As a reward to myself for finishing up my CI internship, I decided to spend my last weekend in Baños, Ecuador. Baños is located about three to four hours south of Quito by bus, along a beautiful route known as the Valley of the Volcanoes. This bus ride provides gorgeous vistas of Cotopaxi and the Illinizas, two massive volcanoes in the Cordillera de los Andes. The ride itself was already worth the trip, but there was much more beauty to come! I arrived in Baños a little late, around 7 or 8 pm and made my way to my hostel. I stayed in a hostel known as Casa de Molino Blanco, which was reasonably priced and a little off the main drag. They had a cute little pug named Maya as their mascot, and she happily greeted me with a wagging tail.
After checking in to the hostel, I wondered to the “downtown” part of Baños to get a bite to eat. Downtown is only about three blocks, but it was quite a bustling three blocks. The town is famous for melcocha, a type of taffy made with the abundant sugar cane crops that surround the area. The storefronts selling melcocha had people standing outside stretching out the candy and giving away free samples – yum! I found a cute cafe to grab some food in, but took it to go so I could sit in the downtown park and take in the sights and sounds of Baños as I ate. The town was full of all types of tourists, with just as many Ecuadorians on vacation as extranjeros. I signed up to take a tour the next day into the jungle, and happily made my way back to get some rest for the day ahead.
I woke up early to make it to the Tour Headquarters where I met my tour companions, some fellow Americans who were in Ecuador for various reasons. We set out in a tour van to the town of Puyo towards our first stop of the day at a monkey rehab center. Before we made it there, we spontaneously made an extra pit stop to take a cable car ride across a gorge to see a waterfall. It was a beautiful site and already made the trip worth it.. but there was much more to come! We continued on to the rehab center, and made a lot of new furry friends mostly due to our tour guide illegally smuggling some crackers in.
After playing with monkeys, we headed to our next stop, an indigenous community living next to a river. We drank chicha, practiced our blowdart skills, and had our faces painted with natural dyes.
Following the indigenous community, we went on a boat ride down the river, exploring little tributaries off the river that had a mystical aura about them.
Next, we went to the Hola de Vida Reserve where we first hiked up to a rope swing, that let you fly from a tree on the edge of a green, lush cliff out over a beautiful river roaring below. Our next stop was further up the beautiful river, where we found a huge waterfall and swam in it’s cool water. Throughout the hike, our guide pointed out various flora and fauna, including the so-called “walking tree” and lemon ants, which we dined on as a little trail snack.
To round out the day, I went with my fellow tour members to the Leprechaun bar, a quintessential late night stop for Banos tourists. We were greeted with a free flaming shot, and explored the huge bar. There was a room with reggaeton music, one with salsa, and a chill patio with bonfire for those who preferred to chat rather than dance the night away. It was one of the most action packed days I had throughout my entire time in Ecuador!
Liz Guinessey: A Gringa Living the Pura Vida 