Baños- 10:58 PM

We were supposed to get a wake up knock on our door at 6:30. That never happened so I was happy that I set my alarm for 6:30. I didn't sleep very well. It took me forever to go to sleep and when I did, I had a dream that I had the measles. It could have been because I woke up with even more big bites.

We went to breakfast at 7:00 and got on the motor canoes around 7:45. We took the 10 minute ride back to the bus. We loaded up and got on the road.

Jose told us all about the recent political climate in Ecuador. He told us how the past 3 presidents, since the late 90's, had been ousted because of their crazy antics. The current president seems to have won favor over the citizens because he has focused on Ecuador's infrastructure and has had no major scandal tied to him.

We made our first pit stop about an hour after we left. After our pit stop, we had about another hour until we reached a waterfall called "The Devil's Cauldron." I took a nap until we got there.

We first got out of the bus to take a picture. It was very cold compared to the Amazon. We got back in the bus and headed toward the entrance to the waterfall.

It started lightly raining on the way but it wasn't too bad. We had to hike down a steep hill with twists and turns to get to the entrance of the waterfall. We paid $1.50 each and went up the steps to see the "Devil's Cauldron." It was very noisy and the water was hitting the rocks below incredibly fast. I was glad I had my umbrella to shield me from the mist. There were three look out points that we checked out and took pictures at. There was also a tight crawl space that you could crawl up to the top of the waterfall. I wanted to do it but knew that I couldn't because of my claustrophobia so I decided to head back and wait until Mimi did it. We then got to walk across a suspension bridge to see the waterfall from below.

The hike back up to the bus was pretty intense. It took about 15-20 minutes and was mostly steep and uphill. It was a great workout because my legs were shaking when I got to the top.

Jose told us to try empanadas from a little stand across from where the bus was parked. It was run by an older lady with drawn on eyebrows. She had a little kitchen area facing the street. She had fresh dough and meats and cheeses and even bananas and chocolate for dessert empanadas. She made them one at a time and fried them. Almost everybody tried one. I got a ham, chicken and cheese one. It was the best one I've ever had! The dough was soooooo good and it was the perfect size. With that and a bottle of coke, I enjoyed my $3 lunch!

We were running a little late because of the empanada line. Even with Carlos and Jose helping out, we left 30 minutes late. We then headed to the "cable car" that over looked Bridal Veil waterfall. For $1, 10 of us got in a basket and were whisked across the canyon at high speeds. We stopped in front of the waterfalls but I was too busy nearly having a heart attack to enjoy it. We were then flung backwards back to the start. It was definitely a shock but kind of fun in hindsight.

We then made our way to the town Baños. It's a backpacker town with lots of adventure types of activities. We stopped into a shop to see how a certain but is carved and made to look like ivory. I bought some necklaces there and then we headed to the church in the middle of town that had impressive paintings on the walls.

We had some time to walk around and I had time to buy a replacement hairbrush because mine was lost in the past couple of days. We got back on the bus and drove about an hour through thin, winding, mountainous roads to our hacienda for the night.

Our hacienda is like a bed and breakfast. We met Fernando, our host, and his three sweet dogs. We were warmly welcomed in the living room area and given our room keys. We put our stuff away and put on our Ecuador jerseys. About 10 of us met downstairs to watch the Ecuador/Honduras World Cup game on the little TV. It was a pretty good game, even though I don't know much about soccer. Ecuador ended up winning which put everyone in a great mood, especially Fernando.

We then went upstairs to try some fresh made cheese and crackers. The cheese was delicious and tasted super fresh. Mimi and I chatted with a couple from Asheville, North Carolina. Fernando came around and took pictures of everyone for his Facebook page.

We then sat for dinner where Jose and Fernando made a nice toast. We were given a warm liqueur that tasted a bit like cherries. It was really good! Then we got served a delicious warm garlicky focaccia type bread and Swiss chard soup which was delicious. I had steak for dinner that came with a flavorful rice and broccoli. We sat with Marcia and Maude and talked a about what they do for a living.

For dessert, we had chocolate cake and sang happy birthday to Drew and Arthur. We then hung out in the living room and Facetimed our friends.

Tomorrow we head back to Quito! I can't believe we are close to being halfway through our trip already!