Hey hey...

This is attempt #2 at this blog since last night I got distracted and then couldn't save what I had already written... grr! Anyway, get comfortable because this happens to be a long one...!

When I was writing last night, there was the loudest of noises that we could hear about 10 mins before the noise's source arrived and then for another 10 mins following departure... it was a LLLOOOOUUUUDDD samba band... when they marched past us, it turned out it was 5 people! Intense....!

Anyway, we are now in Cuenca... a World Cultural Heritage city.. its very beautiful with the most impressive architecture we've seen so far - I would show you photos but this computer isn't being very cooperative and I cant upload any! Another day....

So... from where I last left off.... on Sun 3 Jan we finally departed Quito for Baños after a most unsatisfying (but cheeeaaap!!) breakfast of oily eggs and terrible coffee... we had a 3 1/2 hour bus ride which had potential because of the beautiful scenery, however I had to almost come to fisticuffs with the bus attendant to let me run to the bathroom at one of our million stops!

Baños is in the most beautiful location, deep in a valley surrounded by huge green mountains... quite the tourist hotspot and as one Englishman put it... 'the Queenstown of Ecuador'... well I have never been to Queenstown myself, but I sure hope for the sake of Queenstown that there aren't half as many obnoxious Americans there as there are in Baños... they were EVERYWHEEEERRRREEE!!!! And Americans definitely do not do an 'inside voice'...

We spent one day on a tour organised for us by Pedro (he looked like a Pedro at least..) who wore a tiny tiny stripy jumper... we went for a long drive in a 'Chiva' which is basically an open-sided truck-bus... the tour was of lots of waterfalls in the region and it was amazing... so so beautiful.. the green-ness definitely reminds me of home! I went on a cable-car type thing over the gorge which was really high up and sooo cool! Best $1 I have ever spent, I swear it! Got some really good pics going straight over the top of the waterfall! yaaay! We did an insane walk to see the last waterfall, the walk down was okay (so long as I put of thinking about walking back up...) but the walk back up OH DEAR GOD... I will liken it to scaling a cliff face... I actually thought death was knocking on my door! I seriously ought to get a little fitter....

That night, we made a foolish decision. We signed up for a tour - hey, we thought, its only $4 - up to see the nearby volcano because it had recently been spewing a little fire at night... So at 9pm we made our way out of our hostel over to the Chiva to head up the mountain... at first we thought we were going to be lone rangers... but no! Approximately 15 young Americans jumped aboard.... and from then on, it was a competition of 'Who can talk the loudest and fastest'... Amiee and I made sure that we were very, very quiet from the instant we heard 'OHMIGAAAWWWD.. I wana go to Nuuuu Zeeeeland toooo'.... the 30-min drive was painful and I think my ears are still ringing! Anyway, we get up to the look out point... we are impressed by the view of Baños, its also a very pretty city at night! I wish I knew how to take photos on my camera at night properly so I could have done it justice!
There is no sight of volcano activity.. so our guide says 'come on guys, up to the bonfire for a show of... a show of... umm... everything'. A show of everything?? you may be asking yourself, I was too! It turns out people, that a show of 'everything' consists of an old man in a clown suit with a sidekick asking him to say words in other languages... for about 25 minutes. What the...???? Needless to say, the second our Chiva was in proximity to our hostel Amiee and I jumped off and ran... WORST $4 I have ever spent!

So... the following day we bussed to Riobamba, a largely uneventful (ie. thinks almost happening, but not eventuating) busride of an hour and a half... I have never been a religious person, but I am seriously beginning to understand why Latin Americans are so devout... to have survived a busride like that one, there has to be a God!! It was INSANITY! Sheer drops, blind corners and unpaved roads didn't deter the driver from breakneck speeds...

We were heading to Riobamba to do La Nariz del Diablo (The Devil's Nose), a switchback train ride that I had seriously been looking forward to for aaaages! We arrive at the hostel, which was touted in my photocopied Lonely Planet guidebook (that I sticky-fingered from our s***hole hostel in Brazil) as having a Llama! Naturally we were sold... we arrived to find no llama, but instead a yard full of... you know the saying, 'one mans trash is anothers treasure', well this man had collected a lot of 'treasure'!! Im talking giant swan statues with big red bows, a dancing horse, shiny mushrooms.... we took a walk to the train station to get our tickets in anticipation of the following day's departure... and lo and behold, all sold out! For a couple of minutes, we entertained the thought of staying a couple days longer so that we could go on the next run... until I spotted a sign saying that the track was going to be closed for repairs from 7 - 12 Jan! My little heart fell.... so off we went to find food... it was a massive task to find a restaurant that wasnt fried chicken (we only even found 2 of those!) so instead we found a bakery and got some sweets and then a man on the side of the road with french fries! yummmm...!

In Riobamba, we did however find the funniest menu restaurant I have ever seen! The translations were hilarious! Papas Fritas (French Fries) became Fried Pope, Crema de Asparagus (Creamy Asparagus Soup) became Cremated Asparagus... they also offered Fillet of Language, Pig on the Grill with Gears among numerous other delights!

From Riobamba, we took the bus here to Cuenca... 6 1/2 hours and it wasn't so bad... ie. we are here and I am writing this blog so it means we made it... somehow!! The driving was okay, even slow at first... then we made a stop... Amiee and I used some seriously disgusting bathrooms (wont go in to detail, but imagine something really gross... then cuadruple it... and you're still not close!).. and I think this may be where our driver inhaled some sort of methamphetamine because after this stop, he lost the freaking plot! The driving was so bad I was actually clutching on to Amiee... but the worst was yet to come, if I thought the driving was giving me heart palpitations, that was nothing compared to the fear that I felt when in the near distance I saw a group of armed, masked young men wandering on to the road to stop the bus! They had sticks and bomby-knockers!!! Naturally, my first thought is that we're being hi-jacked... why wouldnt it be??? It turns out, it was some sort of special festive day and thats apparently just what happens!!!! WHAT THE...???!!!

Anyway, we are now here safe and sound, tomorrow we will take a look around some of the beautiful churches and museums - we couldnt go to any churches today because I felt inappropriately dressed in a short skirt because all of our washing is at the laundromat... tomorrow we will be unstoppable once I have my pants back!

Love you all xoxox