I spent a month volunteering at Fundacion Arte del Mundo in the beautiful mountain town of Banos. There is tons to do in and around this region and although I spent most of my time sleeping in and making popcorn, in hindsight I did quite a lot while I was there. Here's a list of some of the fun stuff to do if you're ever in the area.

Banos is an adrenalin junkies dream with zip lining, an active volcano and numerous hikes on offer. Whilst I was there I went white water rafting, something to tick off the bucket list. It was AWESOME! We bundled into the minivan and headed off along the mountain roads. After donning our wetsuits and having a safety briefing we were in the water! 6 to a raft including our instructor we were soon dodging currents, bobbing gently in serene waters and throwing killer paddle high fives. Our only man went overboard in the final stages and with 4 panicky girls on the rescue mission I think he swallowed more freezing river water than he would have liked! But we survived! And by the end I was hooked, I wanted more rapids, more danger and more near death experiences (as long as they were experienced by someone else).
Two very brave boys I know also gave the bridge bungee jump a go...I was happy I just took the photos.

I know, I know, I'm a dickhead traveller. But I'm embracing it! Gap yah, yah? A traveller friend and I had discussed for some time about getting tattoos and when she came to visit me in Banos we bit the bullet. We were recommended to Kokopelli tattoo studio on bar street. I went for the colibri (hummingbird) nazca line after having a bit of a 'moment' when I saw them and having seen my first real life hummingbird in the yard of my volunteer quarters. Check out how badass I am! (So badass I almost cried and it only took 15 minutes).

You can't beat a bit of karaoke to cement new friendships. Karaoke is fairly new to South America and the ecuadorians love sitting in dark bars, confined to their booths singing depressing ballads. We went to karaoke twice and had two very different experiences. The first involved little showmanship from the other contestants and long waits for songs . Our second attempt was a much more successful evening, my recommendation is to find a small bar where there are no booths or tables. You pass the mic along the bar and have your moment in the sun. Although I previously slated the choice of 'depressing ballads' the English choices are pretty slim. My nights warbling wonders included Mariah Carey, Aerosmith, The Police and Toni Braxton. Ace!

For a relaxing morning, afternoon, evening, in fact any time at all! Get yourself to the thermal baths. A natural spring there are a number of pools of varying heats, some of them are bloody hot! Dip from pool to pool and shower off in the revitalizing waterfall! It's meant to be good for your circulation...or something? Whatever it feels great. Next to the baths are some sacred waters and a small shrine which is what brought people to the area all those years ago. Evenings are a great way to relax and unwind and look at the stars but they're busy, there's less chance of getting stuck in a small pool squashed between two red Ecuadorians if you go in the morning. Or maybe that's your thing?

There are tons of waterfalls shooting out of mountain caverns all around Banos, take a bus ride to a neighboring town and you'll see them. A Chiva bus (a brightly painted bus playing reggaeton with flashing disco lights - acceptable at night amongst Ecuadorian teens, a little bit weird for tourists in the middle of the day) can take you out to a number of the falls. We took a rickety cable car out over one, hovering above the devils mouth and then to the double fall which was spectacular. Wear your raincoat! You're gonna get sprayed!

RHINO BUS
I think this is for children? It's about a dollar, has bright lights and speeds round the towns tight bends. It's funny as hell, do it!

FOOD
There are some great places to eat in Banos. A hefty amount of backpackers has seen some lovely places open that have good western food as well as fantastic Ecuadorian classics. Here's my run down of a few of my faves.

• Stray Dog - Slow service but totally worth it. Run by a dedicated American the food here is to die for, great sandwiches and fries that really feel like home. The slow roasted pork is nom nom nom!
• Casa Hood - The staff here are super friendly and they do a brilliant $2 almuerzo. 3 courses of veggie goodness and a fruit shake, total bargain! It's also a nice place to hook up to the wifi and hang out, borrow a book or check out their movie screenings. Not to be confused with Cafe Hood, also a yummy option- get the purée potatoes!
• Cafe Sativa - This chilled out spot opposite Casa Hood has the best spiced coffee, darn it, the best coffee I've ever tasted. Simple dishes (the veggie burgers are ace and I'm not a veggie!) and the beautifully painted murals make it a lovely daytime hangout.

Puyo, a small lazy riverside jungle town and gateway to jungle excursions is a short bus ride from Banos. A few of the volunteers and I went for a weekend. My favorite part of the trip was a visit to Parque Omaere, which can be found in Lonely Planet. The American owner, married to a native Ecuadorian has set up an amazing botanical garden of medicinal plants and flowers as well as examples of indigenous dwellings. Tours in English are educational and fun and can be tailored to fit your time scale and interests. Highly recommended! They say they have the cure to cancer, go see what you think!

SURVIVAL TIP
It's easy to lose a lot of time anywhere when you're travelling (most get lost in the beach towns!) I was lucky enough to have to spend a month in Banos so do as much as you can with whatever time you have. If you can spend a significant chunk of your trip in any one place it's really worthwhile no matter where it is. (Drinking yourself crazy in a beach town probably isn't the best choice though!)

Ecuador's claim to fame (and it's name) is its position on the equator. This famous spot is where Charles-Marie de La Condamine measured the equatorial line in 1736 that gave rise to the metric system. Pretty cool. There's a monument that you can have a photo taken with but the real draw is that the monument was actually put in the wrong place and if you walk a few meters down a dirt road you'll find the REAL Mitad del Mundo. A fantastic open air museum that shows the true equator. They tell you a bit of history of indigenous people and their beliefs based on astronomy and the position of the earth. Then it's time for the science! Balance an egg on a nail head and get a certificate, watch water turn different ways down the plug hole on either side of the line and all other quirky and fun treats to entertain and boggle your mind. It's super fun and another bucket list check off, I've stood on the equator people! And I have a stamp in my passport to prove it! Check that!

Otavalo market is a shoppers dream. I would definitely recommend organizing your trip to fly out of Quito so that you can hit the markets for all your souvenirs before flying home. I don't have a problem, honest.
Some travellers don't rate it as it does have almost everything most other markets in South America have just over and over again. Personally I don't see what their problem is? Yeah so it's the same old crap?...over and over again?! Ace!
No I joke, in my opinion Otavalo had lots of souvenirs I didn't see else where as well as local items like traditional dress and jewellry. It also gives you the option to find the best of what it is you're looking for within your price range. It doesn't beat the cheap steals of Bolivia but it did have more western styled items that you might be able to use at home, such as blanket and bag designs. I left with a queen sized hand woven bed spread, a table runner, two hand painted wooden spoons, a dream catcher made from cow intestines and rare bird feathers, some paintings and some jewellry. It was fantastic. And let's be honest everyone loves mincing around a market?! It's what holidays are made for right? All the boys say YEEEAAAAHHHHH!!

If you get up early enough the nearby animal market is an absolute must! Ask around for days it's on. We got up around 6am and headed out to find a field full of every farmyard animal you could think of, pigs, cows, llamas, ducklings and sacks of puppies. Literally SACKS of puppies. Sacks of pretty much anything really, woman walking round with handfuls of live chickens and all animals large and small. The basic rundown is each seller stands with their wares and waits for someone to approach them with a price. It's just as much a hang around and chat situation as it is a selling one. If you're big on animal cruelty you probably won't enjoy it but if you can embrace the madness of another culture it's brilliant and well worth the early morning.

SURVIVAL TIP
Haggle hard, get a price in mind and stick to it, if you walk away they'll either call you back or you'll have the afternoon to decide whether to go back and pay the price they're asking AND DON'T BUY A PUPPY!

Arte del Mundo in Banos, Ecuador is a fantastic arts and literacy project for young kids. I arranged to stay with them for a month before leaving the UK and didn't regret a second of it.
The organization offers after school activities for young people in the town, along with cinema nights in their (newly renovated) theatre and English classes. The town of Banos has no cinema, theatre or public library and it was a pleasure seeing the joy in the locals faces when they were able to access a fun, creative learning space.
As a volunteer I 'worked' weekdays from around 2pm-6pm. Some nights we hosted movie nights selling popcorn or teaching English to local adults. We'd all have a meeting at 2pm and discuss the days activities, get on with our allocated cleaning duties and have the kids burst through the doors at 3.30pm after school. We'd read for an hour, a range of books for different abilities which greatly improved my Spanish!
After reading time we would do an activity centred around each days theme, be it science, team building or sports. It was challenging catering to different ages in another language and never quite knowing how many kids would turn up but we had a great team of volunteers and it was so rewarding.
Before leaving the UK I'd researched so many volunteer options, all of which were stupidly expensive and weren't really related to the type of work I want to do when I return. With Arte del Mundo all I paid for was my accomodation which aside from fundraising is their bread and butter. For a small fee I got a large room with space to unpack (!), free use of kitchen and washing machine, a TV room with unlimited DVDs and a lovely room mate. It was fantastic to slow down and be in one place for a while, getting to know fellow travelers from all over the world and some who'd stayed behind and set up something amazing. I made great friends and formed fantastic bonds with the children and Banos is a beautiful setting to sit back and relax for a while. (Check out my next post on how to spend a month in Banos!)
Rural outreach projects took us out in to the countryside to read and play with children whose only books are the bible and an encyclopedia, and coming home to games night and a bowl of popcorn can't be beat! In truth it really wasn't like working at all and I feel extremely lucky to have taken part in the project.

Please check them out if you're interested: www.artedelmundoecuador.com