Horseriding!

After arriving ssafely in Vilcabamba, i managed to book myself a day of horse-riding into the national park for the next morning!
I am staying in the Izcuyluma hostal... OMG it is like a 5 start hotel. It is slightly outside the town, but they offer massages, have a pool, then you can sit and watch dvds and play pool, table-tennis, and just RELAX! It is amazing! and there is HOT WATER!!!!! WOW!
I went on the horse-riding tour and it was much better than in Isabela. The horses were keen, well kept, decent tack.. it was all good, apart from the very uncomfortable western!
We rode up into the national park for 3 hours, then we dismounted andwalked down to some waterfalls where we ate lunch and then rode backdown. I almost had a heart attack going down.. its so steep and so rocky.. i was petriffied the poor horses were going to break their legs!! However, the scenery was stunning. So vast and beautiful its impossible to capture in the pictures...
When i got off though.. OMG i couldnt walk.. my legs are absoluly killing me. I took this as a great opportunity to use this as reasoning to spoil myself and opted for a full body massage..75mins.. was FANTASTIC!!
Now this morning i am chilling out and waiting for my niht bus to Peru. I am going to Puira, then will have to change for Lima, and then Cusco... all in all about 3 days of travel i estimate....
Wish me luck.. i will write once in Cusco!
xxxx

Cuenca-Vilcabamba

Unfortunatly I have been fairly ill over the lastfew days.. sore throat, bad cramps, and a fever... getting the shivers and the sweats. This meant that i have speant the last few days chilling in Baños till i was well enough to take the 8 hour bus to Cuenca.
When i arrived in Cuenca monday night i bumped into a friend from baños. She showed me round the town a bit so i got a quick tour before leaving the following morning.
I really need to get a move on if i want to reach Cusco in southern Peru ontime for doing the Inca trail, so i had to give Cuenca a miss, even though it was a stunning colonial town.. what i saw of it was beautiful...
Tuesday morning i left Cuenca after having a wonder round the beautiful old streets. I got on a bus to Loja, which would eventually take me to vilcabamaba.
As usual, people start getting on the bus as we leave Cuenca, but whose final destination is only a few minutes away.. because who wants to stand for 5 hours!
I was sat at the front next to a nun, and another old lady gets on who says she isnt going far. Being sat next to this nun must have really influenced me.. i deceded to give up my seat for a bit to the old lady.. i mean.. it would only be about 15 mins of standing for me..
So we start driving, and driving and driving.. the old lady starts being sick everywhere..and i have to look after her cos no one else will.. and before i know it 3 bloody hours have passed and she is still sat there. It may not seem that long... but i was still feverish.. so standing up without feeling sick wasnt exactly easy for me... finally the old lady got off... but now i know why no one else gave up their seat!!! - Anyway.. hopefully the nun took note and i will be blessed on my travels and taken care of.

Canyonning!

WEnt Cayonning today! WOW!! so much fun..
it is basically absailing down waterfalls. We did three waterfalls, and the 3rd was the best.. it was 45m high!!! I absoutly loved it.. Froze my arse completely, and have been bitten by something wierd..but it was FAB! Unfortunatly havent got many pics, as the girl taking them was really bad.. and managed to drop someones camera down the waterfall!! - Luckily not mine!
Then with the best waterfall, she was unable to get there.. so there are no pictures.. but it was amazing!!
Recommend it to everyone!!!
xxx
Tomorrow i think i am going to make move and it Cuenca, then Vicabamba, before heading to Lima.. but see how things go!xxxx

White water rafting and hot springs!

Wow.. Yesterday went for whitewaterrafting, after a 17km cycle to Rio Verde. The cycle was tought, especailly as half of it was uphill, despite having been promised it was all down!! We stopped at one point and took a cable car accross the valley of Banos! that was amaizing, as you could see al the way through the valley!
When we got to Rio Verde we hopped into a bus and drove doen to the River. Luckily the weather was hot, so we were spared the embarassment of wearing wetsuits. The beach was black and so was the water.. its all the ash from the volcanos. We then had a quick lesson in commands whislt rafting, and what to do if we flip over or fall out.. then we set off! It was absolutly amazing, but the river was only a level 3.. but as i have never done it before, i though it was best to be safe than sorry. We all had a great time.. luckily no one fell out.. otherwisewe would have been buying the guide a beer, and being broke.. didnt want to be doing that. But just at the end we all jumped out and i went down some rapids solo! that was terrifying.. the lifejacket keeps you up, but the waves start to crash over your head and you cant breathe.. thats not so cool! when i got out i had ash everythere.. in my bikini, my hair, eyebrows, and i think i swallowed some, or breathed it in, because i now have sore throat and feel pretty ill.
One of the best things about baños at the moment has been that i am sharing my room with a Burning man veteran! she has been 5 times now.. and this means lots of fun and lots of support for when i get there!!
In the afternoon we went to the hot springs... HEAVEN! perfect after a hard days rafting.. but i have to admit i was slightly disappointed because there were so many people there,.. it was absolutly crowded... so it was difficult to find space to sit and relax!!
In the evening we went out,... but baños was pretty dead.. one of the most recommeded bars was aweful. all gringos, and the music was rnb, hip hop, which i HATE with a pasion. We mnaged to find a cool euadorian bar with Latin American Music, but as soon as we got there they were kinda closing up.. but was nice to listen to some proper music. I am going to miss euadorian music so much when i get home!! I particularily miss the music from Isabela and the Galapgos in general.. cos they have their own artists and own music. Unbeatable!!

Baños!

After spending a few days in quito partying, i finally made it out and took a 4 hour bus to Baños. A beautiful little tourist village in the mountains, surrounded by jungle and waterfalls! the bus journey was fairly uneventful.. i managed to sleep throught the whiole thing because i had been out till 5;30 the night before and was going on 3 hours sleep! Other people on the bus apparently couldnt wait to get off as the wheels came off the road multiple times, there was just a shear drop from the road, no barrier, and we had many near misses. maybe next time i will be more awake to experience the fear, but i think i prefer to just sleep!!
I arrived in Baños, and on the coach had met a nice pair of americans, father and son travelling together.. was great to have someone carry my bags for me!!;)
After settling into my room, a dorm with 6 people i went out for a walk around the stunning little village, and shopped around for how to amuse myself over the next few days!!

Yolita

3 days on a boat. Now struggling to stand up, because it feels like the world is moving. I am finally back in Quito, and chilling a couple of days before heading off for Baños and the rest of my travels!!
3 days i feel was just perfect, i had had enough of the 6am starts, cramped and cold showers and constant movement of the boat. I think my boat was fairly good. It was a very cheap, but we were on all the islands first...
one morning we got onto an island first, drew something in the sand, and took a group photo. then a photography group came along and started having a fit about why we had drawn in the sand, and that were supposed to be first on the island. the food was amazing. the chef was really great. No equadorian food. i.e. rice. There was just a dodgy mechanic who kept trying it on with all the girls. he was well into his 50s, but kept trying to flirt. I was defninitly not happy about that!! but whats a boat in equador without a sleazy dirty old man.
Anyway. Now in Equador mainland again. I will try and post some pictures for all you people soon!!

11 Hombres y una chica

Took a day trip out to the Island of Floriana. Took quite a chunk out of my wallet, but definitly worth it.
First thing that scared the life out of me when i arrived was that there were no other women on the trip. AT ALL!!
When we set off one of them asked me.. ¿estas solita?- am i alone.
when i replied yes.. he replied.. mmmm its very dangerous for a girl alone on a boat with 11 men. out at sea.. then they all burst out laughing.. quite a scary moment.
The the next thing i had to deal with was the fish. As some may know I have an irrational fear of fish! When i see fish when i am swimming i normally freak out completely, and leg it!! On this trip i we went snorkelling 3 times, the others went diving.
I managed to master my fear, and was swimming with the most amazing fish. I wish i had had an underwater camera. they were so close to me it was absolutly amazing. then i swam with sealions and even sharks!!! and i didnt freak. By the end of the day i was swimming through underwatercaves, and tunnels!! Whoo hoo!! was a great day in total.
In the evening arrived back very late, post sunset, and i had a cruise to catch, but they were very good, and luckily it turned out my 6pm deadline was actually 10pm... and at 12pm.. we set off for 'sombrero chineso' and 'Rabida'.

Breaking the Peace.

hey.. well.. santa Cruz isnt turning out to be too bad. It is a little bit boring in the day.. tours and stuff are unbelievably expensive, so is food, and i am just unhappy with all that.
the evenings however... certainly eventful. As a result of the extreme lack of females,.. i managed to cause a huge punchup in the bar.. consisting of about 20 men. NOT GOOD. My friend, managed to get his face smashed in.. well thats how it looked like at the time. blood everywhere,but i think he just cut a lip of had a nose bleed, because the damage in the morning wasnt really evident.
I have met a cool french girl out here who i hang out with.. she speaks no english, just spanish .. as she has been living here for 8 years.. All this is great practise for me. We just go and chill on the beach. Unfortunatly no where near as beautiful as Isabella. its a 40min walk!! ridiculus!! and it shuts at 6pm. not a great beach for chilling out. just for sun bathing and surfing.. if you dare. There are sharks in the water.
Anyway... tomorrow i am visiting Floriana, and then in the evening, i am setting off on a cruz till sunday, when i fly back to quito! back to the cold mountains where i belong!!
Chiao

Santa Cruz

Well, I have finally arrived on santa cruz... and i dont like it one bit.
I though i was ready to go, but apparently not. Most of the people i know from there were leaving on the same boat as me, or had already left, so it was a good time to leave. I also thought i was going to finally escape the tight grasp of the locals. Apparently not. Two of the locals who i often made sandwhiches with had left the island sevral days before me so i assumed that i would proably never see them again. especailly as Puerta Ayora has close to 20,000 people in it compared to Isabellas 2000. However, in the first 4 hours after my arrival i managed to bump into them 3 times. Luckily i had Ben with me.. so we had to keep up the act and walked round the whole time keeping up appearances of our matrimony.. but ben left again at 2pm becasue he had only come over to get some money so that he could stay on Isabella longer.. and had nearly missed the boat over at 6am. he had only woken at 6.15 and then ran to the port hoping the boat was still there... and luckily for him it was. but this mad rush meant he didnt have time to pack any clothes.
On the whole santa cruz is pretty miserable... there are roads and hoards of people... things i havent seen in a while,. as paradise didnt have any of that!
I want to go back!!!!! But i supose i have to make the most of my time out here and will try to go up to the highlands for a day, maybe horse-riding, kayaking, and visiting some more islands.. hopefully San Cristobal, Floriana and Espanola.
The main problem with this place is that there is no beach in the main town, its a 40min walk. and the one thing i have been taught by the locals is that - La Playa es TODO!
and I think their RIGHT!!

Dont worry.. i havent disappeared of the face of the earth yet!! Just got married...

That’s the current level of my Spanish. Have managed to explain all this to the locals, who actually believe me and my hubby Ben .
Its all in aid of protecting me.. the men round here are like vultures.. and getting a ‘husband’ is the best thing I did. - especially with the ratio of men to women standing at 9:1
I am quite proud of myself though as I have managed to explain the idea of swinging all in Spanish.. and I think the boys finally understand… so are currently looking for a girlfriend so they can share with Ben! Ha ha ha! Fantastic.
However, poor ben is worried the boys will beat him as soon as/if they find out it’s all a big joke!!!
A bit of background on my man though.. he is 30, American, professional rockclimbing photographer.. and generally very nice decent bloke.
In the past week havent got upto much, have done some trekking, looking for new beaches.. looked after tortugas.. surprise surprise. Drinking everyight and hangin out with the locals learning mas espanol.
oo... just remembered.. went to a inter-island football match... would you believe that this island of only 1800 people manages to have 2 football stadiums!!! WHY!!
ANyway.. the experience was great.. we hitched a ride on someones car, and then paid only a dollar to get in.. the atmosphere was awsome.. booming music.. loads of fun.. then all the teams came on the pitch with mascots, we stood and anthems were sung.. then watched the match.. not really sure what happened because no one bothered to watch.. despite the entire island gathering, and the huge processions beforehand.. nada! Was a great experience though.. and ben let me mess around with his camera,. GREAT fun!! i want a proper digital camera.. the definition and speed is amazing..
Unfortunatly just 2 days ago i fell ill for the first time in South America. I think i ate something dodgy at my hostal, and ended up being sick all night.. almost missed seeing natalie who i had met in Quito.. was here visiting.. so was realy cool to see her..
I am still feeling really rough, have gone off food altogether, maybe a good thing for a short while, but constantly feel like i am about to throw up which is BAD!

I love this island so much am not sure when i'm going to leave. At the moment i am really enjoying my time here. I had planned to leave on friday, but now definitly am not, as i'm going up to the highlands with my other half, his friend and another couple we know out here.. apparently its like being in another country. Here by the coast the land is dry and like savannah, but in the highlands its lush, green, with farms growing bannanas and other fruit and veg.. so should be a great place to get some walking done and have a nice camp fire and a good time!

Till later---
PS i appologise for the lack of show of life, but internet here is unspeakably slow!!
xxxxx

Life on an island

Life here is truely idillic.. no idea quite how to expalin to you all just how good it is!
Had an amazing weekend.
Saturday went horseriding up volcan Sierra Negra.. was good to get back on a horse finally but was bloody uncomfortable, as we had western saddles and also as you can imagine they were all trated like shit.. and basically numb to the world.. following one behind the other. But i was shocked that most of the horses didnt even have bridles, they just had piece of rope round their bottom jaw!
On sunday went for a walk up to the wall of tears again.. (previously went on a bike climbed up the surounding mountains.. and managed to fall and almost break my neck.. also found a path going beyond the wall and wanted to explored for an hour.. but got no where) i went for a 2 hour walk beyond the wall to finally find baratoa beach.. lovely.. and of course empty..
On my way back stopped by the surfers hut and chilled with the locals for a bit. The boys picked some coconuts off the trees and we were eating and drinking from them and chilling.. and i got to admire all their perfectly formed bodies whilst they surfed... paradise!
Yesterday, 1st May everything was closed and got a day off... decided maybe to do a little sunbathing. Big MIstake!! I am looking like a lobster. I think someone must have something seriously against me... i had stripped before hand and creamed my entire body.. then was only in the sun from 9 till 11... 2hours!! and i spend the rest of the day tending to my wounds.
Today one of the americans i met round here, lonnie. he went with me to the shop and we bought an aloe vera leaf.. which the owner actually gave us for free.. and he showed me how to extract the buba to put on my burns... LOve this place.
I am also a bit oncerned at the moment about where i am staying because there has been a guy walking around outside my room and looking in.. i have informed the owners, but i think i will just have to be a bit careful.. lots of sex starved vultures arund here... even the kids have started trying it on with me.. 10yr olds!! what is that about.. and at work today.. not funny... they guys kept whistling at me calling me sexy and tried to kiss me and were taking pics.. i think thats enough to file for sexual harassment..!!! And its not like i am provoking it.. i wear long trekking trousers and a shirt! not even a straptop! O well... its a good life lesson.. and at least they are both only up to my shoulder.. so i can handle them!
Unfortunatly all the people i knew have now gone so am quite alone, but its good.. i am really enjoying myself chilling!
Take care people!xxx