Classes de Espagnol!!

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  Vilcabamba, Ecuador
Saturday, June 18, 2005

Next morning started very early with a bus ride to Loja and onto the laidback town of Vilcabamba! Our main reason for going here was for me to have an intensive course in Spanish! We´d already contacted a hostel called Izhcayluma which sounded amazing but got unduly influenced by a flyer for 'Los Ruines' at the bus station which was quite abit cheaper and offered lots more! We should have known it was too good to be true! We walked down there and were met by a full on party - it was the owner´s daughter´s first communion and were we in for a loud night!!! Things were looking up though when they brought us a free beer (we could have had 2 but honest Dawn admitted we´d already had one! Whoops!)...however...the spanish courses they advertised didn´t exist, they had no internet (apparently it didn´t work because it was cloudy!), the resturant was closed and it was all abit of a con really! However by the time we realised all this, it was too late to check-out so we had to stay another night which reall annoyed us! Anyway...we took serious positive action and rung our original choice for the next night along with 6 hours of Spanish over the next 2 days! Things were finally coming together!

Anyway if we hadn´t have stayed at ´Los Ruines´, we wouldn´t have met a highly colourful and amusing Canadian/Swedish couple who had been living on a boat for 6 years travelling around Central & South America! Great stories, great laughs and an interesting dinner when they basically took over the hostel´s kitchen to cook us up a feast of spag bol accompanied by rum straight out of the bottle! (Ho Ho Ho and a Bottle of Rum!) They spent the whole evening telling us amazing stories of their adventures at sea and trying to convince us that we should buy a boat and take to the seas! Don´t think they realised that the snake, hurricane, nearly capsizing stories put us off somewhat but it made for a great evening anyway!

Next day, we hastily departed Los Ruines and started hiking up to the Izhcayluma hostel - 2km uphill! Ouch! Luckily the owner drove past and we jumped in the back of his truck! Nice! The whole atmosphere was completely different up here - friendly, relaxed, helpful! It had a pool, table tennis, pool table, movies...beautiful setting with the most amount of flowers you´ve ever seen! Nice! We headed out for a walk up the hill before my brain would be tested with my first Spanish lesson! Beautiful scenery, up in the mountains, donkeys in the middle of the road! Perfect! My first Spanish lesson was great - it was with the mother of the duaghter on reception and she gave private lessons to an all manner of people including...wait for this...Joan Collins who had a private residence in Vilcabamba! Oh yes...I mingle with the elite! Talk about brain-hurt though bearing in mind we haven´t really been stretching ourselves over the last 7 months! Made me realise how much I enjoy learning though...may have to put my head in the books when we get back! She was great though and went though loads of verbs, tenses and everything...reckon I covered GCSE Spanish in about 6 hours! It´s certainly made life alot easier anyway!

While I was stretching my brain, Paul was stretching his legs and went out on the bikes into the local villages! He took some awesome photos and cycled so far its unbelievable or it is by my reckoning! And he didn't get a lift like me...read on! Over the past year, I´ve realised how much I HATE (I can really use that word!) cycling and even struggled going downhill never mind uphill! Gears are just too much for me I´m afraid! On the way back, I managed to cycle half way up the hill when again I was saved by the owner who obviously felt sorry for me bright red & sweating! Got a lift along with 6 local schoolboys who just sat and laughed at me all the way back and collapsed in a heap for the afternoon to rest my brain and our legs! In the evening, we wandered down into the town for tea and then speed-walked back as I don´t like wandering around in the dark with no street lamps! Softy that I am!

The next day, we decided to get in some practice for Machu Picchu and embarked on a trek out to a local waterfall! After getting lost and coming across our first wild snake (it was only little!), we eventually backtracked to find the right path! The first bit was tough as you like, all uphill and I didn't think I was going to make it at one point! The next part of the walk meandered along the valley until we eventually reached the path leading down to the waterfall....a very steep, slippery slope!!! After a few slips and looking decidely dirty, we arrived at the base of the waterfall and it was definitely worth it! Not the biggest in the world, but a very high, thin cascade and we were both chuffed as we got the shutter speed setting right for the first time and managed to get that slow motion type effect! (Real photographer type terminology there!). We eventually made it back to town v knackered and hungry so grabbed some food, saw a beautiful rainbow, finished of with crepes, treated ourselves to a taxi back up the hill and rested our aching legs!!!!

We could have got up really early the next morning to catch the bus to Peru, but Paul treated me to a massage & reiki experience! (Bless! Thankfully not by him though!) It was amazing and afterwards I was in a dreamlike daze! Ultimate relaxation! We then headed down to the bus station (well I floated!) to jump on a bus to Loja and the next part of our journey...Peru! We met a lovely family from Bath travelling with their 3 children through S America for 3 months on their way to New Zealand! What an adventure! They had such a great philosophy though...can remember them saying to the kids at mealtimes...'Now remember the rule about not being fussy kids!' Excellent! It ecrtainly kept them quiet!

PS We met an American girl on our trek to the waterfall who stayed at Los Ruines and the owner had tried to make a move on her! Since then, we´ve met a few people who have warned that the owner tries it on with any single females and rape has even been mentioned! Yikes! Even my spanish tutor said he was crazy and she went to school with him! Stay at the Izcayluma!!!!

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