Baños and guinea pigs

This last weekend was such a blast! We spent almost 2 days in a cute little town 3 hours south of Quito called Baños. It gets its name from the multitude of waterfalls and natural hotsprings that flow throughout the city. A few of us took a little cable car across a gorge (hundreds of feet in the air) to visit a waterfall on the other side. Then we hiked down to another waterfall called el pailon del diablo, where supposedly you can see the devil´s face in the rocks (we didn't see it). Some of us (not me) crawled into a tunnel in order to hike behind the face of the waterfall, which seemed like a neat experience, I just didn't want to get that wet.

Our hotel was absolutely beautiful, most comfortable beds and the most beautiful views. The colors of the flowers and trees around us were indescribable. Then on Saturday morning, 10 of us went horseback riding part way up the volcano that completely destroyed a nearby town 10 years ago and is still very active. It was such a fun, beautiful and peaceful time and the first time that I've ridden a horse in decades! You could see the river the volcano created and it was completely sulfer laden. Also, bubbles continue to erupt from the water as well.

My friend Denise from my cohort has been dying to eat guinea pig, or cuy as it's called, since she found it out that it is a delicacy here. So, we walked down with 45 minutes before we had to leave and found the huge guinea pigs (more like the size of a cat) roasting away, claws, limbs, teeth, eyes and all. We ordered a small plate which included the ribs, breast and 1 leg of the guinea pig with some rice and a salad on the side. Now, I swore the entire time leading up to this event that I would only go along to document Denise eating the guinea pig, but.........I thought when in Ecuador....

So yes, I did end up trying the guinea pig and to be honest, the worst part was the little hand and claws that were staring at me the whole time. I know it's cliche, but it did taste like chicken, like the dark meat of a chicken. The texture however was very thin and somewhat slimy. Overall, not too bad, but I don't know if I would order it again.

The one thing I have refused to try since staying here, is the lunch my family made last week. Cow stomach soup....just couldn't make myself try it.

That's all for now. Only 2 more days of school, Friday is a free day, so a bunch of us are going to a mini rainforest called Mindo to see hummingbirds, wild orchids, go zip lining and be as close to the jungle as we have time for.

Then Saturday night I'm on the plane back home. Red eye to Portland at 10:55am. I'm definitly ready to be home, with Evan, and Starbucks, and my bed, and to throwing my toilet paper in the toilet, not in a garbage can, not necessarily in that order, or a complete list of what I miss!