Banos (Redux): Dec 28th - 30th

Executive Summary
- RELAX, RELAX, RELAX: After trying to climb Cotopaxi, we came back to Banos and got a massage (one hour for $15) and a steak dinner (excellent chateaubriand for $6.50).

- SPIT ROASTED GUINEA PIGS: Ew. Enough said.

Daily Account
- Dec 28th: We were completely and utterly exhausted after Cotopaxi. The ride back to Banos was mostly silent as we were all too tired to speak. About 2.5 hrs later, we got back to the Rain Forestur office... Dino recommended a pig-skin street food vendor for a little snack. Not sure how I felt about eating pig skin, but figured why not? It sure as hell beat the spit-roasted guinea pigs we saw being served on the way. Yeah, so disgusting! I could see it´s ears and teeth! EW. The pig skin turned out to be alright... it kind of grew on you, but I don´t think I´ll be ordering one of those again any time soon. Anyway, we picked up our bags from Plantos y Blancos (where we stored them while at Cotopaxi) and decided to switch over to Hostal Transylvania for $6 pp per night with free breakfast and unlimited Internet. Still can´t get over how cheap lodging is. After our massages, we relaxed a bit... and then went out for the steak dinner with Dino at Mamma Ines (great food) and a few beers at Jack Rock Cafe (a take on Hard Rock, but definitely not as cheesy)... followed by late-night shwarma and salchipapas (wieners & fries).

- Dec 29th: We had decided to spend the day relaxing and catching-up... email, blog, housekeeping, etc. We slept in until 8am (I know! Early, but that´s considered sleeping in after having woken up at midnight the night before to climb a volcano)... and watched The Dead Zone with Anthony Michael Hall. I´ve never watched that show and probably won´t ever again, but I felt it was the best thing I´ve watched in a month, which made me realize how much I miss my Gossip Girl, Grey´s Anatomy, House, etc. Sigh. Anyway, as I said, the day was about catching up... but later that evening, we decided to go on a 45 minute hike up the mountain overlooking Banos, to have dinner at a resort at the top. We expected a leisurely hike... oh, but no. It was just as steep as Cotopaxi, but thankfully, we didn´t have the altitude or the freezing cold snow to deal with. Still, we were pretty sweaty by the time we arrived at the Luna Runtun resort and I couldn´t wait for a cold beer. The views from the resort´s Cafe del Cielo were beautiful, which made the intense but short hike worth it. By the way, the resort itself is amazing! Over 70 immaculate rooms, 4 thermal jacuzzis/pools, great food and excellent views of the Tungu-something volcano (which you can hearing rumbling all day) and of Banos. If we weren´t unemployed, I would´ve wanted to stay there for $70 a night, per person. www.lunaruntun.com After dinner, we came back to the hostel and watched Stardust with Michelle Pfeiffer, Claire Danes and Robert de Niro... I really liked the movie, which is an adult fairy tale. Mark thought it was okay... a bit chick-flikish.

- Dec 30th: Nothing really to report... we ate our yummy free breakfast and made our way to the bus terminal for the 8 hour journey to Cuenca.