Ecuador: Birthday, baths, biking and toffee in Banos (30 May - 3 June 2007)

(photos are here - http://picasaweb.google.com/nickchasingthesunrise/BanosEcuador)

After a very reasonable start, Jim the Kentucky scoundrel and I jumped on a bus bound for Ambato which took less than an hour. At the Ambato station, we managed to leap aboard a bus for Banos just as it left the terminal. The good thing was that it left straight away rather than the usual 465 minute wait for more passengers. The bad thing was that it was full so we had to stand.

Standing enabled me to experience the full spectrum of sellers who jumped on board every few minutes. It is much harder to resist when standing, especially as hot slabs of 50c coconut cake waft past. My favourite was the guy in shirt and tie and briefcase who launched into a rhythmic lecture and produced fantastic diagrams of the human body plus photos of people suffering everything from TB to brain cancer. At first I thought he was a public health campaigner but then he produced the packets of herbal drink powder which he claimed would cure all. I didn't know how to say "recurring dislocated shoulder" in Spanish so had to say no.

The bus began to find its way through the mountains which gave us some fabulous views of the surrounding lush valleys. Just as we arrived in Banos around midday, I got a seat. The bus dropped us on the highway near the markets and Jim and I set off for the Plantas Y Blancos (Plates and Whites - whatever!) hostel where I scored a tiny room but Jim decided to seek out a more salubrious pad down the road. We then surveyed the town. Banos is situated on the slopes of Tunguraha Volcano which famously erupted in 1998 causing the government to evacuate residents who then demanded to return and riots ensued. It is a tourist town but has a great atmosphere as many Quitenos (Quito residents) head here for a break from the city.

Given that 30 May was my birthday, Jim and I decided to celebrate in style. First was a lengthy soaking in the thermal baths after which Banos gets its name. There are various types - bugger hot (48C), medium and cold pools as well as a natural cold shower which is water diverted from the superb waterfall that is the backdrop to the baths. We grabbed a tasty spit roast chicken, beans, potatoes plus soup and drink for $1.50 and headed to the bars. After a few drinks and games of pool at one small place on Alfaro st, we found our way into the Leprechaun Bar and a group of random travellers keen for a big one. I was forced to drink random cocktails for most of the evening and danced until some not-so-sensible hour of the not-so-early morning. Damn good birthday.

The next day Jim and I hired bikes and did one of the most enjoyable rides of my life, mostly because almost all of the 20km was downhill. We followed the road that leads to Puyo on the edge of the Amazon jungle. Along the way we gazed at waterfalls, sheer cliffs and winding valleys. We also took out lives into our hands and did bridge jumping which is kinda like bungee jumping except the rope doesn't bounce and you swing rather than fall straight down. Amazing.

That night we were joined by Kelly, the Alaskan, who decided to meet us in Banos for a couple of days before she started with UNICEF in Macas, south of Puyo. Somehow we ended up in the Leprechaun bar again for some more funky tunes and somehow Rage Against the Machine came on again. Another not so early night that ended with a rather enjoyable walk home in soft rain.

The next day Jim decided to head back to Quito so Kelly and I found a lovely cafe on the square run by a Danish-Ecuadorian couple where we had delicious warm, brown bread and fresh juice of maracuya and other tropical fruits. We then did the bike ride again (second time was better by far!) and I watched Kelly do the bridge jump. At the bottom of the ride we came to the Pailon de Diablo waterfall where the river plunges into a narrow chasm forcing the volume of water through at such a rate that it feels like you are in the middle of a tornado. At the bottom of stairs that lead you close to the falls and deep inside the spray, a local told us that the devil lives in the falls (hence the name) and that if you scream at him he will blow spray at you. We tried and were rewarded with a thorough soaking. After squelching out of the valley, we were thankful when a truck cooperative took us and our bikes back up the hills to Banos.

Way too soon it was time to head back to Quito for my trip to the Galapagos! On the way to the bus station I grabbed some of the world famous Banos toffee which they stretch and shape in many of the shops along the main road.

(photos are here - http://picasaweb.google.com/nickchasingthesunrise/BanosEcuador)