If You Can't Take the Heat, Stay Out of Banos!

Greetings from sunny Banos,

The route from Riobamba to Banos looks pretty straightforward on a map. Our bus driver seemed to think it monotonous and took the perilous backroads at 130 km/h (we later disovered that the main road was closed due to the eruption of the volcano El Altar). I haven't felt motion sickness in years, but I have him to thank for bringing it right back. It was one of those situations in which you concentrated so hard on some distant object that it hurt. Sophie (one of the Brits) was struggling even more than me. Along the way, I couldn't have cared less about the snowcapped volcanoes and patchwork hillsides that lined the road.

We arrived safely (I use that very loosely) and headed in the direction of a hostel that had been recommended to me.

The place was truly stunning and had just opened so were only charging $5-7 a night.

It had a rooftop terrace overlooking a waterfall,

a pool, hot tub, steam bath, free wifi and all of the expected amenities like private baths and hot water. We all showered and hit the town, looking for a good restaurant. The problem here was not too little selection, but too many good options.

We chose a nice fusion place and thoroughly enjoyed our respective meals (I had curry...in Ecuador). We called it an earlyish night because Leo had eaten something bad the day before (he had experimented a little too much with street food) and it caught up with him. That meant I was back to solo for my adventures the next day. My plan was to go to the not-so popular hotsprings outside of town.

Day 1 - The Derelict Baths
The hike there was unpredictably rural and rugged, which made me slightly suspicious.

I saw a building across the river at one point but it seemed wrong for one reason or another.
I eventually ran into (yet another) unfinished/collapsed bridge.

I backtracked thinking there must be a way to that building I had seen and maybe that was the baths. I had to cross a river,

climb a hill, and hike up an eroding path to get there, only to discover it was abandoned.

I snooped around for a while and saw no signs of life. It was obviously a really cool place at it's peak, but had diminished since.

I found an old inaccessible tree house,

and then saw a monkey!

I was told that there weren't any monkeys in Banos but I was sure of what I had seen. When I walked back the main building, a guy named Pedro was there. He was the groundskeeper for a property up the path. I asked him about the monkey situation and he showed me the fruit they like to eat around there, and confirmed that I had not been hallucinating.

He also tried to convince me that this place opened up on weekends (yeah right!). He pointed across the river and said I could follow it all the way to the hot springs. I was dreading traversing the river again, but then he offered to swing me across in a rickety old rusted iron seat attached to a cable. I didn't trust it at all, but you only live once, right?

It was really fun swinging across and I was appreciative not to have needed to cross myself. I found a way through the bushes, onto the river bank.

After about 30 minutes of crossing through forest, river, and pasture, I saw my destination.

I crossed the river one last time and went through the back of the facility through a maintenance gate. All of the bathers looked pretty shocked to see me coming in that way but I played it cool, changed and sat in the hot tub, and dried off in the sun. What a glorious end to a very arduous hike.

I returned to the hotel and spent the evening playing cards with the Brits until dinner (this time it was really tasty Italian).


Day 2 - The Volcano
I got a very early start to the day, excited about the early morning hotsprings situated right next door. I wasn't the first one there, but there were only about 20 people in all 5 baths by 730 when I arrived.

I rotated between the really hot bath (about 109 degrees), the warm bath (about 90 degrees), and the showers which are fed directly from the waterfall overhead (about 60 degrees). After about an hour (feeling very refreshed), I was looking forward to an amazing breakfast back at the hotel. The plan that day was to hike up to the top of the mountain in order to see the infamous Tungurahua Volcano. The history is that it erupted 200 years ago and destroyed lots of the nearby towns. It was declared dormant until 1999 when it started to rumble. Banos was evacuated, and a subsequent eruption in 2006 destroyed some small villages, killed a few people, and scared everyone enough to recognize that it was definitively NOT dormant. The first hour of the hike consisted of following the mountainside overlooking the city,

until eventually reaching a lookout point and small cafe.

The path continued for the next hour up a dry river bed, criss-crossing the road every 15 minutes or so. Just as we were reaching the town (Runtun), a man showed us some dried citrus leaves he had that are good for making tea. He offered to brew us some tea at his house just up the hill. We agreed and followed him to his small farm house.

He started to boil some water and showed use his Richard Nixon mask!

(on New Year's Eve people where masks and burn effigies of politicians and other popular personalities).

He introduced us to his chickens, fed us some plantain chips and oranges, and we just chatted for a while. Then he pulled out his fermented cane juice. I tried a little (which was terrible). Then he demonstrated lighting it on fire as if to prove it was alcoholic.

We eventually moved on and started to hike further up the hill. Before you know it, a truck was passing so we decided to hitch a ride.

The driver didn't take us to far because his house was just up the hill. He decided that he wanted to show us his Orchids. I explained that I had already seen orchids but appreciated the offer. He insisted and said he wasn't going to charge for the truck ride so we obliged.
After about 20 minutes of displaying and explaining 8 types of flowers, he told us about a tree house overlooking the volcano just up the hill. How could we resist! We found the treehouse.
There were a group of Ecuadorian teens who were skipping school, and explained that they had been there since noon drinking fermented cane juice, red wine, and whatever else they could find.

The climb up the treehouse ladders was frightening and unstable, but we made it and decided it would be the perfect place for lunch.

The volcano was still hiding behind a veil of clouds, but it was clearing by the minute.

The teens eventually decided they should join the gringos.

That was enough to run us out of there. We started the long hike back (by a different route) hoping to get a better view of the volcano from elsewhere. We reached a clearing and ran across some Aussies who were waiting for the same thing we were. Our patience paid off and we finally had a great view of the beast.

It is still pluming, and we were told that only last week it spewed some ash. The reward was well worth the journey. The walk back was really beautiful and rugged. We ran across a stray puppy who I adopted for a few minutes and fed the last of our crackers and water.

It was a path that wasn't on any of the maps, and understandably so. It was pretty rough but we were able to watch the sun setting as we trekked down.

Near the bottom, there is a statue to the Virgin Saint of the local baths.

It had been a long but rewarding day and we wanted to find a restaurant to suit. Beforehand, we grabbed a drink at a bar where the seats were swings (fun until you've had too many...).

We came across a nice Argentinian BBQ restaurant and had a lovely meal.

Unfortunately, my stomach didn't agree and I have spent the past day and a half in bed in Banos recovering from food poisoning.

I am not 100% but I am good enough to go to Puyo. I'll be honest, there's nothing that makes you more homesick than being sick alone in another country (although now that's past). I was considering biking down to Puyo (a popular route passing countless waterfalls) but obviously not any more. In about an hour, I catch the bus to Puyo to make my way up the Eastern frontier (the Amazon).
Love
Kent