Banos

So, after a short week of class and orientation, we decided to head off for the weekend to a lovely small valley called Banos. Unfortunately, from Friday, my stomach had decided to revolt against me. My stomach had been quite uneasy and unsettled for Friday and very early Saturday morning saw even worse results from my upset stomach. I was very prepared not to head off to Banos and had all but decided not to go - the taxi had gone. But I decided I didn't want to miss out, and so at the very last minute I picked up my previously packed bags and jumped in the cab. It was a good drive to the bus station and then a 3.5 hour bus ride from Quito to Banos. It went very slowly for me, with my stomach performing various gymnastic routines. but it was a good time for some reflection on some of the things I have seen so far

Ecuador is a truly beautiful place, there is a lot of cultural pride as well as a lot of shame from some people, with many people apparently preferring to refer to themselves as white, or as a mix. They are a welcoming and inviting people, who have a passion for life. While some areas remind me often of Tanzania, the same sort of beautiful spirit exists in these people. They are pushing forward for excellence, their cities have beautiful parks and wonderful areas for recreation. Of course, there are the darker sides as our security officer discussed in great length during our orientation, but I could very easily be mugged and robbed in Sydney. You just have to keep your wits about you and be savvy. I love living in a country that has not fully embraced the English language. As difficult as it is for me fumbling in broken Spanglish with some people, I love that there is not this overriding need to have English. In Tanzania, the only way someone could hope for a good job was if they spoke very good English. In fact there were some people there who I had met on the street who spoke better English than I do sometimes. I love having my Spanish conversations with my host parents. And while I still have a lot to learn, I am so eager to become a more fluent speaker so I can better communicate with other people here. After all, this is their country, it is not for me to come here and expect them to speak my language. I love the challenge :D and the opportunity to broaden my language skills.

So, back to the trip to Banos. We arrive in Banos, stomach is in the middle of a bar work routine but Banos is stunning! A friend of Taylah's met us and took us to our hostel, which had a beautiful view of the valley and of a waterfall. We then went off to lunch where I nibbled at the food and enjoyed the good company of our large group. That afternoon we split off into our different activities, and I, naturally, chose riding. While the horses were on the skinny side and not as healthy as I would usually like to see, were sometimes handled a little rougher than what I am used to and had rather harsh bits, they were very sweet and had kind eyes and I could tell that their owner was quite fond of them. They had good pasture to graze on. My horse was named Gringo, which I found to be quite ironic. He was the horse of the guide who took us on our trip. The trip was realy lovely - Gringo had a very soft mouth, so I was very content to just sit back and let him be as he was, as I knew he was confident with the path. We travelled through the towns and up the side onto a small road leading into the farmland areas. We stopped to have a look around and then returned to the stables. After our ride, we wandered through the markets, eventually making our way back to the hostel to head out and find some dinner. And the most wonderful thing had happened while returning to our hostel - without any warning, and no gradual decrease, the nausea and pain in my stomach simply vanished. It was wonderful to have it all finished.

Later that evening, we chilled at the hostel for a while, then headed out to a bar where we did a bit of salsa dancing. It's definitely a different experience to back here in Australia. The people here actually dance, rather than what is often done back in Australia, which simply looks like jumping around.

The next morning, we woke to have breakfast, and another wander around the town. I found a lovely passenger as we were walking around - a little butterfly had decided to hitch a ride on my leg, so i moved him to my shoulder, where he sat quite pleasantly for about 15 minutes before he seemed to gather his strength and head off again. We checked out of our hostel and grabbed some lunch before heading back to Quito on the bus. That afternoon, we came home and were greeted by our host family, and had a lovely catch up over dinner before we headed off to pack for our field trip the next day.