Still the rain kept pourin’, fallin’ on my ears.
And I wonder, still I wonder: who’ll stop the rain?
- Mon – 9 Jun:
- Chugchilán: I hiked with a nice Dutch couple and two young women from Laguna Quilotoa to the hotel. It was described to us as five hours downhill. It was actually a half-hour around the laguna, three hours super down to a river, and then one-and-a-half hours super up. MY KNEES WERE KILLING ME. But I got some superb photos! Tonight’s sauna was a good help too.
- Tue – 10 Jun:
- Chugchilán: My knees hurt SOOO bad today; I literally hobbled around like a 90-year-old all morning. Luckily, BSI is super beautiful and tranquil. I worked a little and interneted a little and photoshopped a bit.
- Wed – 11 Jun:
- Chugchilán: Another day of not much; I accidentally discovered the alpacas (or llamas?) at BSI. Manager attempt numero the second.
- Thu – 12 Jun:
- Chugchilán: I decided Tuesday that I absolutely wouldn’t extend my stay. I almost changed my mind when it was discovered the manager dances and hugs well. However, after a fruitless email, I can say I made the right decision and Latinos remain not serious. I took a taxi with the Hawaiian family to Lasso where I caught the bus to Baños.
- Baños: I didn’t really want to come here, because it is way too touristy and I was rather enjoying being alone, but overall it’s a good city. It’s on the verge though; the people are starting to be jaded by tourists, and the prices are not keeping up with the rest of Ecuador, and becoming mean. My $6 bed at Casa d’Mathias is worth more, but the lack of serious internet more than makes up for the price.
- Fri – 13 Jun:
- Baños: I tried to hike to Casa del Arbol today, but I lost the trail in Runtun. I taxied from Cafe el Cielo up – and immediately discovered it was not at all worth the effort. The owner or whomever is another example of a jaded host and the swing is only impressive in pictures. I walked down with some other people and ate in the market for dinner, where another woman chewed us out for not wanting to eat $20 guinea pigs.
- Sat – 14 Jun:
- Baños: This morning, the nice Korean Miran (?) introduced me to 12-cent empanadas =) YUMM. We dropped off some laundry (they didn’t use soap, yuck) and had a disappointing half-wax and good massage. Overall this day was a 7 out of 10.
- Sun – 15 Jun:
- Baños: I haven’t been warm (except the sauna) or dry in many days. The rain continued … and continued. I watched a lot of football (soccer) and a lot of Orange is the New Black. And read and computered a lot. I am not a very exciting person. To be fair, grey is not a very inspiring landscape.