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Published: January 22nd 2009
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From Cotopaxi we travelled to Baños via Latacunga. The seven of us took a double cab pickup truck (bakkie for the South Africans) from Secret Garden to Baños. Three people had to sit at the back with all the backpacks and it was very cold. We were exempt from this duty, as we were bloody sick at this point. We drove through many hills alongside local farms. A very scenic journey. One of the highlights was passing a bus with a dog chained on top. This would have been disturbing, except for the fact that the dog really, really looked happy, as if it was enjoying this immensely. Only in South America!
There was a big bicycle race on en route to Baños, causing the road to be closed for oncoming traffic. This caused everyone to drive wherever they pleased, causing a four lane highway to become one major bottleneck. The roads were crazy.
We stopped at a crater close to Quilotoa filled with azure water, but once again mist and fog obscure the view. The rest of the group managed to catch a better view as they climbed down to the bottom. We stayed in the car, not
feeling too well.
Baños
Baños is a quiet little town in a deep valley next to an active volcano. The town was evacuated in 1999 due to volcanic activity. Volcan Tungurahua erupted a few times, spewing some lava and rocks. In August 2006 the volcano erupted violently, destroying nearby villages and forcing the inhabitants of Baños to evacuate one again. They have a seismic monitoring centre right next to the foot of the volcano.
There are many things to do in Baños, including bungee jumping, paragliding, river rafting, quad biking and many hikes. We spent lots of time, almost every night, in the hot thermal springs next to a waterfall. We also had some steam baths in the mornings at our hostel, Plantas y Blanco. Baños, after all, means baths in Spanish.
We went quad biking one day. They do not have an idea what quad biking is. We spent 3/4 of the time on tar roads with heavy traffic. The quads also had no gears, just a sort of automatic shift like some scooters and could only go as fast as about 35 km/h. No fun! The highlight, however, was visiting the seismic monitoring centre with
Mad cow
It gored Izzies leg amazing views, a tree-house hanging over a deep valley and an amazing swing connected to the tree-house. This swing was amazing as it felt as if the swing was 100m high.
Baños has some good restaurants. We ate at many different places and had a really good time with our travel buddies. When not eating or lying around in thermal pools, we took three days of Spanish classes to improve our grammar. We both have more confidence after these classes. If any other travellers are reading this, we recommend Mayra´s Spanish School.
We also had the privilege to witness a parade related to some festival, we think it was something about the anniversary of Baños´ founding. There were many floats, kids were dancing, grannies were dancing, everyone was merry. Good excuse to consume too much alcohol.
LM and Izzie went hiking up to a Virgin Mary statue on a hill and got attacked by a cow. LM came out of it unscathed, Izzie was not that fortunate. She had a massive bruise on her leg for a few days.
We really liked Baños and ended up staying for 9 days. After this, we decided to leave
and had to say goodbye to Izzie, who had to return to England.
Vilcabamba
From Baños we travelled south to Cuenca, then Vilcabamba. Cuenca is a colonial town with cobblestone streets and whitewashed buildings. Unfortunately we only spent 1 night here, as we had to meet the rest of our group in Vilcabamba. We had decided to hoof down to Iquitos in Peru to spend some time in the forest before going to Cusco for Christmas, so we were running out of time.
Vilcabamba is a lovely green and small village surrounded by lush mountains with a very laidback feel. It is also filled by many French hippie expats. We stayed for 2 nights. We did one hike up one of the mountains with lovely views of the village. The hike was cut short, unfortunately, as Linsey fell and cut open her ankle. We administered some first aid with Simons first aid kit (some brownie points to him) and went to the clinic, where she got 5 stitches.
We ate some of the best steak ever at a little restaurant off the plaza. Unfortunately we cannot remember the name. They also serve some excellent Mexican food. Darran,
LM and Bernhard said goodbye to Linsey, Aoibh and Simon, as they followed a different route to Peru than us.
Our next week was a journey of epic proportions in terms of transport methods. To be continued...
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Andy
non-member comment
Swing
Ber I think it comes from the "phoofy slide"at your house in Bloem.... as I remember you couldn't get enough of that one either (albeit nearly not as high as the crazy swing in the photo). I also remember I was useless at it so am glad not to have to face the swing as bravely as LM! Speaking of the good old days, have you hynotised any chickens there yet?! Anyway, just wanted to say your photos and fantastic and you guys look happy and healthy. Keep safe, love Pik and Al