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Published: November 13th 2007
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After taking a somewhat uncomfortable, seven hour bus ride, we arrived in Banos, one of the major vacation destinations in Ecuador. Situated at about 6000 ft, between the Andes and the Amazon, Banos is surrounded by lush, green cloud swept mountains, beautiful waterfalls, cloud forests and an active volcano (Tungurahua). The volcano erupted in 1999, the town was evacuated and set on red alert. There was never a big enough eruption to affect the town and the warning level was gradually lowered to an orange then yellow alert, and residents were allowed to return to their houses. It is said that if you go to a good vantage point on a clear night, you can see lava spitting out of the volcano like fireworks. Sadly it was too cloudy while we were there to get a clear view of the volcano and its glowing magma. Despite the terrestrial danger, Ecuadorians and internationals flock to Banos to enjoy its beautiful scenery and adventure activities including: white water rafting, kayaking, canyoneering, paragliding, mountaineering, horseback riding, mountain biking, ATVing and Amazon jungle excursions.
The first day we decided to rent mountain bikes to explore the surrounding waterfalls and jungle. Utilizing gravity to facilitate
our journey, we took the downward sloping road east toward Puyo. After a few miles of riding, we stopped at the first significant waterfall, Agoyan. Taking an inexpensive, small gondola like contraption, we crossed the river valley to gain a closer look at the falls. Riding across the valley, hundreds of feet in the air on this sketchy, swaying machine was a little adventure in itself. On the other side were old bridges across the rivers feeding the falls and small local houses surrounded by gardens, maize fields and barking dogs.
Continuing our journey, we descended further down the road, following the course of the river. After a couple more miles we arrived at Monto de la Novia, an impressive waterfall surrounded by rainforest. This time we opted to descend the valley on a small, dirt trail crossing the river on a rickety, cable bridge to get to the base of the falls. There we found a cute hotel offering little cabins for $10 a night. With cold beer, hammocks, beautiful plants and an amazing waterfall, I truly felt like I was on vacation in a tropical paradise. Being extremely content, we lounged around for a couple hours enjoying
the atmosphere, contemplating never leaving. But with stories of even grander waterfalls on the wind, we finally broke free from the seductive grasp of that wonderful place and continued our travels.
With a warm rainforest shower to cool us off, we arrived at the small town of Rio Verde to eat lunch and see El Pailon del Diablo (The Devil's Cauldron). A 1 km enchanted path down the side of the mountain took us to this spectacular waterfall. Magnificent, amazing, it's hard to describe with words the presence and energy of this thundering water fall. Thousands of gallons of water smashing into the pool below, creating waves and sprays of agitated water lashing against the surrounding rock, eventually disseminating into mist to feed the thirsty moss. Standing in a stone viewpoint, hundreds of feet from the base of the falls, I was blasted with the mist and encompassed by the immense sound of the thundering falls, starring for a long time, transfixed, hypnotized by this show of natures might. Gravity and water, the most erosive force on the planet, shaping mountains and earth into its current, transitory state. With the sun approaching the horizon, we finally reluctantly decided to
Pailon del Diablo
The Devil's Cauldron leave, re-energized and invigorated by the majesty of nature. After briefly checking out a rock climbing wall at a nearby hostel, we hitched a ride in the back of a truck to Banos. Back in town, we met up with some familiar faces from the bay area, ate dinner and went to sleep. An amazing day, I wont soon forget.
The next day we discussed what to do over warm, fruit covered pancakes and tea on the rooftop terrace of our hotel. We decided to hike around and go paragliding in the afternoon if the clouds cleared. Walking around for a few hours, we enjoyed the local flora and fauna of the surrounding area. Back to town, but the clouds hadn't cleared, so we decided to rent horses to explore the mountains and get a view of the volcano. Led by our guide Brian, a chubby Ecuadorian teen (who had a crush on Roana), we trotted to a local waterfall and then up into the hills. Brian enthusiastically showed us the edible flora of the area and got a kick out of me eating unripe fruit. We meandered through a light rain, ascending a steep, thin mountain trail, to
gain a view of the volcano. The trail seemed a little dangerous with nearly vertical drop offs, hundreds of feet down the mountain. Our guide admitted being scared, but our best option was to continue up. We safely reached the top, but the view of the volcano was obscured by thick clouds. Galloping back, we returned to town in time for our full body massages at a local spa. Life is Good!
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