July 7, 2004 - Woke up at 2:15 am to catch the 3:00 am bus from Chugchilan to Latacunga. At least I wasn´t alone. Dominique and Serge also needed to catch the bus. Well, we were wondering where the bus was..as it got around to 3:15...3:20...we were about to make a decision to walk up to town to catch the 4am bus, as our bus strolled by at 3:30. It was freeeezing! And for a while, they drove with the door opened.

I was able to catch a small nap on the bus, but not enough of course. Got to Latacunga, then headed for my Ambato-Baños. The ride was beautiful, the driver a bit crazy!

In Ambato, we picked up a lady who sat by me. We talked a bit. Apparently, it seems that a lot of people think I´m Ecuadorian...until I talk! She wanted me to go to Puyo with her for 2 hours and have lunch. She wanted me to go with her desperately! She said she lives alone, so I guess she just wanted some company, someone to talk to. She gave me her phone number and told me to call her. She also asked me when I was going to Ambato...like she wanted me to stay with her. I guess she really wanted a friend...or she was crazy!

Anyways, on the way to Baños, our bus driver ran over a dog, and the guy who collects the money just laughed, with a half a mouth of teeth. I know they´re street dogs with all sorts of problems, but that´s just cruel.

I checked into the Princesa Maria. It´s a pretty nice place. I´ve got a room to myself and private bath, for only $4! Jen and Tony met up with me, since Tony left his passport at the Black Sheep Inn and I was the transport.

We ended up going horseback riding together for 2 hours - to some waterfalls. It was pretty neat, and our horses were going sooo fast! And now my ass hurts!