Sunday 4 March 2007

homeward bound

After persisting with this blog for the last couple of months it would be a shame not to make one final posting, much more for me than for anyone else. It seems about 5 minutes ago that I was feeling terrified about jumping on a plane and flying halfway around the world for who knows what... and it's been the fastest 2 months of my life. Especially these last two weeks which have raced by, and suddenly I find myself thrown back into the real world! So to follow on from the last posting - Riombamba. Well I've changed my mind since the last blog and by the fifth day of the water-throwing Carnaval I had severe sense of humour failure. Riobamba was like a town under seige - people on roofs with huge buckets, gangs patrolling the streets in trucks with the sole intention of drenching anyone daft enough to be walking around. And after a couple of hours (and with no more dry clothes) I holed up in my hostel and watched cable tv for the rest of the day! Yes this is the same woman who climbed a volcano and went deathsliding through the cloud forest. But before going into hiding I did have time to bribe the stationmaster into selling me the very last ticket for the following morning, so at 6am I clambered onto the roof of the train with about thirty other people and we set off for the Devil's Nose. It was a spectacular journey with beautiful views of Chimborazo volcano at sunrise and hair-raising narrow misses of all the dogs, sheep, llamas and cars that attempted to cross the track along the way. And although some of it was pretty scary you weren't paralysed by fear, but because it was sooooo cold! For the first couple of hours despite six layers of clothing none of us could speak. But a combination of surviving the cold and the world's steepest descent down the side of a mountain made it all the more thrilling, and it was honestly one of the best things I have done during my stay in Ecuador. So onto Banos! Sadly only one day there but long enough for a 20km cycle ride, taking in steep hairpins, sheer drops and the darkest, scariest kilometre long tunnel with no passing places! Lots of huge waterfalls, orchids, wobbly cable cars all followed up with a soak in the healing volcanic baths. As you can see above, hitching was required for the way home. There was even time to go and view the Tungurahua volcano which erupted last year, but which decided to save it's latest splutterings until 2 DAYS after I had left. Very disappointing... The town is actually immediately protected by a smaller mountain which stands between it and the volcano, but the road in and out of the town was affected badly and you have to drive through several miles of volcanic ash which is still being cleared. This is what it looked like only a couple of months ago and the people living in the town are still angry at the mayor who conveniently managed to make his escape without telling anyone of the imminent threat... I believe he has now been ousted... And finally back to Quito. My last weekend was so much fun spent with the lovely friends I had met at Spanish school, and in many ways now that I know the city so well, it was like coming home. Just time to fit in some major present shopping in Otavalo (accompanied by two friends who had clearly underestimated my levels of endurance when it comes to shopping and haggling), present delivery to my host family, and lots of mojito drinking before having to say goodbye. It's so hard to sum up the experiences, sights, sounds and the gorgeous, fun, interesting, adventurous friends I have made along the way. But it's been a trip of a lifetime and now I just have to figure out how to get back there!

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