banos

banos is a small town about 2 hours south of latachunga, it is stunning. a goldfish bowl, surrounded by beautiful volcanic mountains, waterfalls, and hot springs. there´s so much to do - hence i was there for 8 days. the hostel - plantas y blanco - is perfect for the young traveler, and luckily i was there with a great crowd. the communal kitchen gave me the opportunity to show off my bangers and mash skills, and some other great meals from those who stepped up to the plate...

i got stuck in straight away with some white water rafting, then an essex boy (adam) and i hired some quads to do the hour trip to the top of the mountain, unfortunately we got stuck with one thats chain kept coming off - so racedback to the shop to swap it... the replacement was worse - the chain kept breaking, but by the end of our two hours and after free-wheeling down the mountainside - we left it for hem to pickup. good times.

the bars in town were great. a cool 3 levelled, open, pool bar; the leprechaun - a fake irish bar with cool courtyard and the local dancing sweatbox.

four of us decided to try and rent some more mechanically disabled vehicles and head round the mountain roads to see what we could find. we found a mini (35m) bungy jump off a bridge, some cable-zip cars that flew over the river, and some tunnels. two of the tunnels weren´t a problem given that you took off your sun glasses - as the end was in site - but the last one we came through on the way back had a bend half way, and andy and my lights were both out. i went into the wall unhurt but andy got his bike stuck in the side ditch after crashing into the wall. with a bus coming up the rear, a lot of shouting and noise, and andy´s hand smashed up we made it out alive. we got back to town. $50 for the damage to the bike or no passport... er, take it you prick - and we got andy into the er room. all was fine.

loved banos, and the people there - will no doubt miss it.