The only thing that separated yesterday’s exhaustive schedule and today’s packed agenda was 3hrs of sleep… but on these kind of trips, that’s gotta be expected sometimes! Even though I woke up at 7:30AM, I was all ready to take on the day! I grabbed a croissant and some slices of pineapple and made my way to the bus for a second zip-lining excursion!
The ride over was pretty smooth and when we arrived at 8:30AM, the sun was already shining brightly overhead. This is not the Christmas weather I know… Nigel, Chelsea, Aliya, Sarah S and myself were ready for the scenic zip-line through the trees! We were told there were 6 lines in total, that’s thrice the amount of zipping than yesterday!
After putting on our gear, we headed out and zipped through the first two lines with ease! The path to the third line was about a half mile hike upwards through forest. The vertical climb was quite strenuous, especially under the blaring sun. But we prevailed and at the 3rd line, we were given a choice: cross the gap upright or Spider-man it. Clearly Spider-manning it was the right answer! At the other side, we turned the corner and traversed the 4th line across the river below. Once again we hiked upwards towards the next line where we were given another choice: upright or Superman! Again, the superhero option was the way to go! The views passing by as we zipped along face down were beautiful and serene. It’s not often you get to see this side of nature from above! After reaching the other side, we had one last climb to get to the final line. Though as steep as the climb was, we made it to the top. But not before stopping at the water station to rehydrate. At the top, I didn’t hesitate to ask to Superman it but only because I couldn’t think of any other superhero poses for ziplining. The final zip line was over 1/3 mile long and crossed back over the river. Finally at the other end, the zip line journey was complete, I grabbed a chocolate bar from the local shop as we headed back to our hotel for some rare free time!
Free time on Contiki trips is few and far between since there’s so much to see and do, the schedule is always jam packed with one breathtaking experience after another!
For my brief moment of free time, I took a stroll through the streets of Banos with Brian, Sara A, and Samantha W. We wandered around a few shops and bought some souvenirs before stopping by a café for coffee. Though not being a big coffee drinker, I decided to go explore the town a bit more.
Around 1:20PM, the rest of the group came back from their respective activities (horseback riding and the canyon ziplining I did the day before). We all headed out to lunch at Leprechaun Restaurante where I ordered beef leprechaun (not made with real leprechaun… or so they claim) and a blue Hawaiian margarita! That leprechaun definitely hit the spot and the margarita was so massive that you could hold a Barbie pool party in it…!
After lunch, Esteban said he had a special activity for us to go check out La Casa Del Arbol and the swings overlooking Mt. Tungurahua, an active volcano! So many people were exhausted after the nonstop activities the past couple days. Some of us were still bursting with energy and took a party bus to check out the view!
The city of Banos is situated in a large valley surrounded by mountains on all sides. The bus to La Casa Del Arbol had open sides, party speakers, and a pole in the back! Perhaps not the safest thing to be trekking up the sides of a valley, but that didn’t stop us from taking full advantage of the experience! When we reached our destination, we hiked about a 1/2 mile up to the famous Swing At The End Of The World. This mountaintop was not always a bustling tourist attraction, but used to have just one swing. A single photo captured from that swing of the erupting volcano in the distance made National Geographic headlines and helped spurn this phenomenal view into a viral IG sensation!
At the original swing, we all took our turn swinging out over the edge of the mountain. Fearless as always, I threw my hands up and embraced the thrill, the view, and the once in a lifetime experience!
After we all had a go on the original swing, we hopped back on the bus for a brief ride over to the extreme swing! Yeah, there was an even crazier one! Once there, I put on a helmet and waited in line. Climbing up the tower, I looked out across the city of Banos as I sat down in the contraption that would swing me out over the edge of the cliff for the most breathtaking view of the city below! The countdown hit 0 and I was released, swinging down from above like the pirate ship ride at an amusement park but with nothing but the city below my feet! The moment was pure adrenaline, something I hadn’t truly felt since I had been skydiving in NZ 2 years ago. It was over all too quickly but I will never forget that sight!
On the return to Banos, we hopped into the party bus and some of the girls showed off their moves on the pole in the back as we zoomed back down into the valley! Even Elliot partook of the pole! The entire ride back was full of nonstop laughter and merriment. But the fun didn’t end there… no, we got dressed up into our nicest outfits for dinner and a Christmas party at one of Banos’ top clubs!
We got dinner at Nativo Gastro Bar where I continued my streak of margarita pizzas! I was sitting next to Samantha W who ordered a tiki head drink. Her drink came last but it was absolutely worth the wait for the aesthetic alone. The waiter brought over a plate with a giant tiki head on it, hooked up a couple tubes to the back and about 30 seconds later, the mouth popped open and smoke began to pour out! Once our entire table was covered in a fine layer of smoke, the waiter removed the tiki head revealing Sarah’s drink! And naturally, Nigel asked for the tiki head so he could take a closer look… though what he really wanted was to pretend he was the headless horseman with the tiki head sticking out of his shirt!
With dinner concluded and spirits high, we made our way to the club where we partied long and partied hard. We started off the wild night with colorful flaming shots before immediately hitting the dancefloor with the local crowd and getting lost in the sea of drunk festivities! Drinks were shared and drinks were spilled, but not a single drink was left undrunk. Around 1AM when the chaos finally began to die down, Cristiana and I decided to be responsible and make sure everyone we came with was still around. With what little focus we had left and a bit of searching, we managed to gather up all of our friends who didn’t turn in early; everyone was accounted for! Having had prior experience drunk navigating foreign city streets, I led the group back to the hotel where we continued the party on the patio by the pool with my party speakers. Around 3AM as yawns became a frequent sight, everyone shuffled back to their rooms and I followed suit to catch some z’s.
No Regrets: The Only Way To Live 