Baños, Quito, Cuabeno ECUADOR

Trade bike for cooking spoons

From riobamaba we continue to Baños. Apparently a waterfall, river, and extreme sports paradise. I go hiking and enjoy nature. After a few days here, I decide to travel to Quito with Nati, a Swiss girl, as I want to work in a restaurant there. That's why I spontaneously hide my bike with an Argentine guy who wants to ride to Quito with Damian.

On the way to Quito, we stop to go to Cotopaxi Volcano. Although we can't reach the summit because it's currently forbidden as the volcano is active and has been since a few years ago, and also because climbing requires experience in high-alpine terrain, it's the first time in my life that I'm over 5,000 meters high. There's even snow up here!

Arriving in Quito, I realize that the city has no charm for me, that working in the restaurant won't work out, that it's constantly raining here at the moment, and that I don't want to wait forever for the guys and my bike here.

By chance, I end up with a volunteer position in a jungle lodge in Cuabeno in the middle of nowhere near the Amazon.

So on Monday night, we take the bus to Lago Agrio and from there, another 3-hour trip to the river. Then it's time to get in the canoe, which is luckily motor-driven. We ride on the river for about four hours, making stops to observe birds, monkeys, and plants.

Upon arriving at the lodge, I meet my new colleagues and find out my tasks here: cooking, serving, cleaning, and translating a bit. Sounds pretty good, actually. This way, I can improve my Spanish a bit more and finally learn something about the local cuisine here and a few recipes.

The days here pass by quickly: waking up at 6 am to make breakfast, then cleaning the rooms. If we're fast, there's time to relax in the hammock and listen to the birds and watch the butterflies. Then we cook lunch and clean the kitchen. The afternoon is siesta time, and for me, that means listening to music and taking a nap in the hammock before we start working on dinner. The workday ends around 9:30 pm. Every evening, I treat myself to a beer, which is like my payment for my help here, and then I go to bed pretty soon. To fall asleep, there's jungle sound: frogs and crickets competing to sing.

On some days, I go on the tour to translate from Spanish to English - and that's where I shine as a language genius!

It may sound tiring. And it was! But definitely worth the experience.

After two weeks, I've had enough of the jungle and it's time to go back to Quito.

My conclusion: Ecuadorian women are apparently a bit sneaky, the pink river dolphins are not actually pink but just gray-pink, tarantulas actually look quite cute, here we eat rice with meat three times a day, there are giant ants, I can make chocolate myself, and the starry sky here is amazing