Last we wrote we were in Baños about to head off on the Class IV and V rafting trip, which we did and survived. Liz has been rafting about 5 times before through similiar class rapids and never been thrown out of the boat, so assured Jeff all they had to do was hold on and paddle a little, but mainly the guy in the back does everything. Not the case at all! We were in a smaller boat with 2 tiny Ecuadorian girls (one the girlfriend of the American who was leading us - we actually think we got thrown in on their pleasure ride) and her cousin. Both showed up in make-up and heels and didn´t paddle. We sat in front in the impact zone and about 20 minutes into it on a Class V stretch were lauched out as the boat flipped over and got jammed in a huge hole. Jeff fell out first when his side of the boat went under water and got caught under the raft and Liz was projected out into an adjacent hole farther upstream where she got caught. The two primadonnas were also flipped and one nearly downed a ¨safety kayaker¨ as she tried to climb up on his boat - he had to hit her with his oar before he could help her. After drifting down stream for about 1000 yards we each made it to the bank - Jeff and I on opposite sides. After a lot of coaxing, the two girls finally got back in the boat crying so that we could make it through the rest of the river and back. Even with all that drama we still had fun and were wearing full wetsuits, helmits and life jackets. What an introduction for Jeff´s 1st rafting experience ever!
From Baños the German hotel owner took us in his 4x4 to Laguna Quilotoa (a gorgeous emerald green crater lake at 3854 meters). He led us on a trek to Chungchilan down valleys and past farm houses through the rain. It was a nice hike, though we were carrying all our gear and our guide only a food for the day. Most of the time we weren´t on a trail but bushwacking which made it more challenging. We still made record time - the 5 hour trek took 4 hours including a 30 minute stop to wait for the downpour to pass.
In Chungchilan, elevation 3200 meters, we stayed at the ecolodge the Black Sheep. Run by Americans, started in 1994, and practices permaculture complete with composting toilets. We stayed there 2 nights and enjoyed (or rather partially enjoyed as Jeff got sick) the homecooked organic vegetarian family style meals. It was great to meet the other travellers and hear about their experiences. Jeff did get very sick on either the food or water - using ozonation for water treatment doesn´t offer any residual treatment nor is it effective when the water has sediments and I doubt they test the water that often. We did manage to do a day hike there to the ridge which was gorgeous.
Chunghcilan is far off the beaten path with only 1-2 local buses passing by each day. So this morning we caught the 3 AM (versus the 3:30 AM which goes around the Quilotoa loop the other way - the way we came) to Saquisili for the Thursday AM market. We arrived in Saquisili at 7 and toured the market for a few hours, then caught a bus to Latacunga and then back to Quito via the Pan American highway.
Tonight Lis´s Dad arrives and tomorrow we plan to tour Quito and Saturday hit the Otavalo market. Hope all is well with each of you. Jeff is feeling much better now after 1 night of intensive puking. We are off to get a meat dinner!! Maybe a guinea pig - just joking. Love us
PS - another fun thing we did at the Black Sheep Inn was feed their baby black lamb with a baby bottle. The animal came running when it heard us baa-ing and then guzzled the bottle so quickly. It was adorable!
