We paid this company in town, handed them my drivers license in exchange for the keys and a map of the area that was really lacking in detail. They sent us off, hoping that we knew how to drive a manual.
We drove off and into the countryside. The open air flooded in from the windows and the roof and we were immersed in everything around us- the aromas from the roasting Guinea pigs on the grill, the dripping water from the long rock tunnels, the exhaust from the big semis in front and everything in between. All was going well until we decided to stop at a pullout and look at the view. On our way back onto the road we got the front tire stuck in the big concrete gutter and the back tire in the mud. A truck pulled over and all the guys got out to help us, then a semi driver pulled over to also help us lift the vehicle up and out. On the side of this mountain on a one-way highway, here we are: these two American females in a jeep stuck in the mud with four other Ecuadorian men helping us out. The scene was quit comical but it was a great way to kick off the day's adventure. We drove down the road (and back multiple times because everyone kept giving us different directions to the falls) until we got to El Pailon Del Diablo where we waked around and climbed through some caves to see the powerful cascading falls.
Afterwards, we stopped to take a canopy tour zip line ride across a huge river to the other side of the rainforest. It was a little unnerving walking up the three story abandoned building which the zip line started off from, but even more so when we watched the guys basically Turing us in with some carabiners and daisy chains. Of course, it was just our luck to get stuck out in the open; not making it all the way back to the platform, we were left dangling by this dinky harness probably one hundred feet above the ground in the superman position. Awesome.
That just about sums up our day. Spontaneous, adventurous, and pretty wild. Having a lot of fun down here in Baños with my mom.
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