Ola! I am now in Banos, Ecuador!
How to describe the past week. I´ve done so many things already it feels like the trip couldn´t have just started. I met my group. There are 18 of us, mostly British though we have someone from Holland, Spain and a few from Australia. Once again I´m the only Canadian. We have only 1 couple and a pretty even number of guys to girls. They are all pretty cool, easy to talk to and up for most things. Most have done this with Oasis or another company before so we´re all a bit more expreienced with this kind of travel. Our truck is called Felicity and she is very different to Fanny and to be honest will take a bit of getting used to. She has windows, no beach, s.e.a.t.b.e.l.t.s., and is a bit smaller in general, but especially for storage!! Nonetheless she still has seats facing in and then another section with forward facing seats and with windows, its much easier to hear and listen to music in the back.
I´ll be travelling with Christy (Tour leader) and Benny (driver) as well as Cade for the first month (tour leader in training) and Felicity (the truck). Then my fellow passengers are Charlie, Rusty, John, Dan, Dave, Keith, Kelly and Rob (out only couple), Hannah, Claire, Sarah, Sarah C, Emma (tent buddy), Cara, Marjion and Tasha. We were also supposed to get an Aussie traveller but he never made it.
I´ve been in Ecuador since we started on the 19th. We went to Otavalo, where they have the largest market on Saturdays. The streets turn into a labyrinth of market stalls reaching in all directions from this main center square. I had already been with the family before I started so I decided to walk around but luckily restrained from buying anything.
We then moved on to the Amazon, where we spent 3 days in Arajuno Lodge up the river. We trekked into the jungle, tubed down the river and visited an animal rescue center, Amazoonica. All amazing! You are just constantly surrounded by the lushious green jungle with those typical soothing bird sounds that you get on yoga CDs that you think don´t really exist, but I can tell you, they do. I sat up late in a hammock one evening and it was a perfect night. They also have a monkey named Mona who lives at the lodge and though is still wild, she is also like a family pet and always hangs around, playing with people and stealing whatever she can get her hands on. She provided hours of entertainment!
Then from there we drove on to Banos where I am now. We set up our tents for the first time, the same ones we used in Africa, and had our first truck cook group dinners! We ate chicken fajitas the first night and had lasagna last night. It looks like we will be feasting on this trip. I thought we ate well in Africa but those were 2 things we never had there, and they are our first 2 dishes! Yesterday I had an adrenaline filled day of canyonning and jumping off a small bridge before hitting the hot springs and partying hard for our first truck birthday. I have never been canyonning before and its actually quite scary. You jump off cliffs into small but deep pools, the highest was 5 meters and I was shaking a little when I jumped as its not so much the height rather than the fact you have to jump in a certain area or else bad things will happen. You also absail down cliffs and waterfalls and generally trek through the canyons. It was incredibly fun and a great way to see waterfalls up close as Banos is know for its waterfalls. Banos is a great little town, colourful and secluded, surrounded by massive mountains and waterfalls. Just watch out for the sandflies. I have been mauled by every bug alive, especially in the Amazon and my ankles don´t quite look human.
Today we´re off to our first bush camp, then on to the beach to get my tan back, which peeled off entirely after the Galapagos!
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