Chilling out in Baños

I should have known, when I read the tagline on this bus, that there would be problems....

Myself and Vitus (the German guy I climbed Chimborazo with), were heading from Riobamba to the beautiful green town of Baños.  We were departed an hour late and had a minor crash into the back of a truck - our driver had lost control while eating a piece of cake.  Sangarsli Buses really are the "Besth of the Besth".

All you bright people with a bit of Spanish knowledge will know that Baños usually means toilets.  However, in this case it means baths, a reference to the hot springs in the area.  The town is perched on edge of a huge gorge, carved over centuries by the Pastaza river, and is surrounded by lush, green mountains.  Just to add to the scenery, the active volcano Tungurahua splutters away on the horizon, spitting out black smoke on an hourly basis.

We were still in pain from the Chimborazo climb so top of the list was a soak in the hot springs.  It wasn't exactly the authentic experience we were expecting - they channel the water into a small swimming pool which is packed by Ecuadorian pensioners - but it felt so good on the aching legs that we couldn't care less!

The next day we went on a ride to see some of the waterfalls in the region.  There are hundreds.  After entering the bus, a guy jumped on and hung a huge speaker at the back.  We assumed that they would give some commentary along the way...but this is South America - of course they just pumped lots of tunes all the way, it was like being in a moving disco!

The waterfalls were great and the trip culminated in walking right up to a huge waterfall in the jungle.  I decided to stand next to it which was a bad idea - there was so much water being thrown around I was soaked through after 15 seconds!

We also took the dodgiest cable car across the gorge and back.  The fact that the person controlling it was drinking a beer didn't phase me too much, it was the fact that the cable looked like it was about 600 years old that was slightly worrying....

Other than that, we just wandered around the town eating Melcocha, a bit like a stick of rock if you're British, or taffy (whatever that is).  We headed off to catch the bus to Latacunga, stopping for some juice and bread at Super Bar Mario Bross bakery.  Copyright is optional in South America.

I'll leave you with some graffiti and another twin waterfall...