Brendon's Perspective:
Today we got up early and went rafting, it was fantastic! It was a short ride down to where we started and then about an hour ride down the river. The largest rapids we were told were a 4... not sure what that means but it was fun. Christina fell off once and almost lost her oar, that was funny.
The rest of the day we spent walking around Baños and looking through the shops and what not.
Christina's Perspective:
So Brendon and I were so tired and went to sleep at around midnight. At around 12:40 we were both woken up to our hostal shaking and our bed shaking. It was pretty crazy. It didn't shake all that much, but Brendon researched it a little and last April, the area had some quakes from the volcano nearby. So he talked to some people in the hall that were congregating after the shaking, and they may have said it could be the volcano. Not sure, but that's probably what it was.
In the morning, we woke up just in time to swallow our breakfast whole and make it to the Geotours office to get ready for rafting! I was soooo freaking excited! I'd always wanted to go.
Thankfully we signed up with Geotours again. We signed up with them for canyoning yesterday and it was a huge success, so I expected nothing less from this company. We talked to a guy that had gone rafting the other day and he said he did it with another company and it sucked. No waves, no near death experiences.
So we hopped into this little van and drove for 20 minutes or so to our destination. We jumped into our wetsuits and were told all of the instructions and safety procedures and whatnot. Afterwards, we got into the river.
Our guide was seriously the best! He was really funny and helped us out a lot.
So during the ride, we hit lots of crazy waves. One particular wave completely knocked me off the freaking raft, and consequently knocked off the girl behind me. I almost lost my oar too, which would have sucked cause that costs $40, but luckily my compadre in my row lifted me out to safety and the guide rescued my oar. Yay! I remember scraping against the rocks and thinking, ¨oh crap, I gotta get the crap outta here¨, cause being in there for longer could have been very bad.
Our ride went on for a little while longer, getting splashed and thrashed around. It was definitely full of adrenaline. :) The level of rafting we were told was a 3-4 on a scale of 1 being super calm water and 6 being holy crap hard.
Then we ended by driving to a little restaurant and eating lunch with everyone.
After the rafting, we got back to Baños and changed and walked around. Today is Ecuador's independence day, I believe, and so there are so many things going on. Kids playing outside till late, rides and food everywhere, people dressed up as mickey mouse and the like, and so many shops open.
Brendon and I bought some pajama pant things for me, a shirt for him, another llama blanket, and a llama hoodie for him :) It was really fun!
We ate at this restaurant too that had the best chicken. I'm starting to get used to eating off of the bone.
Now, we are debating to do swing jumping tomorrow (which is kinda like bunjy jumping) or rock climbing. We will see. We were talking about parasailing, but I don't think we will do that. Costs a little too much, not comparatively, but still too much.
Our days in Ecuador are coming to a close, we will be leaving on Tuesday! I was anticipating the end of this trip at the beginning of it, but now I am a little sad it's ending.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Thursday, May 23, 2013
Canyoning in Baños
Brendon's Perspective:
Baños is filled with a bunch of extreme sports, one of these is Canyoning. We were not really sure what to expect but we knew it included repelling down waterfalls. It was so much more though!
We started by waking up at 9:00 to take off with a small group and two tour guides. We got all our gear, including a wet suit, a jacket, some shoes, a harness, and a helmet. We then all crammed into a pickup and started on our way. We got up to some shack up in the mountains and changed into our gear.
We then started on a short hike up the mountain through some steep trails. We got to the top and started towards the sound of a waterfall. We followed our guides into the river and followed it for quite a while. The river turned into a canyon as we arrived at our first waterfall. The guides clipped in and demonstrated what to do and we all repelled down our first waterfall.
We did this several more times and the canyon walls got higher and prettier. The view from inside the canyon was amazing, something you would never be able to see any other way. Sadly we did not have a camera but the view was breathtaking. The river continued down and our trip included 4-5 waterfalls and a short zip line. The tallest waterfall was about 45 meters tall and fantastic.
After our trek we went around town looking at shops. There was a small game of speed chess going on and they invited me to play, it was pretty rough... Speed chess is sooooooo hard! We got some excellent hamburgers for dinner and rested the rest of the day.
Christina's Perspective:
So yesterday we decided to switch hostals, yay! We found this other one that is a tad more expensive, but I think it's worth it. I like the bed a lot, and it feels safer.
So we woke up with time to spare for some complementary breakfast from the hostal. It was lovely :)
Then we headed on our way to the extreme sports place for some CANYONING!
We hopped into a pickup truck with our instructors, three sisters from Australia, and one man from Switzerland. It was great that we all spoke English. :)
We drove for a little bit up part of a mountain and arrived at this shack and changed into our wetsuits.
We took several pictures and then followed the instructors up this rocky, muddy pathway to the canyon. The path was pretty freaking steep, and I am very grateful our instructor gave us little breaks to catch our breath.
When we got to the canyon, we followed a stream for a little bit and got our feet wet. OH YEAH, so the shoes we were given were pretty much CONVERSE KNOCK-OFFS, so obviously they were the best shoes with the most traction for repelling down waterfalls and whatnot. -_-
Continuing....we arrived at our first waterfall. This one was a practice one and they taught us the basics of survival for repelling down the waterfalls.
It was so awesome!! We were literally IN the waterfall, just repelling down. It was extremely exhilerating. Definitely something to cross off my bucket list. Except I want to do this much more in the future.
We then climbed our way with our butts and hands against some slippery rock to our next waterfall. And BTW, I was definitely the pansy of the group. There's something in my blood or something that makes me clumsy. I suck with lots of things, and this was one of them. I slipped much more than anyone there and made a big fool out of myself. But it's all something I am used to by now, haha.
So in between two of the waterfalls, we had to get down from the high ground we were at and apparently, we were going to do that by ZIPLINING. It looked so legit, watching our instructor secure a rope for us to slide down, with him at the bottom supporting us.
Thankfully, it was safer than it looked. That part was so fun too! Especially for how scary it was.
Anyway, so we repelled down the second one, which was a bit bigger than the first, and jumped into this little pool of an area. We took several pictures and continued onto the third.
The third waterfall was 45 meters long and was our longest one. We got to talk to the group that came with us and it was such a wonderful time! Definitely worth the money and the time.
After all of it, Brendon and I just relaxed for the rest of the day. We walked around to several different shops, I bought a llama key chain, he played some timed chess, and we continued to be followed around by that wonderful little black dog! :D
Oh I want to take him home so badly!
We got some great burgers from this place called 'Comic Burgers' and it was decorated and themed and whatnot. Pretty awesome.
Great burgers too. And now we are finishing our night in each other's company.
Canyoning Pictures!
Baños is filled with a bunch of extreme sports, one of these is Canyoning. We were not really sure what to expect but we knew it included repelling down waterfalls. It was so much more though!
We started by waking up at 9:00 to take off with a small group and two tour guides. We got all our gear, including a wet suit, a jacket, some shoes, a harness, and a helmet. We then all crammed into a pickup and started on our way. We got up to some shack up in the mountains and changed into our gear.
We then started on a short hike up the mountain through some steep trails. We got to the top and started towards the sound of a waterfall. We followed our guides into the river and followed it for quite a while. The river turned into a canyon as we arrived at our first waterfall. The guides clipped in and demonstrated what to do and we all repelled down our first waterfall.
We did this several more times and the canyon walls got higher and prettier. The view from inside the canyon was amazing, something you would never be able to see any other way. Sadly we did not have a camera but the view was breathtaking. The river continued down and our trip included 4-5 waterfalls and a short zip line. The tallest waterfall was about 45 meters tall and fantastic.
After our trek we went around town looking at shops. There was a small game of speed chess going on and they invited me to play, it was pretty rough... Speed chess is sooooooo hard! We got some excellent hamburgers for dinner and rested the rest of the day.
Christina's Perspective:
So yesterday we decided to switch hostals, yay! We found this other one that is a tad more expensive, but I think it's worth it. I like the bed a lot, and it feels safer.
So we woke up with time to spare for some complementary breakfast from the hostal. It was lovely :)
Then we headed on our way to the extreme sports place for some CANYONING!
We hopped into a pickup truck with our instructors, three sisters from Australia, and one man from Switzerland. It was great that we all spoke English. :)
We drove for a little bit up part of a mountain and arrived at this shack and changed into our wetsuits.
We took several pictures and then followed the instructors up this rocky, muddy pathway to the canyon. The path was pretty freaking steep, and I am very grateful our instructor gave us little breaks to catch our breath.
When we got to the canyon, we followed a stream for a little bit and got our feet wet. OH YEAH, so the shoes we were given were pretty much CONVERSE KNOCK-OFFS, so obviously they were the best shoes with the most traction for repelling down waterfalls and whatnot. -_-
Continuing....we arrived at our first waterfall. This one was a practice one and they taught us the basics of survival for repelling down the waterfalls.
It was so awesome!! We were literally IN the waterfall, just repelling down. It was extremely exhilerating. Definitely something to cross off my bucket list. Except I want to do this much more in the future.
We then climbed our way with our butts and hands against some slippery rock to our next waterfall. And BTW, I was definitely the pansy of the group. There's something in my blood or something that makes me clumsy. I suck with lots of things, and this was one of them. I slipped much more than anyone there and made a big fool out of myself. But it's all something I am used to by now, haha.
So in between two of the waterfalls, we had to get down from the high ground we were at and apparently, we were going to do that by ZIPLINING. It looked so legit, watching our instructor secure a rope for us to slide down, with him at the bottom supporting us.
Thankfully, it was safer than it looked. That part was so fun too! Especially for how scary it was.
Anyway, so we repelled down the second one, which was a bit bigger than the first, and jumped into this little pool of an area. We took several pictures and continued onto the third.
The third waterfall was 45 meters long and was our longest one. We got to talk to the group that came with us and it was such a wonderful time! Definitely worth the money and the time.
After all of it, Brendon and I just relaxed for the rest of the day. We walked around to several different shops, I bought a llama key chain, he played some timed chess, and we continued to be followed around by that wonderful little black dog! :D
Oh I want to take him home so badly!
We got some great burgers from this place called 'Comic Burgers' and it was decorated and themed and whatnot. Pretty awesome.
Great burgers too. And now we are finishing our night in each other's company.
Canyoning Pictures!
Our canyoning group!
Brendon and I moving down the rocks. He looks graceful, I do not.
Brendon being suspended while repelling down the waterfall. It kinda
looks like he's standing. But, he isn't.
My chinky little 'I'm so stupid' face, haha
In the moment shot
At the bottom of the second waterfall
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Route of the Waterfalls
Brendon's Perspective:
The night sleep wasn´t to great, the place we decided to stay just happens to be right on the main street as well as across from the bus terminal. Luckily they were doing constructions on the bus terminal so we were able to hear cement grinding all night... :/ When we woke up we decided to find a new Hostal but discovered this weekend happens to be a holiday and EVERYWHERE is packed full. We went through several new ones but found a great Hostal who is going to let us stay for all 4 days.
There is so much to do here but we decided to bike riding this first day. They have a 24 km route called the ruta de las cascades. Along this route there are dozens of waterfalls and amazing views. The bike ride wasn´t to hard but the views were amazing. We had a great time, went on several hikes to waterfalls and took tons of pictures. They have these carts that take you across the canyon and are quite fun. They are all run off of old engines and the first one we went on seemed to be just an old tractor without wheels.
The best part for me was Pailon de Diablo. It was a short hike down but the waterfall was powerful. I couldn´t believe how much water was coming down, and somehow they constructed a bunch of viewing areas out of cement on the rock below the waterfall. It´s hard to explain but there are pictures below. There was also a small entry way to let you go behind the waterfall. It was fantastic!!
This whole day we hadn´t eaten a single thing and were dead tired afterwards. We found a bus and it took us back to baños where we got a bite to eat and walked around the town.
Christina's Perspective:
The next morning, we were awoken to beautiful, musical sounds of hammering and drilling going on outside. It was splendid.
We woke up and stopped at this cafe to eat some breakfast- it was a really cool place. The decorations were pretty awesome. We drank a smoothie and shared a muffin and then went in search for a new hostal. Everyone was PACKKKED because apparently this weekend is a holiday (oh joy) and almost lost hope until we looked at this hostal and the man said he'd let us stay if we made a deal right then. So we did. It's not the cheapest, but it's safer than the other place, and QUIETER! (I don't know if that's a word).
The hostel is gorgeous by the way, with lots of art and paintings hanging up EVERYWHERE. I'm in heaven. It's the kind of art I adore.
Oh, as a little side note, Ecuador is full of stray dogs, and most of them are mean, but some are nice. Ever since we got to Baños, this little black dog decided to follow us. He followed us all last night and somehow managed to find us today and follow us around. He's so cute! I want to take him home.
So, we decided we wanted to rent bikes and bike through the city. BEST IDEA EVER. We took this
24 km route that ran along stops for people to view the different water falls in the area. The bike ride was mostly down hill, but had several up hill parts to it. It was a great ride. We made several different stops. The first most memorable one was the cage one. We were put into this metal cage and it took us from one point to the next, while passing over this big waterfall. We took some pictures and then went back to our bikes.
After that, we found several other stops for waterfall viewings and spent some time there.
The best one though was Pailon de Diablo. It's apparently the main waterfall attraction in Baños. According to Brendon, the hike ¨was a short one¨ to the waterfall. It may have been short, but it WAS SO NOT EASY. So steep, so many stairs. The steepness made me think of hiking the Y.
Well finally when we got to the waterfall, it was soooooo huge! Very magestic.
There was so much water! I was soaked when we left. There was this little balcony to view the waterfall, and you're being sprayed the entire time.
There was this other trail through this cave-like structure, and I was so tired and didn't wanna go. So Brendon went without me and I felt alone :(
After awhile, I decided to man up and went under the cave thing - thank goodness. That was the best part! Different views of the water fall and we even got to stand behind it! It was awesome.
After that, we finished our bike route and managed to find a bus to take us back to the main city area.
We returned our bikes and to our dismay, the doggy was no where. I hope he finds us again.
We were starving because we hadn't eaten since the morning, and it was already almost 6, so we searched for a good place to eat.
Now, we're walking around town, enjoying the comfort of watching people and listening to chatter and music from the streets.
Picture timeeee
The night sleep wasn´t to great, the place we decided to stay just happens to be right on the main street as well as across from the bus terminal. Luckily they were doing constructions on the bus terminal so we were able to hear cement grinding all night... :/ When we woke up we decided to find a new Hostal but discovered this weekend happens to be a holiday and EVERYWHERE is packed full. We went through several new ones but found a great Hostal who is going to let us stay for all 4 days.
There is so much to do here but we decided to bike riding this first day. They have a 24 km route called the ruta de las cascades. Along this route there are dozens of waterfalls and amazing views. The bike ride wasn´t to hard but the views were amazing. We had a great time, went on several hikes to waterfalls and took tons of pictures. They have these carts that take you across the canyon and are quite fun. They are all run off of old engines and the first one we went on seemed to be just an old tractor without wheels.
The best part for me was Pailon de Diablo. It was a short hike down but the waterfall was powerful. I couldn´t believe how much water was coming down, and somehow they constructed a bunch of viewing areas out of cement on the rock below the waterfall. It´s hard to explain but there are pictures below. There was also a small entry way to let you go behind the waterfall. It was fantastic!!
This whole day we hadn´t eaten a single thing and were dead tired afterwards. We found a bus and it took us back to baños where we got a bite to eat and walked around the town.
Christina's Perspective:
The next morning, we were awoken to beautiful, musical sounds of hammering and drilling going on outside. It was splendid.
We woke up and stopped at this cafe to eat some breakfast- it was a really cool place. The decorations were pretty awesome. We drank a smoothie and shared a muffin and then went in search for a new hostal. Everyone was PACKKKED because apparently this weekend is a holiday (oh joy) and almost lost hope until we looked at this hostal and the man said he'd let us stay if we made a deal right then. So we did. It's not the cheapest, but it's safer than the other place, and QUIETER! (I don't know if that's a word).
The hostel is gorgeous by the way, with lots of art and paintings hanging up EVERYWHERE. I'm in heaven. It's the kind of art I adore.
Oh, as a little side note, Ecuador is full of stray dogs, and most of them are mean, but some are nice. Ever since we got to Baños, this little black dog decided to follow us. He followed us all last night and somehow managed to find us today and follow us around. He's so cute! I want to take him home.
So, we decided we wanted to rent bikes and bike through the city. BEST IDEA EVER. We took this
24 km route that ran along stops for people to view the different water falls in the area. The bike ride was mostly down hill, but had several up hill parts to it. It was a great ride. We made several different stops. The first most memorable one was the cage one. We were put into this metal cage and it took us from one point to the next, while passing over this big waterfall. We took some pictures and then went back to our bikes.
After that, we found several other stops for waterfall viewings and spent some time there.
The best one though was Pailon de Diablo. It's apparently the main waterfall attraction in Baños. According to Brendon, the hike ¨was a short one¨ to the waterfall. It may have been short, but it WAS SO NOT EASY. So steep, so many stairs. The steepness made me think of hiking the Y.
Well finally when we got to the waterfall, it was soooooo huge! Very magestic.
There was so much water! I was soaked when we left. There was this little balcony to view the waterfall, and you're being sprayed the entire time.
There was this other trail through this cave-like structure, and I was so tired and didn't wanna go. So Brendon went without me and I felt alone :(
After awhile, I decided to man up and went under the cave thing - thank goodness. That was the best part! Different views of the water fall and we even got to stand behind it! It was awesome.
After that, we finished our bike route and managed to find a bus to take us back to the main city area.
We returned our bikes and to our dismay, the doggy was no where. I hope he finds us again.
We were starving because we hadn't eaten since the morning, and it was already almost 6, so we searched for a good place to eat.
Now, we're walking around town, enjoying the comfort of watching people and listening to chatter and music from the streets.
Picture timeeee
A drunken looking Brendon inside the cage we took across to
overlook some waterfalls
After telling Brendon to be careful, the cage came to an abrupt start and Brendon
fell down. Christina was sad.
Us with our bikes
On the bike trail!
We had to cross this metal bridge to see this huge waterfall
Pretty flowers along the trail
Our last hike to the main waterfall: Pailon de Diablo!
At the magestic waterfall!
the cave we had to climb through
On a wooden bridge
Gorgeous!
So on the first night we arrived in Baños, this wonderful little dog
found us and started following us around. There are a ton of stray dogs so
it wasn't that big of a deal. Well, he found us the next day and followed us around
some more. And today, on the third day, he managed to find us again.
So, we fed him :)
So, we fed him :)
Christina really wants to bring him home and fix him up. He probably
has several diseases. Yay.
Baños! At last!
Brendon´s Perspective:
We woke up early to leave Guayaquil. Everyone wanted us to stay just a few more days but we really didn´t have the time. Before we left though we met with Mary, her Husband, her baby, and Junior. They live pretty far away now though and it took two hours to get to where we were. We met for only a little bit and had to say goodbye, our bus was waiting already. We left Guayaquil and started on our 7 hour bus ride to Banos, not knowing what to expect.
Upon arriving at Banos a little kid directed us to a Hostal with empty rooms, we decided to stay there for $15 / night. We then walked around Banos and got something to eat. We decided on a pizza place and were served by a very nice Chilean girl, she has been touring around all of Latin America recently and stops everyonce and a while to work and save. We had a great conversation but during the conversation I brought up how Ecuadorian men are very sexist and demean woman. An Ecuadorian man overheard our conversation though, and understood English, and decided to throw a fit about it. He started to yell and get mad at the Chilean server and demand to call her boss and get her fired.
Obviously Christina and I aren´t ones to back down and let this happen so we started to protect her. After he talked with her manager I then stood up and explained what a great server she was and how much she had helped us. I then couldn´t help but be a sarcastic pain in the butt to the rich old man. It was fun and hopefully she didn´t get fired. We left her a big tip and spent a half hour talking with her and the other servers.
Christina´s Perspective:
So on this magnificent day, my allergies decided to kick in. It was glorious, walking around with toilet paper and having to shove it up my nose. We met with a family that Brendon knows and visited with them for a little bit before heading to the bus terminal.
At the bus terminal, I was in a very grumpy mood, having my nose almost bleeding from blowing it so much. I passed out in the cab on the way there and was in this drunken sleep stupor when these men decided it was the best idea to yell at me to go to Baños on their bus. I was so pissed. I don't like that, and I hate being yelled at. I wanted to punch them too. I'm very angsty.
So, the bus ride to Baños took 7 1/2 hours, not soooo bad, and thankfully I didn't have to use the restroom during it. :/ Like usual, we were rushed off the bus before getting to Baños and were yelled at that we needed to get onto this other bus super fast. So we ran to the other bus, which was a nicer one.
When we got to Baños, it was night and we didn't have a place to stay, and there was this little 10 year old kid yelling at us saying we needed to stay in his hostal. Brendon jumped at the opportunity, which was alright with me I guess. I didn't wanna be stranded and it seemed pretty legit, a 10 year old leading us in this foreign city, in this semi-foreign country, down a hardly lit path to this dark buildling that was apparently a hostal.
Well, the kid robbed us blind. He had his brother waiting there, and they let us keep our packs but took our money....just kidding.
It was indeed a hostal. Only costed 15 a night for the two of us, which I liked, but the place was the worst hostal we had stayed in thus far, and after a night full of construction work beginning at midnight and going until the late hours of the morning, we decided we'd look for another one.
That first night, we were famished and wanted food. I WANTED PIZZA. I NEEDED IT. So, we asked around and walked to this pizza place. It wasn't the cheapest but we decided to eat there. And we needed the LARGE for some ridiculous reason, and realized later we should have not stuffed our faces so much. During our dinner, we talked to the wonderful waitress Belen and she explained that she had been living in Baños for 3 weeks, traveling and saving money for the next place she wanted to go to. She also studied Speech Pathology (awesome!) and decided to be real with us and tell us that she didn't really like how she had been treated by Ecuadorian people, especially Ecuadorian men. Which was understandable. I've heard stories and Brendon tells me some things that make me uneasy about them. The ones I have met though have been wonderful men, but yeah. Moving on, this conversation we had with her was all in English.
Shortly after our conversation ended, there was a man in the back corner, sipping some wine and enjoying his night. I hardly noticed he was there.
He argued with Belen and was angry because he understood everything she said and said that she was a bad person, threatened to call the police because she didn't have papers to be there, and called her manager and told her how offended he was. THAT REALLY ANGERED ME. What a rude man, thinking he's in the right, deciding to try and get her fired because she voiced her opinion to OTHER people.
He proved her point.
We talked to her and her co-workers. Brendon reassured her boss over the phone that she was a great waitress, and we left her a big tip. I hope she didn't get fired. I hate people like that.
Waitressing is a hard job. :(
After that, we walked back to the hostel and tried to sleep through the loud racket going on outside.
We woke up early to leave Guayaquil. Everyone wanted us to stay just a few more days but we really didn´t have the time. Before we left though we met with Mary, her Husband, her baby, and Junior. They live pretty far away now though and it took two hours to get to where we were. We met for only a little bit and had to say goodbye, our bus was waiting already. We left Guayaquil and started on our 7 hour bus ride to Banos, not knowing what to expect.
Upon arriving at Banos a little kid directed us to a Hostal with empty rooms, we decided to stay there for $15 / night. We then walked around Banos and got something to eat. We decided on a pizza place and were served by a very nice Chilean girl, she has been touring around all of Latin America recently and stops everyonce and a while to work and save. We had a great conversation but during the conversation I brought up how Ecuadorian men are very sexist and demean woman. An Ecuadorian man overheard our conversation though, and understood English, and decided to throw a fit about it. He started to yell and get mad at the Chilean server and demand to call her boss and get her fired.
Obviously Christina and I aren´t ones to back down and let this happen so we started to protect her. After he talked with her manager I then stood up and explained what a great server she was and how much she had helped us. I then couldn´t help but be a sarcastic pain in the butt to the rich old man. It was fun and hopefully she didn´t get fired. We left her a big tip and spent a half hour talking with her and the other servers.
Christina´s Perspective:
So on this magnificent day, my allergies decided to kick in. It was glorious, walking around with toilet paper and having to shove it up my nose. We met with a family that Brendon knows and visited with them for a little bit before heading to the bus terminal.
At the bus terminal, I was in a very grumpy mood, having my nose almost bleeding from blowing it so much. I passed out in the cab on the way there and was in this drunken sleep stupor when these men decided it was the best idea to yell at me to go to Baños on their bus. I was so pissed. I don't like that, and I hate being yelled at. I wanted to punch them too. I'm very angsty.
So, the bus ride to Baños took 7 1/2 hours, not soooo bad, and thankfully I didn't have to use the restroom during it. :/ Like usual, we were rushed off the bus before getting to Baños and were yelled at that we needed to get onto this other bus super fast. So we ran to the other bus, which was a nicer one.
When we got to Baños, it was night and we didn't have a place to stay, and there was this little 10 year old kid yelling at us saying we needed to stay in his hostal. Brendon jumped at the opportunity, which was alright with me I guess. I didn't wanna be stranded and it seemed pretty legit, a 10 year old leading us in this foreign city, in this semi-foreign country, down a hardly lit path to this dark buildling that was apparently a hostal.
Well, the kid robbed us blind. He had his brother waiting there, and they let us keep our packs but took our money....just kidding.
It was indeed a hostal. Only costed 15 a night for the two of us, which I liked, but the place was the worst hostal we had stayed in thus far, and after a night full of construction work beginning at midnight and going until the late hours of the morning, we decided we'd look for another one.
That first night, we were famished and wanted food. I WANTED PIZZA. I NEEDED IT. So, we asked around and walked to this pizza place. It wasn't the cheapest but we decided to eat there. And we needed the LARGE for some ridiculous reason, and realized later we should have not stuffed our faces so much. During our dinner, we talked to the wonderful waitress Belen and she explained that she had been living in Baños for 3 weeks, traveling and saving money for the next place she wanted to go to. She also studied Speech Pathology (awesome!) and decided to be real with us and tell us that she didn't really like how she had been treated by Ecuadorian people, especially Ecuadorian men. Which was understandable. I've heard stories and Brendon tells me some things that make me uneasy about them. The ones I have met though have been wonderful men, but yeah. Moving on, this conversation we had with her was all in English.
Shortly after our conversation ended, there was a man in the back corner, sipping some wine and enjoying his night. I hardly noticed he was there.
He argued with Belen and was angry because he understood everything she said and said that she was a bad person, threatened to call the police because she didn't have papers to be there, and called her manager and told her how offended he was. THAT REALLY ANGERED ME. What a rude man, thinking he's in the right, deciding to try and get her fired because she voiced her opinion to OTHER people.
He proved her point.
We talked to her and her co-workers. Brendon reassured her boss over the phone that she was a great waitress, and we left her a big tip. I hope she didn't get fired. I hate people like that.
Waitressing is a hard job. :(
After that, we walked back to the hostel and tried to sleep through the loud racket going on outside.
Iguanas and Charity
Brendon's Perspective:
After our short day in Machala we woke up early and went off to Guayaquil. We got there in the afternoon and found the Members house where we were going to stay. We dropped off our packs and went to the center.
The center of Guayaquil is fantastic, we walked along the board walk and enjoyed the sights. We then went to the Iguana park but I told Christina we had to find some bananas first. When we got to the park there were hardly any igusnana in sight. I was a little dissapointed at first but we did find one on the ground. We walked up to it and right away it started coming after us. I was eating the banana and he must have saw it. He then began to climb up my body to get to it and quickly took it out of my hands, it was soooooo awesome. The locals and other tourists loved the sight.
We then found another iguana and had Christina try it this time with the same effect. This time was a bit different though because there were a bunch of pigeons all around as well. As Christina was feeding the Iguana two pigions landed on her arms, it was the FUNNIest thing I have seen. Christina was bent over with an Iguana climbing all over here and two pigions pirched on her arm.
We were about to finish things up but we found one more iguana who looked a little smaller so we thought we would feed him. He was next to a tree that had another 15 or so up in the branches. As we fed the smaller one, groups of Iguanans started to jump out of the tree and come after us. Before we knew what was happening I had 3-5 iguanas trying to fight on me over the last banana. It was a blast!!!
We ended the night sleeping in the sisters house, she had given up her bed for us and she slept on the couch. I can never believe how kind and generous the people of Ecuador are.
Christina's Perspective:
So on this wonderful day we arrived in Guayaquil. I really enjoyed our time there. We started it off with a walk on the boardwalk place thingy, which was gorgeous! I loved it. Walking next to the water (even though it was some ugly ugly water) on my right and the wonderful green pathways to my left. They really work hard keeping up with the yardwork there. It was so pretty.
We walked down some of the pathways and ran into some ducks and fed some fish. We walked around for awhile more and then Brendon wanted to take me to the iguana park. I was suppper excited!
So before we got to the park, brendon said we needed to buy bananas to feed them with. When we got there, there weren't any on the ground. So we kept walking and found one on the ground with people hovering around taking pictures. Brendon was eating one of the bananas and the iguana smelled it. He began to pretty much do his little iguana run towards Brendon, and Brendon bent down. The iguana attacked him, crawling all up his clothes and perching himself on his chest, snatching the banana right out of his hands. It was SO FUNNY!! Everyone around started laughing and taking pictures. More people came around to look. Brendon loved the attention ;) He was the little trendsetter.
After that we walked arond the park and got to the center of it. There was another iguana on the ground and this time brendon had me try and feed it. So I bent down to feed it and let it crawl on top of me, but this time it was in the middle of a plethora of pigeons. So as I held out the banana, the iguana got a good bite and worked on that for about a year or two (takes them awhile to chew) and then two pigeons decide to fly onto my arm. It was hilarious, and Brendon captured a really funny photo of my face during this time.
BY THE WAY: Is a dove really just a white pigeon or is it a whole different bird? Brendon and I have contemplated this for quite awhile.
Moving on....after the iguana park, with iguana poop and banana smudged on my pants and shirt, we went to go meet Brendon's friend charles.
We took Charles and his girlfriend out to TGI Fridays, and it sadly wasn't the best. The dish was good, the prices were WAY HIGH, like USA high, and I found plastic in my food. Poopy.
After that we walked arond the mall and played some games at the arcade there. That was funnn :)
Then we went back to the house we were staying at. It was this woman who Brendon would visit frequently while on his mission. She gave up her bed for us and slept on the couch. She was a real sweetheart, and she taught us a lot about hospitality.
Then, off to Baños!
Picturesssss
Brendon getting fish food to feed the fishies. He's so cute.
After our short day in Machala we woke up early and went off to Guayaquil. We got there in the afternoon and found the Members house where we were going to stay. We dropped off our packs and went to the center.
The center of Guayaquil is fantastic, we walked along the board walk and enjoyed the sights. We then went to the Iguana park but I told Christina we had to find some bananas first. When we got to the park there were hardly any igusnana in sight. I was a little dissapointed at first but we did find one on the ground. We walked up to it and right away it started coming after us. I was eating the banana and he must have saw it. He then began to climb up my body to get to it and quickly took it out of my hands, it was soooooo awesome. The locals and other tourists loved the sight.
We then found another iguana and had Christina try it this time with the same effect. This time was a bit different though because there were a bunch of pigeons all around as well. As Christina was feeding the Iguana two pigions landed on her arms, it was the FUNNIest thing I have seen. Christina was bent over with an Iguana climbing all over here and two pigions pirched on her arm.
We were about to finish things up but we found one more iguana who looked a little smaller so we thought we would feed him. He was next to a tree that had another 15 or so up in the branches. As we fed the smaller one, groups of Iguanans started to jump out of the tree and come after us. Before we knew what was happening I had 3-5 iguanas trying to fight on me over the last banana. It was a blast!!!
We ended the night sleeping in the sisters house, she had given up her bed for us and she slept on the couch. I can never believe how kind and generous the people of Ecuador are.
Christina's Perspective:
So on this wonderful day we arrived in Guayaquil. I really enjoyed our time there. We started it off with a walk on the boardwalk place thingy, which was gorgeous! I loved it. Walking next to the water (even though it was some ugly ugly water) on my right and the wonderful green pathways to my left. They really work hard keeping up with the yardwork there. It was so pretty.
We walked down some of the pathways and ran into some ducks and fed some fish. We walked around for awhile more and then Brendon wanted to take me to the iguana park. I was suppper excited!
So before we got to the park, brendon said we needed to buy bananas to feed them with. When we got there, there weren't any on the ground. So we kept walking and found one on the ground with people hovering around taking pictures. Brendon was eating one of the bananas and the iguana smelled it. He began to pretty much do his little iguana run towards Brendon, and Brendon bent down. The iguana attacked him, crawling all up his clothes and perching himself on his chest, snatching the banana right out of his hands. It was SO FUNNY!! Everyone around started laughing and taking pictures. More people came around to look. Brendon loved the attention ;) He was the little trendsetter.
After that we walked arond the park and got to the center of it. There was another iguana on the ground and this time brendon had me try and feed it. So I bent down to feed it and let it crawl on top of me, but this time it was in the middle of a plethora of pigeons. So as I held out the banana, the iguana got a good bite and worked on that for about a year or two (takes them awhile to chew) and then two pigeons decide to fly onto my arm. It was hilarious, and Brendon captured a really funny photo of my face during this time.
BY THE WAY: Is a dove really just a white pigeon or is it a whole different bird? Brendon and I have contemplated this for quite awhile.
Moving on....after the iguana park, with iguana poop and banana smudged on my pants and shirt, we went to go meet Brendon's friend charles.
We took Charles and his girlfriend out to TGI Fridays, and it sadly wasn't the best. The dish was good, the prices were WAY HIGH, like USA high, and I found plastic in my food. Poopy.
After that we walked arond the mall and played some games at the arcade there. That was funnn :)
Then we went back to the house we were staying at. It was this woman who Brendon would visit frequently while on his mission. She gave up her bed for us and slept on the couch. She was a real sweetheart, and she taught us a lot about hospitality.
Then, off to Baños!
Picturesssss
On the boardwalk
Brendon getting fish food to feed the fishies. He's so cute.
strange tree.
Iguana Park!
The iguana that attacked Brendon
At this moment in time, the iguana was munching on some
banana while sitting on Christina, and two pigeons decided to fly onto her arm.
Then they flew away. She was still a little shocked.
Iguana in attack mode. Coming to attack us for some banana.
Brendon actually had 3 iguanas on him. The one on the floor just fell off
when the picture was taken.
At TGI Fridays with Charles and his gf
With Mary and her family
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