Black out in Baños
In Baños, you look out your window, and all you can see is mountain. Green, lush, mountain. It´s spectacular. You go outside and the little city/town of Baños is completely surrounded by almost 70 degree angle mountains on all sides, most of them covered in vertical farms. pretty impressive. Our hostal was lovely, if a little expensive at 22 dollars a night. We decided to do it anyway because there was a darling puppy and we had a nice room with a view of the nearby school yard where we could watch all 200 middle schoolers or elementary schoolers learn their dance routines. I think antone got a picture of it. The first day we wandered around, lingered in the room, planned for the next step of our trip, which happens after 1 month on a farm in Vilcabamba. We´re basically doing the coolest stuff in the world. That night we got our bathing suits and towels and walked down to one of the baths that Baños is famous for. There arelots of naturally very hot springs in Baños, because it´s right on a volcano. The water is heated by the lava, and then it comes up mineral-ly and wonderful for your health and sometimes 50 degrees celcius. which is really really hot, for those of you who don´t know. Over 100 F. We paid 2 dollars a person and went into the small dark changing rooms, and left our clothes with a woman behind the desk. When we got out it was dark already, adn we got in the warm bath with a lot of people and kids splashing around. The water was a murky brown from the minerals, and very warm. We sat around for a while before getting out and going under the freezing cold water that pours down from the waterfall beside the baths. After gathering up courage we went down stairs to the REALLY hot one, where all the macho guys and older people were sitting, and only a little while after we got in and were trying to stay in the almost boiling water, all the lights of the whole city went out. It was actually pretty terrifying, because I didn´t know at all what was going around and surrounded by scarily macho men who were all cat calling and whooping, so finally I manuevered myself out of the bath with Antone close behind, and we went back upstairs in the dark to the other warmer one, and got in there till the lights came back on. They went out a couple other times, but it wasn´t so scary, cause we were in with the kids and parents and anyone who just wanted to chill. THere was allso an ice cold natural bath that antone and i went into, and you seriously felt like ice when you got out.
The next morning antone and i checked out and left our bags at the hostel. We took a taxi to a hike we were plannign to do that would be thre hours long and end at a waterfall, but somehow we took a short cut and got there in half an hour, and so we thought that couldn´t have been the end of it and hiked way way up into the mountains, over a couple of them, really reallty high up before we realized that the path ended at a cow pasture. It was ridiculous(cause i´m SO out of shape, and it was really tiring), but kind of fun, because we got to see people´s little mountain houses and farms, and watch their pet ducks run around the courtyards with chickens and dogs. It was a beautiful hike and we went through a little rainforest too. When we finally gave up I twisted my ankle, and though it wasn´t so bad, it´s still kind of sore. We went all the way back down the mountains we had hiked, and got back to the beautiful waterfall, and crossed it to the side with the road in a rickety old cable car that felt like it would fall apart at any time. We were way WAY above the water, so far up that we got distracted before we could even watch our spit hit the ground. It was really cool, and a lot of fun. We hitched a ride in the back of a guy´s truck back to town, and got our stuff, had small dinner, and got on the bus to Ambato, where we got on a night bus to Cuenca. Unfortunatly, the day had been so beautiufl in Baños, that we forgot to put on warmer clothes before we got on the bus, and we froze all night long. We got here at 5 in the morning, and got to our hostel at around six, and walked for a few hours looking at the amazingly beauitful building and churches before getting breakfast for 1.25 each. Everything in this town, even the coble stones, is made out of marble. Unpolished and polished, grey, black, red, all colors. It is so beautiful. It´s a pretty modern and well to do city, and I like it a lot. We´re going to go see if we can visit the near by Incan ruins today, so I´ll write later.
Love,
chloe
The next morning antone and i checked out and left our bags at the hostel. We took a taxi to a hike we were plannign to do that would be thre hours long and end at a waterfall, but somehow we took a short cut and got there in half an hour, and so we thought that couldn´t have been the end of it and hiked way way up into the mountains, over a couple of them, really reallty high up before we realized that the path ended at a cow pasture. It was ridiculous(cause i´m SO out of shape, and it was really tiring), but kind of fun, because we got to see people´s little mountain houses and farms, and watch their pet ducks run around the courtyards with chickens and dogs. It was a beautiful hike and we went through a little rainforest too. When we finally gave up I twisted my ankle, and though it wasn´t so bad, it´s still kind of sore. We went all the way back down the mountains we had hiked, and got back to the beautiful waterfall, and crossed it to the side with the road in a rickety old cable car that felt like it would fall apart at any time. We were way WAY above the water, so far up that we got distracted before we could even watch our spit hit the ground. It was really cool, and a lot of fun. We hitched a ride in the back of a guy´s truck back to town, and got our stuff, had small dinner, and got on the bus to Ambato, where we got on a night bus to Cuenca. Unfortunatly, the day had been so beautiufl in Baños, that we forgot to put on warmer clothes before we got on the bus, and we froze all night long. We got here at 5 in the morning, and got to our hostel at around six, and walked for a few hours looking at the amazingly beauitful building and churches before getting breakfast for 1.25 each. Everything in this town, even the coble stones, is made out of marble. Unpolished and polished, grey, black, red, all colors. It is so beautiful. It´s a pretty modern and well to do city, and I like it a lot. We´re going to go see if we can visit the near by Incan ruins today, so I´ll write later.
Love,
chloe