Well I have had a fantasic birthday week despite hoping to keep it quiet that I am now well on the way to my thirties... The week began in a pretty surreal way with my host family inviting me to take part in their "El Niño" fiesta which involved attending mass for several hours, throwing rose petals in the path of my host brother as he walked with a cradle containing the el niño doll, and then feasting for several hours with about thirty members of the family (much more my kind of thing!) I think this is a fiesta specific to Ecuador and it was an honour to be invited although most of the time I had no clue what was going on. Basically, every house has an "El Nino" (baby jesus) which stays in their house to ensure them safety throughout the year. Then once a year each family has a mass especially for them, to bless the baby for the next 12 months. It was a bit like going to a wedding, without the happy couple, but with the confetti, the speeches and the wedding breakfast. Definitely a unique experience.
Tuesday night started out being a quiet drink with a couple of people and ended up being a big night out with a mixture of people I was in the Amazon with, school friends and people from the hostel. There were presents, cake and salsa dancing! No pictures to show as yet. I didn't dare take my camera out, but I believe there are some incriminating pics somewhere which might make it onto this blog but will most likely be destroyed. It was very touching my new lovely mates bought me a woolly hat and beautiful indigenous woven scarf to take on my next expedition. And they even sang! We did wimp out a bit on the salsa though simply because the dancers here are just soo amazing. It was a bit intimdating but amazing to watch.
So my next trip actually on my birthday day was to the thermal baths at Papallacta,a tiny village high in the Andes. I lay about in volcanic pools for most of the day before an amazing power shower with a fireman's hose followed by the best massage ever. Could have stayed there for weeks. But with my Spanish lessons over for a couple of weeks I decided to go to Quilatoa for a couple of days. Photos above and below.
The two days hiking included a visit to the Quilatoa Laguna, a huge lake in the crater of a distinct volcano at about 4 thousand feet... absolutely beautiful although the pictures don't really do it justice. (Please note:new birthday hat!)We (me and 4 other English girls) rode donkeys and walked miles through the Andes staying the night at the Black Sheep Inn, a famous eco lodge in the middle of nowhere which is totally self sustaining and gives you the feeling you are at home as soon as you walk in the door (definitely helped by the home made cookies on arrival). Here is the view from my front door...
The second day included more walking through the Andes and in particular the cloud forests where you could almost be on another planet. We had a picnic feast of local cheese, homemade bread, popcorn and more cookies (provided by the Black Sheep Inn) looking down on the clouds. Amazing. But apparently all this is nothing in comparison to the Galapagos Islands. I leave tomorrow so expect pages and pages of photos in about a week... Adios x
It has been Carnaval for the last week and the tradition here is that everyone (especially the girls) get water thrown on them wherever they go! Everyone carries those huge water guns as part of the tradition of ´cleansing´ before Lent begins, and this weekend was spent totally drenched (even the buses have to keep their windows closed for fear of waterbombs). Actually quite glad nearly it´s over now because I´ve been baking in my raincoat for the last few days and you start to lose your sense of humour about the whole thing after every last item of clothing you own is soaked! Still it saves having to do any washing. 
I was also cleansed by a Shamen from one of the region´s tribes who shook herbs over my head, painted crosses on my stomach and face, massaged me with an egg and then spat over me with a medicinal liquid to heal my body and soul. I have never been so clean. Although the amount of icecream and crepes we followed it up with were definitely not prescribed and may have cancelled out any previous positive aura. Hiking in Parque el Cajas was thrilling - definitely the most beautiful countryside in all of Ecuador and filled with orchids of all kinds, 
but sadly not much wildlife. Was hoping for a bear or a puma but they kept themselves hidden. Can´t really complain about lack of wildlife though after the Galapagos islands. Have moved from Cuenca to Riobamba where tomorrow morning at 6am in temperatures of zero degrees I will perch on the roof of a train from here to Alausi. It´s called the Devil´s Nose train ride for it´s amazing switchbacks and almost impossibly steep descent, so unlikely I will remove my camera from its case, at the risk of losing it over the side, 
and because I will certainly need both hands to hold on. After that I head to the town of Banos, the town that was evacuated in November last year because Volcan Tungurahua started erupting, so I´m hoping for no more than a few sparks while I´m there. I will though be heading up the facing mountain
for a night time view of the crater. Otovalo, one of the most famous markets in South America has been saved for the final weekend of my trip before coming home next monday. Any special gift requests - get them in now! That´s it for now off to reserve my space on the roof.
