Reservations

Baños

As usual Shay and I have found it extremly hard to leave yet another town. In 2 months of travelling, we´ve been to just 4 towns. We´re travelling extremely slow. I like it that way though. After a week in a small town, I go places and people know my name and I have a sense of belonging. Sometimes travelling is lonely. Being in new towns all the time and not knowing anyone, you never get truly comfortable. In Baños and in Vilcabamba both, I have friends and people I know I could go to if I had a problem. It´s a good feeling.

Riding a cable car to catch some trout, with a Bañeno, William.

Some nuns taking the day off.


The trout we caught. Best meal in Suramerica so far.

Man taking empty Pilsner beer bottles back across the river valley for deposit.

Girls playing in the street during the month long celebration of a Virgin. Every day, for the entire month of October, different barrios (neigborhoods) in Baños take turns hosting the celebrations for the different Virgins.



The streets were crammed with people. Lots of dancing, music, food and drink.


One neighborhood band. They played all day long. Seriously, all day and into the night.

People watching.

White water rafting. This is as far as my camera got on that trip.

Rock climbing at the zoo. For 30 cents on a 10 minute bus ride, we´ve been going climbing in the valley under the local zoo. It´s kind-of in someone´s back yard so we have to pay $1 to get in, but it´s so worth it. It´s challenging and a really good way to spend the days.

Rapelling.

View from the climbing spot.

Oscar climbing, Paulo belaying. We met Oscar on our white water rafting trip, he was one of the guides. Since then, we´ve been rock climbing so much with him and his friends. Last week, Oscar, Paulo, an Isreali girl named Mor, Shay and I all went camping in a little pueblo near Quito. We camped underneath a cool rock face and climbed all day for 2 days.

Paulo, way high up.

A view of the hot baths. These baños were closed for a while when the volcano erupted a couple years ago. They´re still repairing the place and so for now, it´s free to get in. The pool on the far left (the one that looks the dirtiest) is the hottest. The clear one is straight river water, for a cold dip. The trick is to go back and forth from the really hot to the freezing cold. If you don´t you get dizzy and dehydrated.



We went with our friend, Oscar, to his grandparents house to bring them lunch. He showed us how to make sugar cane juice. He´s cutting up the sugar cane here, then he put it in this huge juicing machine, added a little sweet lime and yum.


Robertito and I. The smallest 27 year old in Ecuador, maybe.

Going canyoning with two couples from Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Canyoning. Rapelling down waterfalls.


Rapelling down a huge waterfall.


Gorgeous.

The country side of Baños, just a 10 minute bikeride out of the center of town.

The day we rented these four-wheeling-go-cart cars. It poured down rain, got really muddy and then the sun finally came out later on.