We returned to the bus station in Latacunga for the fourth time and without stepping foot in it managed to get on a bus heading to Ambato. During the hour or so journey a vendor boarded the bus and provided a full sales pitch for some sort of gout prevention product. At Ambato we changed buses to Baños and this time we were treated to a pitch for intestinal worm prevention... complete with photos. It was so horrific I almost bought some.

In Baños we headed to the central square and had some lunch in a nice bakery with excellent bread. This is where we encountered the first American in Baños - a guy from Oregan came over and asked if we were American. Obviously the answer to that was ¨God no, do we sound it?!¨, to which he replied ¨well I think the english sound the most American compared to other people from Europe¨. I was going to let him get away with it, but Alex showed no mercy; ¨that´s probably because we´re the only ones who actually speak english¨.

We arrived at our hostel which was recommended by Steven and Patricia in Isinlivi, and met our roomates... cue American no. 2; a middle-aged man that had more than a bit of Mr Toll about him (our secondary school IT teacher who has since been imprisioned for paedophilia). As we were heading out we unexpectedly bumped into Steven and Patricia, who changed their plans and decided to return to Baños! Before we could leave, the owner - Jimmy - gave us a tour of the hostel, which was basically an excuse to reiterate the various rules of the house, which include only taking what you can eat for breakfast and turning off the lights when you´re not using them. Duh.

That afternoon we went to find Alex some new walking boots, but were faced with a very unhelpful woman and when Alex asked what shoes she had in a size 6, the answer was just ¨no¨. After our boot failure we found a dessert shop with two pieces of tiramisu left (our favourite) so we bought them and went and sat in the square to eat them with a coffee.

Later on we went for a highly recommended (also by the Dutch) burger at the Stray Dog - an American joint (which makes sense since Baños is crawling with Americans) by the central square. The burger was incredible. As we were leaving we caught sight of Peter (the Czech from Chugchilan) walking towards the Dog and so we turned around and joined him and some new friends for a drink. Unfortunately I was sat by Rhodes, a 21 year old from German Town, Maryland who spent the entire time it takes to drink a beer informing me of his life so far. This includes going to college under a wrestling scholarship, but then he dropped out but was refunded his $10k tuition fees, which he has since been spending to travel (3.5 years). Apparently his parents paid for the fees but it doesn´t matter because they owe him... he stayed in school until college at their request. Although the entire time he was at school he smoked weed (which ¨is a flower... and is beautiful¨). He´d like to be a yoga teacher in the future, but would rather not have to work... he always likes to give more than he takes...

Day 73 - Excellent breakfast and we were sure to eat all that we took under Jimmy´s supervision. Today we headed off on mountain bikes along the waterfall trail which basically follows the main road towards Puyo. It was drizzling when we left, but we were optimistic it would improve. At least watefalls look their best when it´s raining. As we approached the main waterfall; the Pailon del Diablo 18km from Baños it poured with rain and we had to take refuge under somebody´s shop canopy. To reach the waterfall we had to walk 20 minutes and then crawl through a rock, but it was worth it (despite having seen Iguacu). Back at the road we had to wait for some (actually very nice) Americans to return and share a truck back to town with our bikes (nobody ever cycles back to Baños).

Back in Baños we went straight to the Mercado Central for a $2.50 almuerzo of chicken stew, rice and potato pancakes. We returned to the hostel for a shower and I then encountered ridiculous American no. 4 who we first met in the morning when he came out to watch us set off on our bikes because he´d been cycling since 1986. This guy emails his 90 year old Mum daily and I foolishly asked how his day was... 15 minutes later I knew where he was from and that he´s been a qualified nurse for 30 years... now he performs ´energy tests´ to determine peoples bacteria and colour of their aura.

In the afternoon we went for a massage and as we sat and perused the National Geographic collection from the 1970s the two therapists came in... a husband and wife: Edith and Jeffrey. So I got Jeffrey (from California) and to be fair, it was a great massage. There were two moments when I had to try my best not to laugh out loud: 1) was the moment he mounted me to rub my back while straddling me, and 2) at the end he pushed my feet upwards at the very moment the music changed to an uplifting tone.

After the massage we ended up in the Stray Dog again and discovered their wheat beer. I told the owner that I had just had a massage with Jeffrey and his immediate response was ¨did he mount you¨?! Well, yes he did as a matter of fact! The weather had turned to rain again, so we managed to kill a few more hours propping up the bar. I ordered a delicious pulled pork sandwich and Steven and Patricia came and joined us for food... the poor sods can´t seem to avoid us.

Day 74 - At 9am we were picked up in a minibus, along with an Ecuadorian family, to go rafting. We drove to the rafting HQ - some broken down house with kittens and chickens missing neck feathers - to get kitted up with wetsuits, helmets and plimsols. The hospitality of the three brothers running the show was entirely absent, and Alex and I were starting to regret booking through the hostel. Luckily, by the time we reached the River Pastaza (on the way treated to music videos of a similar theme... women writhing around in bikinis) they seemed to take things a bit more seriously. By this time another vanfull of Ecuadorians showed up and we shared a raft with one of the families. As we got in the water, the manner of the brothers entirely changed... as if they´re only happy when off dry land. The rafting was amazing fun and really, really wet, particularly as Alex and I were sat at the front of the raft (and doing most of the paddling too it seemed). The highlights include:

1. When our guide took us to see a waterfall and as we approached it looked certain that Alex was going to end up underneath it, but just at the last minute the boat turned and I got entirely pummelled.
2. When the naughtiest brother boarded our raft from his and pushed us both in. Alex ended up in the middle of the river and I had to rescue her by pulling her back into the raft by her life jacket.
3. When one of the children sat on the front of our raft and we hit a 6 foot wall of water and was washed back into the raft, emerging like a drowned rat.
4. When I got to sit at the front of the raft, like a ship figurehead (!).
5. The best of all... when the wife was sat at the front of the raft and as we hit the rapids was washed into the water. She clung to the rope on the side of the raft (and was fine by the way) and the guide told us to keep going forward until we exited the rapids. The husband however, lunged forward from the back of the raft and in the most dramatic and over the top display of husbandry, grabbed her life jacket and hauled her out of the water, causing the both of them to fall backwards onto Alex. Alex and I couldn´t contain ourselves, but since the family spoke english we had to contend ourselves by saying ´later´... we knew what we meant. We had a very good laugh about it afterwards.

Long journey back to town (with the same music videos), on the way stopping at a little restaurant where we were fed a simple and good almuerzo. Back in Baños we went straight to the geothermal baths, where we had to wear shower caps, which was fun. The surroundings were beautiful, but there were far too many splashing children for my liking!

At the hostel we met our new roomates: Elvie (Holland) and Dan (a farmer from Devon). Alex and Dan have the exact same bag, bought probably in the exact same year... you can imagine how exciting that was for them! The four of us went for a beer at the Stray Dog where we were treated to an old guy playing a harmonica to Neil Young songs. Determined not to eat there 3 days in a row, Alex and I went to Cafe Hood for some excellent vegetarian food, and enjoyed a 3-piece Ecuadorian family with a big drum, guitar and pan pipes. I´m not usually a fan of pan pipe music, but it was really good. On the way back we bumped into Dan, and were somehow convinced to go for a drink at a classic rock bar and make the most of free pool... many drinks later Alex ruled the fuzeball, and Dan had to buy us a round of ´Bob Marley shots´ (green, red, yellow and on fire) because I wooped him at pool. We ended up in some terrible gringo club called Leprechauns and later got some chips on the way home... the whole evening was very reminiscent of our many nights out in Manhattens in Hereford (RIP).

Day 75 - Our half way point!!!! Well at least this time Alex has a hangover too. We checked out and headed towards the bus station, grabbing a sandwich and lots of crisps to take on the journey back to Quito. Despite being only 3.5 hours, the journey felt longer than many night buses! We took a taxi to La Mariscal, which is in the new town this time. The afternoon was spent in the mall trying to find some sort of seasickness medication to take to the Galapagos (apparently this is the roughest time of year... great).