While we’re in Quito we are lucky to be able to visit some great places as the buses are so incredibly cheap and fast (about $1 for an hours travel).
We get to visit Vicky and some other friends from Kamala in May which is lovely and makes me feel a bit sad that we didn’t get work in Guayaquil which is only a couple of hours away. The weather is great and we get to go surfing again. Bizarrely we also meet a friend of Pablos, called Neil from Edinburgh plus a couple of his friends. I love how close and small Montanita is, it feels great to walk down the street and know people. It is really great to see Vicky and see how happy she is here.
We go to Banyos with Kevin one weekend which is loads of fun. Banyos is town near the jungle with some great natural features like waterfalls and thermal baths. Our first day we go to the thermal baths and have loads to eat and drink. The town is lovely and we enjoy walking about until the skies open and it’s time to take refuge in a bar! In the evening we head to a viewpoint where we can see the town and also the nearby volcano.
The next day we go canyoning which is essentailly abseiling down waterfalls. We get absolutely destroyed by mosquitos but it’s lots of fun and the final waterfall particularly is incrediby lovely and very humourous when Kevins rope gets stuck and he is rescued by the guide.
After that we fall into a temporary insanity and decide to do a swing jump- this is essentially a bungee jump but you don’t bounce at the bottom you swing instead. The bridge that we select is 100m high. Pablo steps up to go first but after loads of hesitation I start to get nervous so volunteer to go first in order to get it over and done with. On with the harness, onto to tiny ledge, countdown 1..2..3. the is absolutely no way I can jump myself as every fibre in my body is screaming- don’t jump you fool!- so I politely ask the guy to push me and I’m off- flying off a bridge! Quite an experience, not one I’m eager to repeat but I’m glad I’ve done it. P goes next and after some more hesitation he manages to go then finally Kevin, again some hesitation then he goes off backwards. We head for some well deserved drinks after that!
On my birthday in July Pablo and I head to Mindo, a nearby town in the cloud forest. We get to go walking which is fantastic, we’ve really missed that from Patagonia. We also do some ziplining and horseriding. The food in Mindo is excellent but there isn’t much nightlife so we have a chilled weekend together. I find it funny to realise how accustomed to Quito I’ve become. There is absolutely loads of robbery in Quito so when we’re meant to leave out boots outside our room in Mindo we’re both unable to do so! Even in a town of about 50 people we don’t trust anyone!
