Riding down a volcano, thermal baths, turning 23... Banos.

A mere 3 hours away from Quito, according to the bus driver, is Banos.  Four and half hours later, after an impromptu bus change, Kristen and I stepped off the bus in Banos.  It was dark, we were hungry, and we immediately loved this town.
Walking through the streets towards our hostel (feeling much safer than in Quito) we passed two different parks and saw a Basilica that was lit up like DisneyWorld (no joke). Up high in the air we could see an illuminated cross - we assumed (correctly) that it was perched on one of the towering hills that surround the town.
After having had a hot shower (ah!) in the hostel, we went out with another couple we'd met in Quito, Tom and Fallon, and went in search of some street food. Our quest was a semi-failure... we found street food eventually, but only Kristen ate it... and she didn't really like it.  The rest of us ate burgers at a streetside burger bar (close enough). Then, whilst wandering around the town, we stumbled upon Banos' greatest... neh, Ecuador's greatest attraction:
The Bulls - Heat basketball game.
Oh. Em. Gee.

We perched ourselves infornt of the TV excitedly (okay, only Tom and I were excited) and watched the 3rd and 4th quarters.

Derrick Rose will win MVP and the Bulls will be the Eastern Conference's representatives in the Finals. You heard it here first.

After a few beers and a thrilling Bulls victory, we headed back to the hostel for a couple more beers before bed.
The following day, my birthday (woop!), we ate a Fantastic breakfast up on the roof of our hostel (from where I'm writing at the very moment).  The view is breathtaking. Lush hills with waterfalls surround the town, the town is gorgeous and we can see the disneyland basilica from here.  Breakfast was homemade bread, homemade jam and eggs.
Satisfied and full of energy, we rented out a mountain bike each and started the 20km downhill journey to the 'Devil's Waterfall', which is on the road to Puyo.  Puyo is a town right on the edge of the Amazon jungle, and the downhill ride to it offers spectacular views of waterfalls and of the jungle. Very beautiful and pretty exhilarating - racing a bus crammed with people down a steep hill into a curve sometimes means your heart is pumping even if your legs aren't.
Devil's Waterfall is a huge watergushing tourist magnet about a 15 minute hike down from the road. It's pretty great.
We caught a bus (well, a truck) back to town and headed home for a quick shower before getting a super cheap, full body, one hour Swedish massage. As if we weren't relaxed enough, after the massage we went to the thermal baths after which the town is named.
These are baths that are heated naturally by the volcano and have tons of minerals that are good for your health.  In this particular venue there were three pools - freezing cold, way too hot and perfect. My favorite was going from 'freezing cold' to 'way to hot'. The place is packed, which added to the fun, as all the families from the surrounding area come to Banos for some RnR and the healing properties of the bath.
Once done with the volcano water, and after another shower, we went to an Argentine restaurant where the menu is written on dice - so if you can't decide what to order, you just roll! Pretty cool. We ordered Chorizo, Ostrich and Grape stuffed Chicken. Muchos delicious.
Back at the hostel, Kristen surprised me with a birthday cake! A chocolate and tres leches cake made right here in Banos (by professional cake makers in a shop with no sign). Awesome. This was pretty much the best birthday ever.

Tomorrow, we're getting up at dawn (hopefully) to climb up the crucifix and on the way back we'll stop for some healing in the thermal baths. Then we'll head back to Quito and start our volunteer work. Kristen will be working with disable and non-disabled children in a school, while I'll be working in a daycare center for kids who's parents don't want them to work at such a young age.

Thanks for all the birthday wishes everyone!

Next to a volcano, the amazon rainforest, the pacific ocean and in the Andes... Quito

I'll skip the semantics of the how, where and what happened since we've arrived and catch you up to date.
Kristen and I are staying in a lovely hostel called Casa Bambu that features great security (two locked doors before even getting into the hostel, self locking doors on all the rooms), two kitchens, a lovely rooftop breakfast restaurant (full continental breakfast and eggs, $3 thank you very much), hammocks, swinging chairs, wifi and laundry... and, oh yeah, a view of Quito and the surrounding volcano/mountains. It's awesome.
We are enrolled in a school called Yanapuma to learn Spanish for two hours a day.  Through the philanthropic branch of the school, we're going to be volunteering for 3-4 weeks in either day care centers, schools or orphanages - great volunteering opportunities considering our basic-intermediate level of spanish. That will start on Monday.
Since Friday we have been visiting Quito's museums, monastaries, old town (simply charming) and made a trip north to the EQUATOR or 'Mitad del Mundo'. On Sundays they have live music and dancing in the complex that features museums and explanations about how Charles-Marie de La Condamine proved that this was indeed the EQUATOR.  We did the gross cliches that the locals must have to erase a la Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind every day, like putting one foot in each hemisphere, pulling each other into a different hemisphere, telling each other how the weather is in different hemispheres... we hate ourselves just a little (you have to do it).
We have eaten lots of cheap Ecuadorian food (rice, beans, meat, rice, beans, meat - I'm in heaven) and have drank plenty of $1.20 Ecuadorian beer (will there be a Pilesner tent at Oktoberfest soon?)
That sums it up so far!
I'll be updating the blog twice a week, so I hope you all read and post comments!
Adios amigos!
(you think that's cliche? I was saying 'hasta la vista' until Monday...)