If you happened to read my last entry, you saw that I was planning to go to the city Banos. Well, I am still going, but I have rearranged my schedule. The current plan now is to stay in Quito for one month while I take advanced Spanish classes. My class starts tomorrow, and I will be attending for 20 hours per week for 4 weeks. The goal is to be perfectly fluent by the end of the classes. Communicating at this point isn't too bad. I am much better at speaking than comprehending. Even though I am comfortable in conversations, my vocabulary is somewhat limited, so I find myself missing a lot when I speak with the locals. At the end of the month, I'll head to Banos for at least 2 weeks. I'm finding out there is even more there than I thought. You can rent a bike for 5 dollars for the day, and just cruise around the mountains, and explore in complete safety. And because of the altitude, and relatively small size of the city, it's nearly impossible to get lost, but I plan on testing that assumption. They also have this bungy jump thing that flings you across the lake and into the thermal HOT springs. These springs are heated by the volcanic activity around the city, and remain at a constant 95 degrees. You can pretty much soak the day away. They even have a cable car that goes between the two mountains..not so sure about that though..ugh! Oh, I forgot to mention, today I climbed to the top of this clocktower in the heart of Old Town. It's one of the oldest churches in Quito, and offers incredible views from the top. It was only 2 dollars, and I hung out for a couple of hours, and had a little lunch there. It was really cool. The photos on this post are the ones I took there. Bye for now :)
Well, after a couple of days of unwinding in the capital city, I am planning to head out tomorrow to a city called Banos. It's probably the most beautiful, and safest city in Ecuador. There are plenty of trails available for hiking, and the thermal springs offer a place to just soak in hot water while waterfalls cascade over you. Not so bad. I've been told it takes a couple of weeks to really explore everything there, so after this week, I may book a week stay there and just relax and take my time and enjoy it. You can take a 3 hour bus ride there for about 3.50. I'll make sure to get some pictures. Bye for now :)
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