Bridge Jumping and Bike Riding

Yesterday after Spanish class we jumped of a bridge... It was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done! All we had to do was sign a waiver, pay $20 and meet the guide at one of the bridges outside of town. I didn't think it was going to be that bad until we got to the bridge. When you looked down it was a 100 meter drop to the river below. Oye ve! The rope was 70 meters long. So they put us in our harnesses and we were ready to rock. I went first. The technique: make sure you jump out away from the bridge and went head dirt with your arms and legs open. I got up on the platform, and fortunately the guy helping us counted down or I probably would have taken a bit longer to jump. "Uno, Dos, Tres, VAYA!" I was airbourne! What a rush! I can't wait to do it again. Susan and Rachel followed. WOOT WOOT! Afterwards we went out to a bar for a celebratory drink! We got a local favorite: La Cucaracha - a delicious blend of tequila, coffee liquid and brandy. It is served on fire! Then we had our first Ecuadorian karaoke experience. The four of us sang Backstreet Boys... the bar LOVED it! Then we had a disappointing dinner at a German cafe. Won't be eating there again!

This morning we got up early to go biking. There is a 21 kilometer bike route starting in Banos that takes you near 4-5 beautiful waterfalls! It was fantastic! We saw some beautiful scenery and we took a cable car to see two waterfalls on the other side of the river. I had never been on a cable car and for only one dollar we had to do it! On the other side we got to see a trout farm as well. Apparently you could fish them right out of the ponds if you wanted. Then we proceeded to one of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen: El Pailon del Diablo. It was breathtaking. If you wanted you could climb through this tiny tunnel made of rock, I had to take my backpack off to fit through, to get up to the top where you could walk behind the cascade. I was soaked afterwards, but it was well worth it. On our way back to the bikes it started to rain. So we decided to eat lunch in hope that the rain let up a bit. It didn't so we got a ride back to Banos in a truck. It was a crazy ride... The truck was like a milatary truck with the back covered in canvas. We sat on wood benches in the back with our bikes. It was pretty bumpy but we were just glad to be out of the rain. Tonight we are thinking of going out to experience Banos bar scene. Should be fun!