After a lie in during the morning we went for brunch with Susanna and Olivia in town. Not long after we waved them off and it was time to do something with our day. We wasted no time in booking a canyoning tour for an hour later.

None of us have ever been canyoning before so were not quite sure what we had let ourselves in for. In brief it involves wearing a harness, getting very wet and navigating your way downstream - it could be swimming jumping off rocks or abseiling down waterfalls. We soon found out that today we were abseiling down waterfalls.

After a brief introduction Alex our guide took us upstream to where there were a series of waterfalls. First up was Jonathan who slowly abseiled his way over the edge of the waterfall, which was about 6-7m tall and almost vertical. His facial expression as he leaned over the edge backwards was priceless! Soon after it was my turn and i also cautiously lowered myself back and eased my way down. I have abseiled plenty of times before, but when the rocks are extremely slippy and you have hundred of litres of water hitting you it certainly adds another dimension. Finally, Luke followed and made light work of the falls before we were all upstaged by Alex, the guide, who simply ran down face first!

Next up was a slightly smaller waterfall at about 4m in height. Luke and I were ushered down at the same time this time so had a mini-race to the bottom whilst Jonathan followed and the guide showed us how it was done once more.

The third waterfall was around 5m in height and not quite vertical making it slightly easier than the others, but little did we know things were going to change soon after. Once we had all scaled the falls we walked downstream for a bit where the river simply dissapeared and you could not see it at the bottom either. The reason was a 40m vertical waterfall.

Jonathan started as he meant to go on and was first to go whilst Luke and I watched from upstream unaware of the drop that lied ahead. Before long Jonathan was out of sight and Luke and I were told to fasten up and secure ourselves to the ropes. Luke then walked the 10m further downstream to where the guide was and before long I followed him. It turns out this was a mistake because once i was on the edge of the falls, still unable to see exactly what lied underneath us I saw the guide let go of the rope and watched Luke plummet over the edge with no idea of the consequences.

Next up it was my turn to get into position precariously posed over the edge and for the first time you could see what lied underneath - it was simple, nothing! Nothing for 40m until you reach the river and rocks once more. Whilst suspended over the edge i took part in a brief conversation with Alex about the weather and my family before he asked me if i could turn around and wave at the boys. As i turned my head downwards i felt the effects of gravity and freefalled about 20m through the waterfall before i felt the ropes tighten once more. It was an awesome adrenaline rush and i was still buzzing as my feet finally touched the floor.

After a brief pause we all walked downstream for a few hundred metres until we reached civilsation and a road again before returning to Banos.

After a spell in an internet cafe we went out for some food and a couple of drinks and games of pools in one of the bars in town before calling a night.

Next morning Luke and I were up early ready to go white water rafting. Jonathan, who is certainly a man of leisure and doesn´t like to over exert himself, had opted for a lie in instead. After a mini-bus ride downstream we arrived at the river side and after a brief demonstration entered the waters with our guide, a Dutchman and an Irish/Ecuadorian couple. The rapids were grade 3/4 and were some of the best rapids i have been down. It was great fun being knocked and splashed all over the place whilst having Ecuadorian mountains as a stunning backdrop for the whole journey. On many occasions people were thrown out of the boat, including the guide. Luke and I were the only ones not thrown into the waters, so took it upon ourselves to push each other in instead.

A couple of hours later and much further downstream we got changed again and headed back into town. It wasn´t long before i embarked on the next adventure though as i had arranged to jump off an 80m high bridge with just a rope attached. The idea is that the rope is attached to one side of the bridge and you jump off the other side. The result is when the rope tightens it swings you back across in a pendulum motion. I was quickly strapped up and took to the platform suspended over the bridge and on the count of 3 found myself free falling for a second or two. I felt the tug of the rope (which really hurt my nuts) and even managed to face plant the rope before realising that i was safe and left dangling above the canyon. Soon after i was lowered back to solid ground and returned to the hostel.

In the afternoon Luke and Jonathan went to climb a nearby mountain and have a coffee from the cafe at the top that overlooked the town. I opted instead for an internet cafe where i booked my flights to the galapagos and then afterwards had a nap! We went for more pool and beer in town and called it a night.

The next day was our final one in Banos, Jonathan was still feeling rough so after a hearty breakfast of pancakes and fruit Luke and I rented some mountain bikes to check out the surrounding area and the waterfalls it had to offer. I made the effort of ensuring my bike worked, something Luke dismissed and regretted for the rest of the day as he had to peddle twice as hard as me.

In total we cycled 20km, but to say we cycled it is cheating as about 80% of it was downhill. Every 10 minutes or so we would sttop and explore one of the huge waterfalls that littered the valley. We stopped off at the ´Devil´s Penis´which was a huge impressive waterfall that you could stand right next to, and even behind at one point. In all i think we visited 5 waterfalls and at the last one we decided to go for a swim, despite the sun (and temperature) setting. It was freezing cold but good fun nonetheless. We caught a bus back and went out for a giant pizza that night. We followed it up with a beer and some pool before Luke and I caught the night bus out to Cuenca. Jonathan was staying for another night though as he was not yet up to taking a night bus....it turns out nor was I.

We had the worst journey ever. During the day I twisted the ankle that i tore the ligaments on previously and was not in good shape. Turned out there was only one seat left on the bus which Luke kindly let me have to save me from standing. The journey was 7 hours in total, and after 2 hours, which Luke had been standing for I also vommed right next to him in a bag, well mostly in a bag - a few splashes hit the floor. With my stomach empty of pizza and feeling a lot better i reclined back into my chair and fell asleep. Luke also gave in to the tiredness so slept on the floor of the bus, of course in my sick!!! Sorry buddy.