11th-14th August - Baños de Agua Santa, Ecuador

For the 11th of August, we had booked canyoning in Rio Cashaurco. There were three different difficulty levels and we chose the "Nivel mas alto" - previous canyoning experience was required for this ("Have you done canyoning before?" - "Yes, of course." - this confirmed our canyoning experience and we were ready to go). Well, that was really canyoning in the "Estilo Ecuatoriano" ... in all of Europe, no one would go canyoning in such a river - especially not with tourists. Our guides were also absolutely trustworthy: one carabiner with a rappel device was almost lost (it would have fallen off the cliff if one of the customers hadn't caught it), a rope flew down the waterfall (in front of us tourists) and got tangled in a whirlpool, and a customer's safety carabiner was simply removed from the rope without telling him. For example, we jumped from a nearly 10-meter high waterfall that had such a large whirlpool at the bottom that honestly no one wanted to jump into it voluntarily. We were attached to a rope with a carabiner (during the jump) so that we could be pulled out of the whirlpool afterwards. It was really challenging - there was absolutely no chance if you were just swimming. But according to the guides, canyoning in Ecuador is "muy fácil" (very easy) and absolutely no problem. Our wetsuits were 3 mm thick, but still completely unsuitable for the water temperature of 12-15 °C. It was really cold. By the way, we drove to the starting point in a (open on the sides) Jeep - on the way, our driver missed the right moment to brake and had to make an emergency stop. However, since the road was wet, we just slid. There were 3 options: turn left (crash into oncoming traffic), don't turn (rear-end collision), and turn right (sidewalk, which was twice as high as in Germany). The driver chose option 3, which the tire and the rim didn't like at all, especially the tire, so it gave up. We drove the last 3 km with a flat tire - while we were canyoning, we had time to change the spare tire. Unfortunately, the pictures from the canyoning are all pretty bad because a) I only received them through WhatsApp and b) they are partially screenshots from videos - nothing I can do about it.

On the 12th of August, we went rafting, also "nivel mas alto" (highest level). Caro unfortunately couldn't join us due to a mild stomach bug (we had vegetarian food the evening before, which should apparently be avoided in Ecuador). The tour itself was really good (I even fell out of the boat without any effort - purely by the power of the water) and was fun. However, everything else was just bad. My first bus was 20 minutes late (which is normal and nowadays we usually arrive 5 minutes after the agreed time). However, it only took me 100 meters and then kicked me out. Here, I received my equipment and was left standing - without being told when another bus would come. After about 45 minutes, I asked how things were looking - and I was laughed at and still left standing there clueless. After another 10 minutes, a bus came and I asked if it was mine, which was confirmed - then I told the guide in a rougher tone that I thought this was pretty shitty ("Estoy aquí esperando y no sé nada! Ahora espero mas de una hora pero el autobus no vino!"). After the tour, we had something to eat (which was included in the price, but I was actually not in the mood anymore). I ordered vegetarian again and got my food about 10 minutes after the very last of the others (who ate meat/fish) had finished. I then had about 5 minutes to finish eating before the bus continued. The rest of the journey home also took about twice as long as planned due to traffic. But the rafting itself was cool, only our guide was a bit weird. He was almost like a choleric person. I was the only one in the boat who didn't speak Spanish (fluently), along with a Brazilian (who spoke even less Spanish than me). I was allowed to sit in the front on the right and was in charge of the "equipo derecho" (right side), so I had control over the right side of the boat. I think our guide was somewhat satisfied with my job (at least I didn't get replaced twice like the person opposite me on the left side).

On the 13th of August, there wasn't much going on. We stayed in our room a lot and planned the rest of our trip. We cooked for ourselves again (in the hostel kitchen), which was a really pleasant change. In the evening, we checked out the bars here in Baños - there are "promociones especiales" (special promotions) or "ofertas" (offers) everywhere, e.g., three beers for $10 or two cocktails for $6. However, we discovered the "rough" one in Baños, where 3 beers (without any offers) only cost $9, and you could get 2 cocktails for between $5 and $6. There were only a few alcohol-dependent drug addicts next to us, the toilet was also used by non-customers (and not just for urinating, most likely), and smoking was allowed in the place - just our thing.

On the 14th, it was time to sleep in. Then we had leftovers for breakfast and had to go to the bank. There were 3 counters at the bank and there were an estimated 30-40 people in line. At one point, one of the counters was closed and money was being counted - an estimated almost $40,000, right in front of everyone. At the bank, we made a cash transfer to an account of a more or less dubious diving tour provider in Puerto López. I negotiated a "precio especial" (special price) with him via WhatsApp, which was $30 less for the dive - but he needed the money as soon as possible. Since we're not in Puerto López yet, we had to transfer the money (paying online would have cost over €10 more due to some fee). I wonder if we could have used the money to make a fire: there was no intended purpose for the transfer, our names were not asked for, and the recipient probably has no idea where the money came from (to be able to book a two-hour bus ride for $2 in Ecuador, you need a passport or ID card).

Tonight, we will be leaving for Guayaquil at 1:00 am. The journey there will probably take about 8 hours. When we arrive in Guayaquil, we will switch to a bus to Puerto López, which will take another 4 hours. So, we will probably be there sometime tomorrow afternoon and pretty tired.