Baños

I am not a cookie person, but you just cannot go wrong with alfojores.  Expecially when they have faces. 

This past weekend my Canadian amigos and I, along with our supervisor Samuel, travelled about five hours away from our Ecuadorian homes to the beautiful city of Baños. If you are confused, you are correct; baños means bathroom, though I am not sure there is a connection.  Baños is located in the Mountain Region of the country, but is considered the gateway into the Jungle Region.  It is completely a tourist town; Ecuadorians travel there for the beautiful church, and gringos travel for the adventure, beautiful landscapes, volcano, and infamous partying. 

To get there, some of us, including myself, had to take four buses.  It was a tiring trip, but totally worth it.  We relaxed the rest of the day at the famous hot springs, the water heated by the volcano.  One pool was so hot it was nearly impossible for us to even submerge our feet.  Most of us stayed in the middle pool, which was about the temperature of a hot tub, until about twenty noisy children came to damage our ear drums.

Following the hot springs, we took a slightly wet trip up the mountain for a view of the city below as well as the volcano.  Unfortunately there was dense fog in addition to the darkness, which greatly obscured the view.  Freezing and soaked by the unforgiving rain, Sarah and I went for a delicious hot chocolate and warmed up on a cozy patio.

Protecting my belongings on the crowded bus.

An idea of how busy it can get.  I have experienced worse.

Enjoying breakfast in Quito as a group before departing for Baños.

Delicious helados (ice cream) on the long bus ride.

One of the pools surrounded by mountains.

The ICE group!

Here we are on the Chiba!

A night-time view of Baños from a mountain.

The next morning began with a spectacular breakfast.  We ate at the hostal that half of us were staying in (we had to split up because there weren´t enough rooms) and this is what I got… Pancakes with fruit, yogurt, and sugar cane syrup.  Sugar cane is famous in Baños, where they have syrup, juice and also just the plain cane which you chew on until all the sugar has been consumed. 

Following breakfast, we hopped on a Chiba, which is basically a tour bus with no doors or windows, and went on a tour to see the many waterfalls in Baños.  We were supposed to ride bikes, but the weather was once again unforgiving.  After the tour, we had free time to explore the city, shop, and experience the local culture.

How could one resist?

Here we are again!

The first of a series of waterfalls.

Here I am munching on some sugarcane. :)

Preparing sugarcane.

On our way down to a better view of the waterfall.

And here is the better view!

AHS folk!

Devouring delicious sugarcane.

Meg and myself.

A beautiful view of the mountains on our tour.

They call this the face of Jesus.  Can you spot it?

This was supposed to be our mode of transportation....

One of the many spots for adventurous sports.

Bamboo!

Some amigos at the waterfall.

This isn´t one of those extreme sports. :P Just my hair being blown by the power of the waterfall.

The famous church of Baños.

Baños is also famous for their taffy candy.  It is very difficult to chew, but tasty.

Colourful streets of Baños.  The Gringo is not out of place at all.

Sporting my Ecuador garb in the streets of Baños.

Interesting shot... that is ¨cuy¨, also known as the beloved household pet in Canada, guniea pig.

The artesan market.  Markets have to be one of my favourite places to photograph.  There is always so much life, colour and variety.

Mini oreos, with white chocolate and peanutbutter in between.  We experiment sometimes when it comes to treats and snacks. :P

These guys came into the restaurant to play one night, and were fantastic.  I took a video, but couldn´t load it from my camera, unfortunately.  It is common for musicians to play in restaurants and collect tips afterward.  We had two in just the one restaurant that night.