restaurant called Casa Hood.After a yummy diner, we sat by the fire playing backgammon and drinking lattes.

The next morning we went for the 1st of 3 Steam Baths. These consist of you sitting In a box with a hole for your neck to go through. There`s a valve for you to increase or decrease the temp and you sit there for 4 mins until getting out of the box and washing yourself down with a wet towel from a bucket of cold water. After about a min of cooling your body you get back into the box and the process is repeated several times. Also during the process we sat in a cold water bath whilst massaging the lower intestines. The guy then comes and splashes you with freezing cold water; it really takes your breath away! After two more steam box sessions the guys sprays you down with a hose leaving you invigorated.

Later that morning we hired bikes and rode (mostly downhill) for 35km passing waterfalls and villages and valleys. We had to go through a long tunnel with no lights, we were travelling at some speed, and almost hit the side of the wall, I couldn`t see a thing in front of me and so felt very dangerous!!. We went to a waterfall called Machay which also had a little pools to sit in. We chilled there for a while before carrying on finding a spot for lunch. Getting back to Banos we flagged down a bus and sat at the front with the driver who chatted to us all the way back to Banos. Meanwhile the passengers were spraying each other with foam as part of the carnival celebrations, the fumes from the canisters were choking us and they had completely covered each other in it, Caroline got her fair share of the spray and needless to say it was a very entertaining journey.

That night we walked around town being sprayed with the foam, but were too tired to stay out long. The next day we went back for our 2nd steam session and then for a 6hr walk up to see the volcano which was billowing clouds of grey smoke. The views up there were stunning and we were lucky to have the sun shinning and the clouds cleared just enough to see the volcano's peak and it`s plume. On route we met two teachers from the US both working at a bi-lingual school in Quito for rich kids. It was very interesting for Caroline to hear about opportunities abroad for qualified teachers and gave both of us food for thought about possibilities working overseas.

We went back to casa hood for dinner and then watched the live music on a stage in the street. The locals were not drinking but seemed to be having enough fun squirting each other. It was a crazy but most amusing. They don`t hold back, grannies were squirting kids and vice versa, no one was spared.

The next day we had our final steam bath, but were yet to feel the benefits from them. They are supposed to clear out impurities through the bowels, not just from sweating…. Hmmm not so sure about them.