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Published: January 1st 2011
Now before you panic dad this was not "the world's most dangerous road" bike tour, that's in Bolivia, although racing through the tunnel as we heard a bus roaring up behind was fairly scary.
Hiring bikes in town ($5/day seemed the going rate) and clutching a slightly vague and badly photocopied map we set off on the road toward Puyo (with no intention of going the full 67 km). Every 5 km or so there are waterfalls or cable cars or more extreme activities and its mostly down hill so a fantastic way to spend the day. The slight sprinkle of rain every now and then was no problem and the route is signposted (some signs should perhaps not be followed - I led us down a couple of dodgy paths to see lame lookouts) so we didn't get too lost.
The cable cars were fun and offered great views but Tasha and Nic decided they did not provide sufficient adrenalin (although you could argue the case if you note Wayne's face when we convinced him to join us on one) and opted for a flying canopy zip line contraption which hurtled them down and over the river for
a km or so.
Yummy lunch (for most of us - for some reason Wayne's steak never arrived and when we saw it was still frozen decided not to bother) at el Pailon del Diablo which is impressive in its volume and velocity and the fact that you can get so frighteningly close to it - I stood just above where it crashes to the rocks below and Tasha and Nic climbed in a dark slimy tunnel that lead so close that Nic went right in behind the falls.
When we had had enough cycling we flagged down a bus who threw the bikes in and took us back up to town for a couple dollars each.
We though it would be a good idea at this point to book our bus tickets (oh how little we knew) and Wayne and Tash finished up the day with another visit to the thermal pools.
Canyoning had been on the cards for our last day in Banos but it was kinda cold and wet so instead Tash and I spent almost 4 hrs getting amazing massages, manicures and pedicures whilst the boys hired a dune buggy and blatted
around town.
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Lindsey
non-member comment
I'm going to Ecuador and I want to do THAT!
Hi there, How much do they charge for the zip line?? My partner and I are heading to Ecuador in February, and Banos is on the top of our list, thanks to a friend who visited there while studying abroad. I love your blog!