This time from Auriole Potter, an absolute masterpiece of course.

After being “cured” by the shaman, we had a night at a hostel called La Luna. Made the most of the good food and hammocks. The following day we walked around a lake called Cuicocha, an old volcanic crater. Very steep and we all felt the altitude but the amazing views made the pain worth it. My thighs havent felt the same for several days though!

Week two saw more gruelling one on one Spanish lessons, which are nonetheless having an effect. I think everyone is definitely noticing an improvement. During the second half of the lessons we usually split into groups and do various activities, such as musical chairs and attempting to tell embarassing stories in Spanish.

The afternoons of this week have been filled with constant activity. On Monday we went to a bullfight which provoked mixed feelings from the group. It was definitely an experience though. Tuesday we explored la ciudad antigua. The old colonial style is a complete contrast to the part that we´re staying in and it was interesting to explore various museums. We waited in the Plaza Grande in order to catch a glimpse of the presidents of Peru, Bolivia, Argentina, Venezuela and the mayor of Ecuador. Also went up to the statue of the Virgin for amazing views over the city. Got a sense for how huge it is.

On Wednesday it was Joe, Lizzie and my turn to cook so we made gazpacho, spanish tortilla, brownies, a fruit salad and some rather dodgy cocktails of watermelon and what we thought was vodka but turned out to be some kind of sugar cane. Despite that and some undercooked potatoes, it all went down very well with everyone. We then had our first experience of ladies’ night, a fun but disturbing experience which consisted of dancing the night away and trying to escape the gazes of creepy old Ecuadorians.

On Thursday evening, we went to the theatre. Can’t really describe what we saw. It was basically a one man clown performance which we all found rather bizarre. The language barrier didnt help but it was nice to get an insight into Ecuadorian? theatre.

The weekend was spent in the cloud forest. We arrived on Friday evening and spent the night in pairs with Spanish families. Compared strange breakfasts the following morning: popcorn, spinach soup and spaghetti were some of the more bizarre combinations. We trekked for about 7 hours through the forest until we reached the eco lodge at Santa Lucia. I have to comment on the showers which were incredible: they had no back wall so we had beautiful views over the top of the forest. Surreal experience. Long journey back to Quito the following day to find that Joe and Tom, who were unfortunately ill at the hostel, had bought us all roses for Valentines Day, lovely chicos.

Time for lunch, ojala que todo va bien en Ingalterra, hasta luego, x