Islaytour

hi
On Monday we climbed Ruminahui which was hard work. Unfortunately Ross didn´t make it because he was ill When we got to the top we could see for miles around us but it was quite a steep drop which was really scary we had to hold on for dear life!!!!! On the way back down it was fun. It was like a big sand dune so we slid down on our behinds and got our boots full of sand and dirt!!!
Had a rest day on Tuesday and travelled back to Quito. Ate Dominoes Pizza for dinner mmmmmmmmmm....
Wednesday we went to a big markey called Otavalo which was interesting to see all the local arts and crafts. It is such a colourfull place with all the wall hangings and such like. It is a very relaxed atmosphere. We bought some mental woolly hats for winter!!! they are so funny
Started the jungle trek on friday which was amazing! We got a motorised canoe up the river then did a 5 hour hike, our guide Carlos who is the coolest man alive showed and explained about different plants and their medicinal uses which kept us amused. According to him rubber trees are the best source of protection!! After our lunch, which was more like our dinner, we floated down the river in rubber rings. Sheila, Ashley, Amy, Josh and Ross got swept away with the current and had to get a boat to rescue us!! hehe Ross also lost one of his sandals in the river!!!
On Saturday we did another trek but it was only for a couple of hours and did the same thing in the afternoon. At night we went looking for camans and fed the leftover chicken!! On Sunday we went to a museum which was on a small island in the middle of the river. We saw traps and weapons used to catch animals by the local indians.
On Monday we went to a zoo and saw monkeys!!! One of them started fighting one of the workers which was hilarious!! In the afternoon after a 2 hour boat journey we arrived back on dry land and went to a butterfly garden. Saw some beautiful butterflies!
Today the the rest of the group are white water rafting but i didnt want to because i wanted to let the rest of the world know what trouble we have been causing!! hehe
We are now in our r and r phase which should be a good laugh. Hopefully we will get to stay in a really good hotel.
tatty bye for now
ashley

hi guys
Said goodbye to school on Tuesday morning and were given certificates and gifts! Loaded our big rucksacks onto the mules and then started our trek. Climbed up a massive hill. Walked through the cloud forest and saw inca ruins. The views were amazing. We were above the clouds, around 3900 metres. Stayed at luxury campsite which had food ready by killing chickens for us!!! Best chicken soup in the world!!
Went to a cheese factory on Wednesday which stank!! We decided to stay at a luxury hostel which had hot showers!! woohoo
Josh and Brandy fell ill on Thursday and were taken to Quilotoa in a pick up truck but we had to walk for about 8 hours up very steep hills, ascented 1200 metres and saw the volcano crater at the top which was spectacular!!
Yesterday was really boring, as we walked along the road to nowhere!! Hired a taxi to get to our campsite were told it would only cost $8 but ended up costing $8 each!! oops!
We are going to climb Ruminahui on Monday which should be good
Speak to ya soon
ps all ross´s chums send him your email address´s please!!

Arrived at our project in Sigchos on Tuesday, after a really sketchy bus journey speeding up the sides of mountains. very scary!! Weather was wet and overcast then. We are staying in the hall of the school with a tiled floor and lots of ants!! the toilets were outside and didn´t flush as well as the fact that they absolutely stank!!! the sink was full of slugs and we´ve had to have cold showers all week!! The next day we met the school children and taught them english with a teuchter accent, heehee! then we went to buy stuff for the school, like cysterns for the toilets as well as basketballs, footballs and paint, so we could paint it! When we took all the balls back to the playground we were attacked by a bunch of hungry animals who almost wrestled us to the floor, and knocked over a tin of paint which went everywhere! Then in the afternoon we started on the painting which is coming along nicely now. on Thursday we got up at 4.15am to get the bus to the market in Saguisili at 5. So we had the dodgy bus ride in the dark. At the market the weather was like winter on Islay, and Mr H bought a panama hat as well as a pink ribbon to go round it! camp or what??? We saw live chickens hanging upside down and then we got the bus back to Sigchos about 10 and took pictures hanging out the window the whole way back. it was great fun and definately and experience. When we got back the weather was scorching and then we started drawing the mural. On Friday we played games with the kids all morning and started to paint the mural in the afternoon. We also poured a huge bucket of water over Mr H and then ran away and didn´t go back for and hour and a half!! The leaders cooked dinner which was very interesting and could have done without the beans!! had a meeting and decided to have a long lie on saturday which we did!! Went to cafe for lunch of the saturday and Margaret (one of our leaders) ate a fish eye for $5!! Then we had a huge game of football. After dinner we played more football as well as basketball and taught the americans strip the willow which was very amusing!! We should be able to update this on saturday so until then..... goodbye!!

Hi guys we finally made it after about 11 hours of flying. We got some cracking pictures of the volcanoes as we flew over the country and we´ll be putting up the pics as soon as possible.
We were exhuasted when we got to the hostel but it was only eight in the morning over there and we had a lot to do.
We met the americans Brandy, Josh and Sean. They´re cool.
were all a bit blown back at first especially with the traffic. Thank god Mr.H isn´t driving over here .
We are heading out to do our project tomorrow with the school.
Spanish is coming along fine .
The food is great. Lots of fruit in every meal mmmmmmm pinapple.
They have KFC out here too and everythings so cheap. Taxi is like one pound for a few miles or so.

Talk to you again soon. Ross

Hey there guys!! Arrived at the airport an hour and a half ago, just starting to get bored and hungry now!! Already getting into trouble, Ashley got her fork taken off her at customs. hehehe!! Got some yummy FREE food on the ONE HOUR plane journey too. Our ten hour flight kicks off in about two hours so then even more fun begins!!
Had a great time last night as we went to the cinema to see A Lot Like Love, then Sheila and Ashley went into a simulator and screamed the place down. It was a great laugh!! Only we are lucky to be alive with Mr Harrison's sketchy driving. Talk about road rage!!! It was worse than the simulator, we haven't been so petrified for a long time. hehe!!
We'll report back when we arrive in Ecuador tomorrow,
Sheila, Ashley, Ross and Amy