Banos, Ecuador - It is all going downhill

It is going to be all downhill! That's at least what the brochure promised. Banos 1800 m above sea level, Mera 50 km away 600 m above - easy no?

I rented a mountain bike in the morning: suspension - check, disk breaks - check, helmet - check, water bottle holder - check. And downhill I went on the crazy road.

Slowly winding through a steep valley over bridges and along 20 waterfalls I made my journey to the gateway to the Amazon in Mera.

On the way my book told me to do ziplining. It has come a long way from the playground activity I remembered. Across a 500 feet deep canyon, over a waterfall and a rushing river going 40 miles an hour. And back. Holy shit. 

Then a hike behind an insane waterfall. In the valley, up to a dark, narrow and wet tunnel crawling on my legs and arms to get behind the beast of a waterfall. 

Rewarded myself with fresh Chocolate Banana Empanadas - I will need to find a way to introduce the Brooklyn to this amazing treat.

That was the end of the regular bike trip. Because then the road went up instead of downhill. Over a pass. And down again. And up. And down. And up. Over another pass. And down. This did explain why most people did not go past the last waterfall, because they are not stupid.

But in the end I (barely) made it to the gateway to the Amazon and that's what counts. Crazy to think all the waters will go down thousands of miles to the Atlantic from here. And the put my bike in the bus and back to Banos in a surprising 40 min...