Carnaval....woooooo....continued

This was our Barbie piñata that entertained us for quite some time...we´re so weird.








Anyway...to continue from Ambato. On our last day in Ambato, we went to a bull fight.....ay de mi! It was really difficult to watch...I had never seen anyone hurt an animal like that before, but it was a really good cultural experience, to say the least. Plus we got really cool hats...








Okay, so we headed back to Ambato to get our stuff, grab some food, and head for Baños. PS-we had the dumbest waitress in the history of waitstaff personnel ever. And it was not the fault of our poorly spoken Spanish, she was just not intelligent enough to handle complicated things like water and such....

So we got to the bus station to get on our bus to Baños, but of course, there was no bus to Baños....wonderful. Since we had reservations, we needed to get their that night. So we hired two taxis to drive us the 45 minutes from Ambato to Baños...it was more expensive obviously, but it was ok. Then I broke the window in the cab, and I thought the cab driver was going to kill me....oops.

So we got to Baños and everyone was pretty tired, so we just kind of hung out and went to sleep. Our hostel in Baños was really nice because we all got our own bed and a bathroom with HOT running water.

Our first full day, we walked around to inquire about what to do. We stopped at a place called Aventurandes where they offered just about everything you could think of. To start off, we decided to jump off a bridge...you know, no big deal.

So we all hopped in the back of a pick up truck and drove to the bridge. It was actually two bridges that were parallel and you put on a harness and free fall between the bridges over a cute little bubbling brook....which wasn´t really as cute when I thought I was about to plummet to my death....needless to say, once I got over how ridiculously scary it was, I jumped....and it was exhilarating. I am so afraid of heights, but I was just like, ¨Laura, you´re in Ecuador, just do it!¨ I´m so glad I did...It was so much fun.




The first picture is the congratulatory bridge we made for people to run through after they jumped. The second is of my friend, Leah, dangling in the air above the water.

After we jumped, we got back in the truck and drove back to our hostel...being careful of course of the water that was being thrown at us from time to time...I guess it´s a pretty easy target when you have the back of a pick-up truck full of gringos.

Later that night, we planned on checking out the night life of Baños. However, upon leaving our hostel, we were all immediately under attack. The foam war had begun and we were without ammo....so we went back inside to change into some not-so-nice clothes and then we sought out some foam vendors so we could protect ourselves. IT WAS CRAZY. It was like four blocks of complete strangers just attacking anyone and everyone with foam. I felt like I was 5 years old-I had a huge grin on my face the entire time...even when it was covered in foam. You had to be careful though, because if it got in your eyes, it really stung. I was soaking wet from head to toe in foam...it was no holds bar, and everyone just went insane. My friend, Adam, spent like 30 dollars on foam alone, but it was almost a necessity.

Then we went to a big stage that was in the middle of town where there was some sort of performance. It ended up being a bunch of attractive young ladies, and so obviously Adam and Kraig invited themselves up on the stage to help them out....it was hilarious. They were singing and dancing with them and having a great old time. We all just stood out in the audience laughing our heads off.....crazy kids. Finally, we had enough and decided to retire for the evening. Despite the fact that I was soaking wet and had really blue and pink hair, I was too tired to shower, so I just went to sleep.

The next morning we had to wake up early because we were going white water rafting! We met our tour guide and loaded up a big van and started driving to the river. On the way, we stopped to check out this beautiful waterfall called La Novia, which means The Bride, because the waterfall looked like a veil. I am obsessed with waterfalls, so I was pretty pumped about this little stop. When we arrived at the river, we all got outfitted in helmets and life vests, which actually made me pretty nervous. Then we had a little instruction time so that we could pretend like we knew what we were doing once we were in the water.

Then it came time to pick positions in the raft. So Kraig and Brett were the captains, and then the guide had to pick the members of each of their teams......Lo and behold, I was last (traumatic dodgeball nostalgia) Of course everyone got their jollies that I was the last one to be picked....the guide swears he did it by weight and that I was the smallest, but....I don´t know...it was traumatic/hilarious nonetheless.

So we finally get in the water, and it is sooooooo amazing. The views are sensational, and again I think to myself how incredibly lucky I am to be here. We head through the first couple rapids, and they are pretty intense, a little scary, but really fun.

About 45 minutes or so into our river adventure, the divider in the raft pops off, and the air is no longer distributing itself equally. Contrary to popular belief, and just because I might have been flopping all around the raft....it was NOT my fault.

Our guide made this hilarious face while telling us that this had never happened before. Great! Okay....so we kept going until we got to a place where we could do a little regrouping. Of course, it had to be like the rockiest most difficult terrain to maneuver ever. We all ended up having to split up....the hombres had to stay behind and help fix the raft, and the women all got split up and we had to go rafting with strangers.....well whatever.

So my friend, Jackie, and I got into a raft with the new people, who were pretty nice. However, the guide on this raft had a little surprise for us. He thought it would be really funny to push us into the water! Oh, hahaha, you funny little man. Actually, it ended up being really fun when I wasn´t scared to death that I was going to get decapitated by a rock or eaten by a piranha. So we made our way down the river, and it seriously was so much fun. My arms hurt, but it was totally worth it. I was quite worried about our boys, though, because they were nowhere in sight. But alas, we all made it down the river, with only a few difficulties. They ended up using a rope as a temporary divider to get down the river. So we all reunited, had some lunch, and headed back to the hostel.

Later that night, we bought tickets to go on a Cheva, which is a big party bus that has roof-top seating. We obviously went to the roof and started driving up to the top of a volcano. It was really fun, but a little bit tricky trying to avoid cables and branches and such while driving in the dark. Once we reached the top, the view was incredible.
Then we were entertained by people who did cool tricks with fire...

By the time we got back, we were all so exhausted, that we just wanted to go to sleep. It was such a great vacation, though. Everything was fun, incredible, crazy, unbelievable, you name it. I just cannot say enough how grateful I am to be here, to share these amazing opportunities with the amazing people I´ve met, and to be exposed to such incredible beauty.

I hope life is treating you all well. I also hope you all know how much I care about you, love you, and miss you. Cuídense mucho.....much love! Love, Laura Lynn