My initial North American mindset was a bit horrified, thinking "well obviously it does how else would we be able to shower???" Until it hit me that we werent in North America anymore. Not even close. Yes I do realise ive lived in Asia for 2 years and had to use a squatter toilet as my one and only source of bathroom facilities in South Korea but its been 3 years since my typical lifestyle and sociability have become challenged like that. How quickly we can adapt back to what were used too! My expectations of this trip suddenly dropped. Not necessarily in a bad way but in a way that would help me better appreciate this beautiful continent and all it has to offer... even if that doesnt include hot water.
So after this minor revelation i can honestly say the room was very nice! The suite is decorated from bamboo, we have a king size bed, a balcony, a tv and a fridge. We also get served a hot breakfast on our private balcony each morning which is a great start to the day! Okay now a review from my North American mindset to the modern Westerner: Standard size room, cute balcony with hammock and view, big, hard bed, can't throw toilet paper in toilet, low pressure shower.
Either way our first accommodation was great and we need to remember to take it all in since its probably... Definitely going downhill from here!
So the other day we decided to go ziplineing through a small jungle/rainforest about 20minute drive from where we were staying. We bargained with a taxi to drive us for $4 and arrived at the bottom of a mountain greeted by our small, Spanish tour guide. I've mentioned this earlier but I need to stress that pretty much NO ONE speaks English here so thank god for Adam! We climbed up to the first hut where we got suited up with a harness and had a breathtaking view of the mountains (or what might be the death of us... We weren't quite sure at this point). As we were getting ready to take off and the guide was explaining the dos and don'ts (in Spanish) I looked around and began to realise that Adam and I are literally the only people on this "tour". Now if we were somewhere at home, a private ziplineing tour for $10 a head in a rainforest seems pretty idyllic! But here, in Ecuador where our tour guide was friends with our dodgy cab driver - all alone on top of a mountain putting our lives in this strange, Spanish speaking mans hands made me just a little nervous.
Too late. As I'm considering how painful the drop might be, Adams just taken off and his screams are fading away. Now I'm being told to stand somewhere (or I assume that the mans finger pointed to a spot on the ground only means "stand here"). Anyways, I'm here to write about it so I survived... Adam on the other hand... Jokes!
It was a great experience but no I wouldn't do it again. For some silly reason (maybe due to high adrenaline rush) we thought it would be a good idea to walk back to our hotel. What was a 20min drive would probably be just over an hour walk and we had nothing to rush back for so why not?! The route to the mountain was quite simple - down a long dirt road, turn left when you see pigs in a barn and then straight up the main road. Easy peasy! The unpaved dirt road seemed straight forward and relaxing at first, until... No joke... A real live wild BULL walked into the middle of the road making eye contact with the only other two live mammals in its site... US! We stopped in our tracks and looked down at the gravel dirt road. Neither of us had ever been confronted by a wild bull before but thought surely it must be the same or if not similar caution guide as when confronted by a bear. Stay still. Get low. No eye contact.
Okay so now we've been standing in the same spot - about 10 meters opposite this wild bull, both of us waiting for the other to make a final decision. Adam (being the bravest of the two in this relationship- it's fine I have other good qualities) said he'd walk on the side closest to the pointy horned animal and slowly pass on its left, looking down, no hard feelings, everyone's a winner. The bull seemed to get distracted by some swaying leaves on a tree and so what could have turned into a pretty frightening scenario was just a peacefull pass-er-by. Phew! Walking by the bull, holding my breath, all I kept repeating over and over again in my head was, "I promise ill never take hot water for granted again"!
All for now. Next blog from Peru!
Signing off,
Gillian & Adam xx
Either way our first accommodation was great and we need to remember to take it all in since its probably... Definitely going downhill from here!
| View from our balcony in Montanita, Ecuador |
So the other day we decided to go ziplineing through a small jungle/rainforest about 20minute drive from where we were staying. We bargained with a taxi to drive us for $4 and arrived at the bottom of a mountain greeted by our small, Spanish tour guide. I've mentioned this earlier but I need to stress that pretty much NO ONE speaks English here so thank god for Adam! We climbed up to the first hut where we got suited up with a harness and had a breathtaking view of the mountains (or what might be the death of us... We weren't quite sure at this point). As we were getting ready to take off and the guide was explaining the dos and don'ts (in Spanish) I looked around and began to realise that Adam and I are literally the only people on this "tour". Now if we were somewhere at home, a private ziplineing tour for $10 a head in a rainforest seems pretty idyllic! But here, in Ecuador where our tour guide was friends with our dodgy cab driver - all alone on top of a mountain putting our lives in this strange, Spanish speaking mans hands made me just a little nervous.
Too late. As I'm considering how painful the drop might be, Adams just taken off and his screams are fading away. Now I'm being told to stand somewhere (or I assume that the mans finger pointed to a spot on the ground only means "stand here"). Anyways, I'm here to write about it so I survived... Adam on the other hand... Jokes!
It was a great experience but no I wouldn't do it again. For some silly reason (maybe due to high adrenaline rush) we thought it would be a good idea to walk back to our hotel. What was a 20min drive would probably be just over an hour walk and we had nothing to rush back for so why not?! The route to the mountain was quite simple - down a long dirt road, turn left when you see pigs in a barn and then straight up the main road. Easy peasy! The unpaved dirt road seemed straight forward and relaxing at first, until... No joke... A real live wild BULL walked into the middle of the road making eye contact with the only other two live mammals in its site... US! We stopped in our tracks and looked down at the gravel dirt road. Neither of us had ever been confronted by a wild bull before but thought surely it must be the same or if not similar caution guide as when confronted by a bear. Stay still. Get low. No eye contact.
Okay so now we've been standing in the same spot - about 10 meters opposite this wild bull, both of us waiting for the other to make a final decision. Adam (being the bravest of the two in this relationship- it's fine I have other good qualities) said he'd walk on the side closest to the pointy horned animal and slowly pass on its left, looking down, no hard feelings, everyone's a winner. The bull seemed to get distracted by some swaying leaves on a tree and so what could have turned into a pretty frightening scenario was just a peacefull pass-er-by. Phew! Walking by the bull, holding my breath, all I kept repeating over and over again in my head was, "I promise ill never take hot water for granted again"!
All for now. Next blog from Peru!
Signing off,
Gillian & Adam xx
Gillian! I love it! I'm gonna bathe you in hot water and hugs when you get here! Can't wait!
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