Ecuador! Cuenca and Baños
From Punta Sal we headed up to the border with Ecuador. This was one of the most hectic border crossings so far. There were people everywhere shouting and trying to sell you stuff - at times like that I´m glad I can speak the lingo. One of the border guards even tried to get the tour guide to pay a bribe. We actually had to drive the truck through a busy market and it looked quite a task not to take out any stalls.
Anyway once over the border it was amazing how the scenary changes from barren desert to lush green. There was a huge banana plantation and we were told that most of the UK bananas come from Ecuador.
We headed up to a place called Cuenca. We went out as a group when we arrived to a restaurant called Eucalyptus there were lots of international dishes on the menu and I managed to find Lamb Madras! Some of us went out after to a decent bar (Wunderbar) and we had a game of Jenga and a few quite ones.
Next day we went to a factory where Panama hats are made - yep you may be suprised to learn that the Panama hat does not come from Panama but from Ecuador. There was a hat buying frenzy from most of the group although I managed to restrain myself.
From Cuenca on route to Baños we stopped off at our last set of ruins - Ingapirca. These ruins were built by the Cañari who were conquered by the Incas. The Incas built around the existing structures instead of destroying them.
In Baños I actually got to have my own room as one of the lads had complained of my snoring when we had been in a triple room in Cuenca - it´s good to know my snoring can come in useful sometimes.
The first night in Baños was a lively one - we ended up in a biker bar called Jack Rocks (Formally known as the Hard Rock Cafe - till it was advertised on the net and forced to change it´s name by the big American franchise). I was drinking Long Island Ice Teas and was amused when my first one arrived with a real tea bag balanced on top of the ice!!! Any way it was a cool bar with free pool and table football. Tracey managed to beat James the trainee driver 20-1 at footie - shameful.
The next day was spent chilling - the hotel had a DVD room which was good - we watched Crash which was a pretty good film. There are also loads of thermal spas in Baños (which translates as baths). There was one right next to the hotel with indoor and outdoor pools - it was great to sit in the outside pool as the scenary is tremendous as the sun sets and there is a huge waterfall crashing down right next to the pool.
Next day I reckoned it was about time to get some exercise so I signed up for Canyoning. Wasn´t really sure what "Canyoning" involved but it turned out to be brilliant - basically abseiling down waterfalls. There were 3 waterfalls in all - the first one was high but not too difficult to start off with. One side was smooth and after we´d abseiled down we could climb back up and slide down it.
The next one was small but tough - I slipped half way down and it was difficult to recover as there was so much water. The final one was pant wettingly high - what they didn´t tell us either was that there was no wall to put your feet on after the first ledge just a sheer drop. When I pushed off the edge I actually went upside down - but all in all a great experience.
I wrapped up my last day in Baños with another trip to the spa.
Anyway once over the border it was amazing how the scenary changes from barren desert to lush green. There was a huge banana plantation and we were told that most of the UK bananas come from Ecuador.
We headed up to a place called Cuenca. We went out as a group when we arrived to a restaurant called Eucalyptus there were lots of international dishes on the menu and I managed to find Lamb Madras! Some of us went out after to a decent bar (Wunderbar) and we had a game of Jenga and a few quite ones.
Next day we went to a factory where Panama hats are made - yep you may be suprised to learn that the Panama hat does not come from Panama but from Ecuador. There was a hat buying frenzy from most of the group although I managed to restrain myself.
From Cuenca on route to Baños we stopped off at our last set of ruins - Ingapirca. These ruins were built by the Cañari who were conquered by the Incas. The Incas built around the existing structures instead of destroying them.
In Baños I actually got to have my own room as one of the lads had complained of my snoring when we had been in a triple room in Cuenca - it´s good to know my snoring can come in useful sometimes.
The first night in Baños was a lively one - we ended up in a biker bar called Jack Rocks (Formally known as the Hard Rock Cafe - till it was advertised on the net and forced to change it´s name by the big American franchise). I was drinking Long Island Ice Teas and was amused when my first one arrived with a real tea bag balanced on top of the ice!!! Any way it was a cool bar with free pool and table football. Tracey managed to beat James the trainee driver 20-1 at footie - shameful.
The next day was spent chilling - the hotel had a DVD room which was good - we watched Crash which was a pretty good film. There are also loads of thermal spas in Baños (which translates as baths). There was one right next to the hotel with indoor and outdoor pools - it was great to sit in the outside pool as the scenary is tremendous as the sun sets and there is a huge waterfall crashing down right next to the pool.
Next day I reckoned it was about time to get some exercise so I signed up for Canyoning. Wasn´t really sure what "Canyoning" involved but it turned out to be brilliant - basically abseiling down waterfalls. There were 3 waterfalls in all - the first one was high but not too difficult to start off with. One side was smooth and after we´d abseiled down we could climb back up and slide down it.
The next one was small but tough - I slipped half way down and it was difficult to recover as there was so much water. The final one was pant wettingly high - what they didn´t tell us either was that there was no wall to put your feet on after the first ledge just a sheer drop. When I pushed off the edge I actually went upside down - but all in all a great experience.
I wrapped up my last day in Baños with another trip to the spa.
posted by Phil at 11:35 PM
2 Comments:
Wow - the canyoning looks really cool, plus the pics look good. Jen x
Loving the look with the hats! I'm sure you told everyone they really suited them too!
vic x
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