El Valle Day 334 18/08/2015

After breakfast and packing we got a lift to the bus terminal with Rosie and Simon, who were heading out to do some shopping for Simon's imminent trip to the UK. We bought our tickets to El Valle and attempted to get to the platform only to find we needed to buy a 3 in 1 metro card. It was all a bit confusing but luckily for us a guy who was platform side swiped us through the barrier in exchange for 50 cents. We boarded a coaster for the 2.5 hour journey and set off not long after at 1045. The journey initially heads over the bridge at the lower end of the canal before continuing on the Interamericana highway which runs through Central America. After a couple of hours we turned off the main road and headed north to El Valle. The bus was now full to the brim including about 20 school kids who were mainly standing. As we sped up the windy hillside it took all our effort not to slide off the seats and for them not to fall over. We arrived in El Valle just before 1400 and decided to stop for refreshments before walking to the hostel we'd booked for the next 2 nights. The town, situated in the crater of a giant extinct volcano that blew its top c3m years ago, is really spread out and all seemed a bit surreal almost like you were on a deserted film set. We couldn't find the hostel and after wandering around were helped by a gardener who jumped on his bike to show us the way. We checked in and spent the rest of the afternoon chilling out. Simon had managed to pick up an upset stomach and took the opportunity to have a nap whilst Diane lounged about in the hammocks, being entertained by the hostel's parrots. Simon was still feeling under the weather in the evening so we decided to have an early night in the hope that he'd feel better for tomorrow.