I've been to the Swiss and Austrian Alps.
To the mountains and volcanoes of Hawai'i.
To the hills and dales of New Zealand.
(and yes, it does look like Lord of the Rings)
Banos, Ecuador??
Think all of the above combined into a shockingly beautiful landscape and you've got Banos.
Lush, green mountains with pine forests, eucalyptus groves, and tropical flowers are shadowed by the even more massive Volcan Tungurahua, which towers over 16,000 feet. Huge boulders covered with moss dot the hillside and a rushing, crystal clear river bounds down the valley. Massive waterfalls gush over the edges of steep canyons while clouds come rolling down the tops of the cliffs. Tiny, native farms of corn, coffee, and sugarcane are interspersed with orchards of papaya, guava, and babaco, a large, semi-sweet yellow fruit that is amazing in juice.
And as we bussed up through the steep canyons from Tena, I couldn't help but get excited. We decided to add this stop at the natural midway point between Tena and Cuenca. It is a tourist and backpacker hotspot, filled with activities and sports so we definitely needed to check it out. We stayed at a very nice hostel, Pasada J, in a quiet and very beautiful part of town. The hostel was literally a two minute walk from one of the most famous thermal baths and only a couple blocks from the Gothic cathedral and the town square. It was $75 for a 2-bed room which is the very top of our budget for per-night stays, but it included an amazing breakfast the next morning and the staff were incredibly helpful.
We arrived around noon and had a delicious lunch of cheddar (a rarity down here), veggie, and avocado sammies on baguettes, plus fantastic coffee at a local Dutch coffee shop, where we met a delightful Swiss woman named Maya, who promptly fell in love with Jack and ended up writing a small piece on her "inspiring people" website! You can check it out here.
It was lovely chatting with her and then while all four of my boys napped, I took advantage of the hostel's spa (almost every hotel and hostel has one) in their private gardens. The spas are legendary in Banos because they take advantage of the mineral-rich hot springs from the nearby volcano and the nutrient filled volcanic soil and ash. So, Mike gets to go white water rafting; I get to have a spa day. For $35, I was pampered with a coca detox rub, an exfoliating scrub with the volcanic ash, and a full body massage with mint. Then, I was treated to a full facial, complete with local fruit face mask, tea eye treatment, and full facial and scalp massage. It was an hour and a half of heaven. After a revitalizing mineral and herb water, I floated back to our room, just in time for the boys to get up.
That afternoon, we explored the city...all the open air markets, candy-making vendors (the Banos region is known for it's sugarcane), and the beautiful cathedral and square. We decided that we were craving burgers so stopped at a cool little street shop and ordered three massive hamburgers, one with a runny egg on top for me, a huge double-decker with bacon for Mike, and a garden chicken burger for the boys to split. We sat in the park and watched the boys chase the pigeons and enjoyed the cool evening air. After the boys went to bed that night, Mike and I sat on the open air balcony and watched one of the many waterfalls, lit up with colored lights for the night.
In the morning, we had a delicious breakfast of scrambled local eggs with tons of veggies, plain yogurt with local fruit and homemade coconut granola, fresh coffee and cream, chamomile tea with honey for the boys, and, of course, freshly squeezed papaya and watermelon juice.
Then we changed into our swim suits (or as Michael calls them...super suits) and walked the two blocks to the Piscinas de la Virgen. It was $2 for adults plus 50 cents for a required swim cap. It was very chilly so we hurried to put away our flip flops in the lockers and stepped into the pool. Built in 1928, the baths are one of the oldest in Banos and contain three different pools. One is a very cold from the mountain, one is a warm (the most popular), and one is a hot 118 degrees Fahrenheit, coming directly from the volcano. We chose the warm and it was like perfect bathwater. We didn't see any other gringos, just locals who delighted in entertaining the baby and the boys. We spent over an hour relaxing in the warm waters and enjoying the lovely view of the cascade right above us. When the baby started to get fussy, we climbed out and dried off (after Mike took a freezing shower of the mineral waters...a tradition that I had no desire to partake in), and we walked up the stairway to the foot of the waterfalls. They say that the water coming from the waterfall is blessed by the Virgin Mary and is safe (and holy!) to drink. We admired the view and then headed home to change for our next adventure.
We had heard of the "swing at the edge of the world" and honestly, how could anyone resist that? The only way to get there is via taxi so off we went on a half an hour taxi ride, up almost another thousand feet, to the Casa Del Arbol. A treehouse, literally, and while it does have two swings that swing out over the canyon (a 100 meter drop-off), the treehouse is actually a seismic monitoring station for the nearby Tungurahua Volcano. On a clear day, you can see the volcano and if you're lucky, it might actually be spewing a bit of smoke and ash. It was very foggy and misty that morning but instead of being disappointed, we were enthralled by the mystique. We all swung for $1, including both boys (with Mike) and baby Gabe (with me)! Jack kept yelling "to infinity! and beyond!" and the group of tourists that were taking pictures with me couldn't tell what he was yelling and thought it was Spanish. I had to explain, no, not Spanish...just Toy Story! We climbed up the treehouse, took a few pictures, and then hiked back down to our waiting taxi. At $20, the taxi was rather pricey but the Casa Del Arbol is in the middle of nowhere so you don't have much of a choice but to have your cabbie wait for you. And ultimately, the trip was definitely worth it!
A side note: when we arrived in Cuenca the next night, we read online that the very next day, the volcano started spouting smoke and ash and even magma has been detected now! It hasn't been classified active for several months so it's kinda cool that it's awake now! But, with three little ones in tow, it's a bit scary as well and I, for one, am relieved that we are well out of the way of an active volcano!
And speaking of Cuenca, we've been here for a little over a week now and loving it. Next week's post will catch us up to date but I just wanted to jot down all the fun we had in Banos and share! It was one of the best places we've visited to date and we will definitely be back!! Until next time!
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