Day 84 - Monday 24th May

Really, REALLY cool town. More compact than Mancora but all the buildings had a hundred wonky levels and were all made out of wood. Music and colour everywhere made it a pretty cool place. It turned out that it was a public holiday and so it was heaving but good all the same. Had a mini siesta in my hostel (which was fairly open and had tents spread across the concrete 3rd and 4th floors). Read on the beach for the afternoon, grabbed some dinner and caught an early night (going against the grain of the party town).

Day 85 - Tuesday 25th May

Got an early start and some cheap desayuna before a quick stroll along the beach. The waves didn't look that great but I rented a board anyway (it was only $4) and tried my best in the short but strong waves. Only got up a few times but it was good fun all the same to get amongst the waves. Quick pack, quick lunch and I grabbed the midday bus back to Guayaquil. Luckily an Ecuadorian girl sat next to me (better than any gringo) and I practicised my best Spanish for the duration. Changeover in Guayaquil and got a bus straight to Baños (also the Spanish word for toilet...). Ecuador's a pretty small country but still manages to squeeze in beaches, jungle, forest, canyons, plains and not to mention 13 million people. Consequently, getting a bus isn't too tedious as the scenery is usually pretty dramatic and changes every hour. And so I find myself paying $1 an hour for the privalege, half way to Baños and my ears popping with the climb...