Day 6-10

Soo I haven't had much time to update lately. Our trip to Banos was incredible and blew Atacames off the map. We took a bus through the planes south of Quito. Before it got dark I got a great view of Cotopaxi's snowy peak. Its amazing how fast the scenery can change in these parts. It goes from Eucalyptus covered hills in the city to pine trees, to jungle in a matter of an hour's drive. We arrived in Banos after dark and we had no idea what kind of beautiful scenery we were dropping in on. In the morning, Theo and I made our way up to our Hostel's rooftop breakfast cafe and we were greeted with all the beauty of Banos. The green, towering mountains, the quilt-like patchwork of the farms which have learned to utilized the extreme slope of the mountainside, and the natural masterpiece of the town, the Veil of the Virgin waterfall. falling seemingly directly out of the side of the mountain. Beautiful.

So after breakfast, Theo and I walked around town and check out the waterfall and the hot baths that the town is famous for. They looked kinda gross, like 50 year old bathwater. After that we hung out for a bit and then went HORSEBACK RIDING through the mountains. SOOO amazingly fun and beautiful. so tranquil too. Especially because my horse was 18 years old and walked realllllll slow. I was in the back of the group the whole time. And when I would try to get to the front the other, younger horses would bite my horse. sad. After that we got a quick lunch and rushed over to this tour place where we had arranged for a canyoning trip. That´s when you hike up a mountain in a wetsuit and then rappel down the waterfalls all the way down the mountain. It was a bit scary the first time because you're supposed to lean so far back that you're essentially horizontal, and then rely on your own strength and the ropes to lead you down. It was invigorating, looking down from up top, and then looking up from down below. I felt really accomplished and brave. It was unfortunate that I couldn't bring my camera.

Amazing times in the amazon. now i´m tired just writing about all that stuff.

The next day, Courtney and I got AMAZING massages at one of the many spas around town. It was about 1.5 hours of pure bliss. Whole body massage, foot massage/reflexology, hot stone therapy, aromatherapy, a face massage and a mud facial. All that was only 25 bucks!!!!! can you believe it?! I couldn't pass it up. After that, we headed home to Quito.

Monday, Theo and I took a nice walk down to Parque La Carolina where we spent a few hours perusing the Jardin de Botanica. It was so awesome! I loved all the greenhouses and Orchids. We took about 100 pictures of flowers. That night, the whole gang headed over to Plaza Foch to  enjoy some endless tapas and vino. The tapas were great, but the wine was the main event. The meal started out mellow. That is, until, Courtney's friend Amanda ordered a straw with her wine. We eventually got louder and sloppier. The hijinx escalated until the waiter gradually stopped coming to our table with wine. I don't think we will be welcome back. Oops.

On Tuesday, Theo and I traveled 40 minutes North to visit the EQUATOR! We arrived in front of this seemingly deserted monument, and paid 2 bucks to get into this weird, rundown plaza that houses the historically calculated equator. All I can say about Mitad Del Mundo was that it was creepy. Folk music played faintly in the background as we looked for something, ANYTHING to do in that tourist trap. We consulted our Lonely Planet book and found that a much more exciting version of the Equator was just a few hundred meters away, and was the REAL equator, as calculated with a military GPS. We paid another 3 bucks to go into Museo Solar Inti Nan, which included a free tour in English! We got to see a real shrunken human head, as well as a shrunken sloth head. We also did the obligatory equator tricks, such as watching water fall straight down a drain (instead of swirling around clockwise or counterclockwise), balance an egg on a nail, and strange muscular resistance things. Apparently it's really easy to pull apart a thumb and forefinger while standing on the equator. We ended our tour with a "energy test" with guinea pigs. Apparently they are really sensitive to negative energy. But we passed without a squeak. It was a great experience. We came home and ended up walked around in the rain for about 30 minutes looking for some food. Everything that we wanted to eat was closed so we ended up getting Papa John's pizza. Safe, but tasty.

Today, Theo and I strolled down to the Parque La Carolina and finally found the Vivarium. I got to hold a huge boa constrictor. We hung out in the parque a bit, kissed like the other lovers were doing, and bought some bread. Theo bought this thing called a Papa Rellena. Imagine this: fried rice with pork wrapped in mashed potatoes and deep fried. DAMN. I got to eat it since it had pork in it.

Tonight we leave Quito for Guayaquil and then Montanita. Montanita is supposed to be a lot like the Ocean Beach of Ecuador: hippie surf town. I hope I can get some shut eye on the night bus, but even if I can't, I'm sure I can get a bit of sleep on the beach. I can't wait to surf!