Baños

I have traveled south to the city of Baños, about a 4 hour bus ride from Quito. There was a little bit of stress about taking the right bus, and getting off at the right time, and if there would ever be a bathroom break. There never was, but I did make it to my destination without incident, though with a very full bladder.

Baños is fairly small, and has the feel of a vacation town. There are numerous places offering spa services, massage, and adventures like rafting, puenting (Jumping off bridges, though not a bungee. It´s more like you end up swinging beneath the bridge), horseback riding, etc... It feels much safer than Quito, where in some places you had to take a taxi at night even if you were only going 2 blocks and you were in a group.


I took a lengthy bike ride up the valley and hiked to several waterfalls along the way. The trip took up about 8 hours, and we were pretty spent by the time it was over. I nearly feel asleep over dinner. Two of the waterfalls were particularly nice, El Pailon del Diablo, and Malcay.

From a platform midway up Diablo, there is a crevase in the rock that slopes upward to the top. It has been fenced in, and you have to crawl/crouch along to get to the top. Once there you are an arm`s breadth away from the vast volume of water that cascades off the cliff. You get quite wet. Turns out my rain shell is actually not waterproof.

Bridal Veil Falls. It was one stream of water until the latest volcanic eruption.

All from Pailon del Diablo. I started the hike with a girl from my hostel,
and picked up a German guy along the way. One of the locals wanted
 a picture with the two blondes in the group.
So far this is the only time that has happened.

Malcay was made great by the pools that have been put into the rocks along the river below, where you could wade without fighting the strong current. At this point the valley was feeling even more tropical, with bromilliades everywhere in the canopy.

Puppy at a cafe before Malcay

 We had to deal with some barbed wire to get to these pools, but it was worth it.

I was going to go puenting, but it is windy today and I heard of an incident where the wind caught a couple of German guys and pushed them enough that they hit the bottom of the bridge. One man died and the other was in the hospital for several months. I think I´ll pass.

Yesterday I went on a hike on the hills above town. There is a statue there of the Virgin and Child carved in marble, and weather was beautiful and sunny. For the first time the clouds that normally cover the volcano that looms nearby were gone, and the sight of the white marble backed by the volcano was simply stunning.

The food here in Baños is great, there are a number of expats here, and they all seemed to open a restaurant that serves the foods from their home country. One of the guests at the hostel here is Swiss, so in honor of Swiss national day we went to the Swiss bistro here. We shared a pot of fondue and I found out two things: the crusty cheese at the bottom of the pot is called ´´grandmother´´ and when it´s gone you can scramble an egg in the pot and it makes it amazingly delicious!

That´s all I have to report, I hope you all are well, I am having a blast, but miss home at the same time!