Leaving the jungle we caught a bus from right outside our jungle lodge. The bus conductor promised that he knew where we wanted to get off but unfortunately he woke us too late so we took the bus into the town called Banos and another back out to our home for the next 3 nights. We were greeted by the owner of Pequeno Paraiso, Rich, an ex-overland truck driver from Scotland who created the place with his French wife Bee. We were shown to our rooms and chilled out a little before receiving a briefing on the optional excursions available to us. Having come from the jungle none of us were interested in the excursions and instead chose to do a few hikes to waterfalls over the next couple of days. Bee cooked dinner for everyone and we had a few drinks after and a few of us went out for a bit. A mixture of buses not stopping and not being able to find a bar locally meant it was an earlier night than anticipated but fun none the less.
The following morning we got up for breakfast and afterwards headed on a hike to 5 waterfalls that was advertised to us as good practice for the Inca Trail due to the uphill sections of it. It had been raining so the trail was quite muddy. The first waterfall was non-existant but the second one was much better. I had a bit of a tummy bug so I stayed here and took some photos and headed back while the others went ahead. I spent so long taking photos that I ended up getting back to the hostal after the others as they got sick of walking through the mud and turned around. After a while we headed into the main town of Banos for lunch and to have a look around. We met up with Heidi, our tour leader, to go and get lunch and then we headed around the town on our own to have a look around. We went to the market, saw Guinea pigs being BBQ'd (a specialty here) and also went to the supermarket. I offered to cook a bolognese for the group for lunch and people were happy with that idea so we picked up supplies and headed back to the hostel. Bee again cooked dinner and we had it in front of a roaring log fire and then watched a film before bed.
The following day was the main hiking day for the group. In the morning we all headed off to visit Pailion del Diablo which is one of the top 10 waterfalls in the world. We walked to Rio Verde and headed downhill to the entrance for the waterfall. We paid our $1 entrance fee and went out to the 4 viewing platforms. I looked from one but was more interested in the tunnel through the rock which brought you to steps which led up to the waterfall and allowed you to stand behind the falling water. It was amazing to stand there and see the tons and tons of water falling every second. We then headed back and out onto the bridge downriver to see a wide view of the waterfall where we could appreciate it without getting soaked. When all the photos were taken we headed back to the hostel where we got to work on lunch. We worked as a team and cooked up a bolognese on an industrial cooker that went down really well with everyone which we were delighted with.
After lunch alot of people decided to take it easy and sit around the hostal for the afternoon but myself and Emer headed off to get the cable car across the valley and have a bit of a walk. It was a fair old distance to the cable car so we stood by the side of the road with our thumbs out and soon enough a pickup stopped. We hopped in the back and off we went - when we got to where we wanted to go we knocked on the roof, threw the driver a dollar and hopped out. The cable car was gas - it's gravity fed for the first section so you get into the basket which is open and only has a low gate to stop you falling out. They release the brake and the car heads over the valley quite quickly. In the middle of the sag of the cable you go forwards and backwards a bit before they engatge the motor and bring you over to the other side. We hopped out here and walked along the valley through fish farms, agricultural lands and past a few waterfalls. One of them had a rope which allowed you to climb down beside it to a lower level. Naturally I climbed down but Emer declined. I took some photos, admired the view and climbed back up before continuing along the valley to the other cable car. We found a swing chair which I also had a go of and then we got the cable car back across the valley, got another lift back in the pickup and chatted with the lazy heads before dinner.
After dinner we all headed to the hot baths in Banos which is what the town is named after. They pipe hot volcanic water in from the local volcano into various outdoor pools of differing temperatures. We chose the hottest one and got in - right beside it was a plunge poool which was really cold so we spent the next couple of hours getting in and out of the two which really got the blood flowing and eased aching muscles after the previous active week. We all hopped back into the back of the truck which brought us back via a quick stop the driver made to deliver some goods to a local shop on the way. Our tour leader told us that is how things happen out here as there are so few delivery trucks. We settled our tabs and packed for the early departure the following morning before heading off to bed.
The following morning we had an early breakfast and hopped in the back of the truck to go into Banos for the final time. Our next destination was to be our last in Ecuador - a town by the name of Cuenca which is famous as it is the place they make Panama Hats (more on this in a bit). The first bus was about two hours long and passed by a load of volcanoes so I spent the majority of this hanging out the window taking photos. We arrived in Rio Bamba exactly when our connecting bus was due to leave but they delayed it ten minutes to allow us go to the toilet and getsome snacks which was very much appreciated. This bus took about 6 hours and passed through a good few small towns whcih was nice as we got a good view of rural life in Ecuador along the way. Upon arrival at Cuenca we got taxis to the hotel and relaxed before having a briefing with Heidi. We then sought an internet cafe as the hotels internet was painfullly slow. We met up that evening and went for dinner as a group which was quite nice and then headed back for a good nights sleep.
The following morning brought a visit to the Panama hat factory in Cuenca. Despite the name of the hats, they are actually made in Ecuador - they used to be shipped out of Panama hence the confusion. We were shown around the factory and saw how they were made from receiving the fibres from the local farmers to shaping the hats and finishing off with the ribbon around the outer rim. A couple of the group bought hats and after that we split up and headed our seperate ways - we headed across the road to a local market which was great to see. There were vendors selling all kinds of meat, fruits and vegetables, flowers, juices and all kinds of things in between. We then headed to the internet cafe again to catchup on all our computer chores for the afternoon. We walked around the city a bit in the afternoon and saw some of the cathedrals and squares before heading back for showers and the meeting about Peru as we were crossing the border the following morning. We had mistakingly thrown out our immigration slip so we'll have to see what happens at the border. We headed out for dinner next door before retiring to our room for the night. We packed and I watched Match of the Day before heading off to sleep.
We had another early breakfast ahead of our long travel day and border crossing and caught taxis to the bus station. Our bus was to bring us to the immigration office on the Ecuador side of the international border and was about 4 and a half hours long. The office was about three miles from the actual border and there was a really built up area effectively in no mans land between the office and the physical border which is a river. Immigration turned out to be a piece of cake as the officer just gave us a new form to fill out and then we had our passport stamped with an exit stamp. The bus brought us right into the city in no mans land and we ended up walking the last few blocks to the bridge where we crossed into Peru.
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