Kim, Kady and I left the city for the beautiful mountain town of Baños which was only 3 hours away. Baños is known for having tons of excursions and activities. When we arrived at the hostel we ran into Nick and he took us for a tour of the town which some how ended up at the San Fransisco Bridge. At this bridge they have a form of bungee jumping for only $15! Instead of being tied at your feet, the rope is around your torso so it's more of a swing than a bungee jump. Kim was obviously the first in line and did a lovely swan dive off the platform. Kady went next and she also jumped right away. I was excited to jump, but also pretty scared. I was fine until I stepped up on the platform and looked down 80 meters to the river below. It was also super windy on the platform which didn´t help my nerves at all. You´re supposed to put your toes at the edge of the platform, put your arms out wide (like Rose on the Titanic), and the dive out. The guy was holding my arms out telling me to move to the edge, but everytime I freaked out and stepped backwards. My lovely friends were very encouraging the whole 20 minutes I stood there like a chicken, but I knew they wouldn´t let me get off the platform. The guy was getting annoyed with me and after a lot of ¨tu pudes amiga¨ and ¨vamos chica¨ he got fed up and grabbed my feet out from under me while pushing me with his head. I fell straight down instead of going out (like you´re supposed to) and got some serious whip lash when the rope caught. That was my own fault for not jumping... The drop was over quickly and feeling the rope catch you is so relieving. I really enjoyed the swinging after the initial drop. Once the swinging slowed, I was lowered down to a ledge where another guy threw a rope to pull me in. It was really embarassing to stand on the platform for so long but I'm actually kinda glad he pushed me. It made for a hilarious video that I´ll upload when I´m back in Canada and have real internet that doesn´t take ten billion years to upload. After the jump we went to the market for $2 lunch and delicious fresh juice.
being headbutted off the platform because I took too long to jump
Such a rush!
After lunch, Nick took us to an adventure office to book white water rafting for the afternoon! It was only $25 per person. We were given wetsuits, shoes and helmets at the office then were driven about half hour out of town. There were nine of us total, with everyone being Canadian except Kim and a girl from the States. The four of us got our own boat with the boys in the front and Kady & I in the back. Team Canaway for the win! The river was a class 3/4, but we were only given short instructions on stroking forwards, backwards and ducking inside the boat if there was a big rock. We got started right away and were soaked in no time! It was so much fun and there was a lot of screaming (from me). More than once it felt like we were going to get thrown from the boat, but luckily we all stayed in. At one point the guide sitting at the back was thrown forward into me, but we were both fine. We flew down the river, paddling on comand and getting splashed. The trip was over way too fast. We all wanted to go again! If you have a chance to go rafting I highly recommend it! That was my first time and it was such a blast. Especially if you have a great group of people who like to whoop and yell with every drop. My cheeks hurt from smiling so much. What a crazy and exhilerating first day in Baños! That evening we hung out at our awesome hostel, Great Backpackers Hostal Los Piños, drinking big beers and playing pool. Nick was taking the night bus to Montañita so we made sure to feed him lots of beers before his journey!
The next day, Kady and I went back to the adventure office and signed up for canyoning which is repelling down waterfalls! There were nine of us in the group including a four year old boy. He was so cute and brave! We were all given wetsuits, shoes and helmets then had a demonstration on how to use the ropes then were off! We drove a little ways then had to hike uphill for about 15 minutes, which is not so comfortable in wetsuits. Once we hit the top, we hiked in to the first waterfall and started repelling down. It's scary at first, but there's a guide above and below you holding the ropes. We repelled down six waterfalls in total and slide down the last one like a waterslide. It was so much fun!! I have a CD with tons of pictures, but it seems to be impossible to upload them now. I'll put them up when I'm back home!
After repelling we convinced three Americans to jump off the bridge then spent the evening drinking beers and playing pool. I had the best game of my life and won it for our team! Most likely a once in a lifetime fluke, so I had to mention it :)
By the third day in Baños we were all pretty tired out. After an easy morning we went searching for La Casa del Arbol (the treehouse) which has the swing at the end of the world. You can hike there, but we were all pretty over hiking and took a taxi. After the taxi drops you off there's a short hike up a really steep hill. The view was amazing, but there was a lot of fog. The old man who lived up there was pretty grumpy and didn't seem impressed when we asked to use the swing. It cost 25 cents a person to use the swing. We all took turns on the swing. It's a cool feeling swinging into nothingness with all the fog.
La Casa del Arbol. The swing at the end of the world!
Baños was non stop fun! It's a must if you're in Ecuador.
