Baños

We arrived in Baños on Sunday after a 4 hour bus journey from Quito. Again the bus was on time and the journey uneventful. All bus journeys here seem to take on the feel of a mobile market as street sellers jump on board at every stop (or even when the bus driver merely slows at the lights) hawking thier wares. We were offered all sorts from the predicatbale fruit, sweets and crisps to CDs and so on. Our 'direct' bus to Baños turned out to be a little less direct than expected and the Baños Express (as they laughingly called themselves) not very quick at all but we've already come to expect that in the short time we've been here. Baños is a relaxed place with lots of travellers both American, European and Ecuadorian - here to swim in the hot baths and try one of the various outdoor pursuits that are readily on offer. I guess it's the equivalent (relatively speaking) of Bath at home with its hot springs and it literally translates as such too.

Our attempts to book our hostel ahead of time over the phone from Quito paid dividends when we turned up at 'Le Petit Auberge' to find that they were indeed expecting us! Our limited Spanish enables us to reel off sentences and requests fairly easily but we often find ourselves at a complete loss when the well meaning local in turn reels off their very rapid response - to which we normally nod and utter 'Si, Si'. The hostel is quite rustic and very pretty. It has beautiful garden and the room comes with a fireplace which we intend to crank up tonight as it does get pretty chilly in the evenings here.

We spent our first afternoon exploring the town which is quite small and easy to get around. There are an enourmous number of internet cafes and tour companies lining the streets amongst the bars, restuarants and many hostels and hotels. We can't get WiFi here so we're having to use the internet cafes to blog and check our email which is working out ok despite the exceptionally slow internet connections that seem to be the norm here.

We had already decided that we wanted to do some of the activities on offer in the town and having heard some horror stories about the reliability and safety of some companies offering such activities we decided to stick with the Lonely Planet's recommendation and booked up to go white water rafting with a company called GeoTours. Their reputation was well deserved and we had a brilliant day. Having never rafted before I must admit that I was a bit nervous beforehand and terrified at some points on the water. We did a grade 4 river which is the most challenging I can ever imagine wanting to do! Our leader was fantastic and really knew his stuff. We had a short briefing before we got on to the river and then, dressed in some very flattering neoprene (no pictures of this you'll be relieved to hear), we hopped on board the raft and took to the water. Simon was sat at the front of the raft (as was I until I decided just before setting off that I'd rather sit in the middle...I'm such a chicken!) and coped admirably with the huge white water that we battled through. I found it difficult enough to remember my right from my left as the instructor shouted commands from the back of the raft. I made it to the end (without falling out - although there were some close calls!) though and am very glad I tried it.

Yesterday evening we bumped in to (and had dinner with) a guy who'd been on our flight from Houston to Quito/Guayaquil, and his girlfriend. Simon had met him while waiting for some free food at our unexpected overnight airport stay. They (randomly enough) are staying in the same hostel as us, in the room next door (it's a small world!).

Today we were supposed to be trekking up the mountain to the volcano viewing points. Baños is located at the base of Volcan Tunguruhua which is an active volcano. The last big eruption was in 1999 with smaller eruptions in 2005/6. Apparently it is has been fairly active recently (which was apparent to us as we approached Baños by bus...we could see the top of the volcano spewing ash into the sky which was pretty spectacular) and it's possible to walk or take guided trips to see the volcano both at day and at night. We were planning to head off this morning for our trek but were told that the volcano had erupted last night and that all the trekking routes and roads are now closed. Apparently it sounded like a jet taking off and considering the distinct lack of airport in Baños it must have been quite scary (Simon and I didn't even stir from sleep...typical!). So we now have some time on our hands today and I thought I'd make good use of it by posting my blog and trying to upload a few pictures of the hostel where we're staying.

Tomorrow we are going canyoning which is basically (as far as I can work out) abseiling down waterfalls. Apparently we begin by practising on waterfalls of about 4-6 metres in height and as we gain experience and confidence the height of the waterfalls increases. Finally we are supposed to tackle a couple of waterfalls of between 40 and 60 metres in height...we'll see! We're able to take our camera tomorrow so I'm sure I'll have some hilarious photos to upload over the next couple of days.

We think we might rent a quad bike this afternoon and drive out of town on the scenic waterfall route. This might be the only opportunity to see the falls from the comfort of dry land!

Check in again soon

S