Tuesday night was somehow an early night as one minute I was packing my bag, the next minute it was like 6am. I think I needed the sleep. After breakfast and a few people having a meltdown because of the election result, we set off at like half 8 for the drive to Rio Verde where we're camping for 3 nights. We stopped shortly into the drive in the town of Tena to do some shopping as we have a few meals to cook. I also got some new flip flops here as my other ones died at the equator.
After leaving Tena we continued driving, stopping at Puyo for lunch where I had this amazing mixed grill, 3 types of sausage, chicken, pork, beef, potatoes, corn and salad. We then continued onto our campsite arriving around 3ish. One thing Rio Verde is famous for is waterfalls, in particular the The Devil’s Cauldron (El Pailon del Diablo). A few of us decided to walk to this waterfall which was about a 20 minute walk after setting up the tents. I probably shouldn't have worn flip flops though as we at the top of this canyon and it was very steep decending down the waterfall below. There was a few viewpoints en route and this incredibly wobbly swing bridge too! When at the bottom we went for a swim although it was very refreshing!
We spent a while at the waterfall before climbing back the incredibly steep steps to return to the campsite. We had a treat in the evening though as the owners were Argentinian and they cooked an Argie Barbie for us. They didn't mess about chucking big joints on the bbq and serving us hunks to eat. It tasted amazing. After dinner it started raining quite hard but luckily there was a nice living area to sit in where we stayed for quite a while, good night though.
Where we are staying at Rio Verde is near the town of Baños, nestled in the shadow of the fiery Tungurahua volcano. Tungurahua is one of Ecuador's largest active volcanoes, and provides an incredible backdrop to treks and explorations in the area. There are some beautiful waterfalls, excellent trekking and mountain biking opportunities, and some famous volcanic hot springs which give the town its name! Baños is basically the adventure capital of Ecuador. On Thursday I therefore decided to go canyoning. Breakfast in the morning was some granola mix (eggs were banned).
Leaving about half 8 we drove into Baños where we went to the canyoning headquarters to be kitted out with wetsuits and helmets. We then drove to the canyon near Rio Negro and got out safety talk and had to practice abseiling before entering the canyon. We didn't end up entering the canyon until gone 11. The first part p of the canyon required us to stand on a rock and just fall backwards into the water below. We then had to jump off this waterfall although the water below was very shallow! Everyone managed this fine but then the fun and games started.
The next section required us to jump off this 10m waterfall. There was the option to avoid it by abseiling instead. The first couple of people went fine, but then someone jumped but jumped straight down instead of leaping out, which meant they landed in these strong currents and got pulled down. When retrieved they were unconscious and had to be revived with chest pumps. It was quite scary. The issue with where it happened though was that it was literally in a canyon in a pool with waterfalls both sides, so it very challenging to relax. I was last to jump but I had to contend with other issues as the weather had turned and it was hammering it down with rain, which meant the water level was rising rapidly and the flow was getting faster. I jumped in fine but the currents were so strong.
The next section was effectively a zipline, where I had to abseil down the waterfall and then fall backwards into the canyon. At this point however the water flow was getting dangerous and we had to get out. This was not easy however as there were just rock cliffs all around us so we had no choice but to let the rapids take us downstream. Luckily further downstream we found a tree and managed to climb out. About 10 minutes later we would have been screwed if we stayed in the water. We then climbed up this very steep and muddy hill through the trees and emerged through the bushes onto the road. It was a relief when out as it had got quite dangerous in terms of the power of the water flow.
It was typical that after we got out the sun came out, and after getting changed we drive to Rio Negro for lunch where I had beef. We then went back to the campsite where I relaxed before going for a walk to Rio Verde which was the nearby village. It was nice to look round and sit by the river. I spent a couple of hours here before returning to the campsite. Dinner in the evening was this vegetable stir fry which was nice. After playing cards and stuff after dinner, I ended up having an early night.
On Friday I opted to go ziplining, and after breakfast we set off into Baños and got a safety briefing before heading up the hill into the canopy. There were 6 ziplines in all, and after being kitted out in harnesses we walked to the first line. The first one was a sit down one which required us to brake with our hand. I was awful. The second one I went upside down. I wasn't expecting to go out the trees and into the canyon though, it was quite high up! The third one I went superman and it was fun. The fourth one I did in a sit position again because I wanted to admire the views. The fifth one we went in pairs superman style holding hands. And the last one, also the longest one, I sat down. It was lots of fun!
After the ziplining I was planning to go to La Casa Del Arbol and the swing at the end of the world. I have seen many pictures of this online and really wanted to go. I was going to go on my own but after showing someone else there ended up being 7 of us going! On a clear day you can see the Tungurahua volcano which is 2.5km away, but it was cloudy. I still got some great pictures though which create an illusion you're swinging into the canyon.
After the swing most people headed back to the campsite, although I decided to get off in Baños. A couple of us had pizza, before going our separate ways. I had a good look round the town which was very adventure equipped and touristy, dominated by the surrounding hills. I then found an Irish bar and watched the England v Scotland game, where there were actually a few English inside. The beer there was so strong though, the weakest one was like 6.6%. After the game I decided just to do a little pub crawl as the bars were pretty lively. I then somehow negotiated the bus system to get back to the campsite which was 17km away. My Spanish is getting better by the day.
Dinner in the evening was pad thai which was really good. We then stayed up for a bit before having another relatively early night.
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