Destination .... BAÑOS!

---

Today I struck out for Banos, which should be spelled with the squiggly line over the N, but as luck would have it, the keyboard at the hotel in Banos, where Espanol is the native language, doesnt have it. I suppose I could search for a word with that silly n in it and copy and paste it everytime, but I´m too lazy for that. (its hard enough just figuring out all the other letter positions, let alone do anything fancy, so the reader will just have to indulge me and think N as in ONION when they see the name Banos spelled out). I had considered taking a taxi from the hotel to the central bus station in Quito that services the southern portion of the country, including the aforementioned improperly spelled Banos.

So I strapped on my backpack, which I swear is getting heavier day by day..though I have added nothing to it whatsover, (Hmmm...another violation of the laws of physics here in Quito worthy of investigation...), and headed downhill...did I actually write that? and caught the Trole, the trolley that travels across Quito and eventually gets you the Quitumbe bus station. At first I was dismayed to learn that I had boarded the wrong bus, which I found out after it got about half way to Quitumbe and then reversed its course. This mistake cost me the whopping sum of 25 cents I backtracked for 3 bus stops, then crossed the street to catch the Trole again, (another quarter investment :/ ) this time making sure to get off at the proper transit point to catch the correct train to Quitumbe. The 25 cent did not bother me, well, not to much any way, but what really chapped my ass was the time I had lost by taking the wrong bus. I wanted to catch the 9:50 bus to Banos and the next one left 3 hours later. The travel gods were smiling on the Mundo Vagabundo though, because I arrived at Quitumbe without a hitch, promptly found the ticket office for the Banos bus line, and leisurely made my way to the right gate, and having enough time to get some liquid refreshment for the 3.5 hour trip. Oh, and I found a quarter in my assigned seat on the Banos-bound bus, so equilibrium in the universe of Mundo Vagabundo was restored!

For my first trip thru Quito and points south, there are a few items that deserve comment. For one thing, all of Ecuador that I have seen so far seems to be either under construction or destruction. There is little in between. Its hard to tell whether buildings are being built or being torn down. Everything has that fine patina of age. Buildings under construction with workers present are marked by rusted rebar and beams, as well as graffiti and crumbling concrete. Buildings that are obviously abandoned sport the same look, minus the construction workers in hardhats and bright orange jackets. However, wherever one looks someone is up to something, something is being built, something is being remodeled, something is being somethinged! Also, its apparent that Ecuadorians are not only industrious with ¨manual¨labor, there is a lot of ¨WOmanual¨ labor as well, I lost count of the times I saw women pushing huge wheelbarrows of bricks, shoveling ditches, or loading bags of cement into trucks. Most of the small shopkeepers appear to be women as well. As an example of some of the truly hard labor I observed, this afternoon as I was out in search of some replacement underwear (recall my misadventure with lost luggage mentioned in previous blogs?) I moved off the sidewalk to allow a man about 5 feet tall to carry a bag of cement from the sidewalk over to his truck a good fifteen feet away. As I passed the stacks of concrete bags, I couldn´t help but notice that they were labeled 50 kilograms each. Even with my simple Georgia math, I figured that was ¨a helluva lot¨ (110 pounds, to be sorta exact). This guy could not have weighed over 100 pounds soaking wet.

Another item of interest....I can not tell you how many dogs I have seen in this country...dogs in downtown Quito, dogs in the outlying suburbs, dogs along the street, in the fields, dogs dogs dogs everywhere. And guess what, hardly a single one of them appeared to be accompanied by a human, and none I saw had the appearance of malnourished, diseased strays. In fact, all appeared to be healthy, well fed animals...and few of them looked like ¨mutts¨ or ¨mongrels¨ There were chows, and poodles, and hounds, and fuzzy little lap dogs, and even one that suspiciously looked like a dachshund. All prowling the streets with impunity, dodging traffic, oblivious to the human throng around them, and intent on dog-centered pursuits involving smells and the promise of food somewhere. Possibly related to the abundance of dogs, I have yet to see a cat my entire time in this country! What gives with that? Is there some law that dogs rule the equator, and the cats the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn? Hmm, another question worthy of scholarly study! In a final comment on animals, I was totally surprised at how many cows there were in this part of Ecuador. This area is like some misplaced part of Switzerland or Wisconsin. Every field had at least a half dozen cows in it, and a good many of the houses with even the hint of grass had a cow contently chewing its cud alongside. Most of the cows appeared to be of the Holstein dairy type, but I have to admit that I am a poor judge of cow breed...I´m much better at cataloguing dogs. I never figured that Ecuador was much into the ¨milk¨ thing...I rarely see it on restaurant menus, for example. Perhaps they export it all.
<address>After sure enough 3 and a half hours on a very comfortable bus, I arrive in Banos. A short taxi ride to my hotel (UPHILL, again, so I was proud to part with the dollar it cost to get there) and I was checked in, unburdened of my by now cumbersome pack, and ready to hit the town, so to speak.</address>
Banos, by the way, when spelled correctly, means ¨baths¨ in Spanish. The town literally sits in the shadow of the still active volcano, Mt Tungurahua, and is renown for its thermal baths, hot springs, and occasional gut rumblings from Mother Earth. Its a very touristy place and today I saw more ¨gringos¨than I have seen since I left Pensacola. You should know that here in Ecuador the term gringo is not a slur at all, its just the way they describe non-Hispanic and non-native peoples here. Lots of young college aged folks, as well as the occasional gringo family. There are all sorts of interesting things to do here in Banos, and since I dont plan on doing many of them on this trip, you´ll have to go online and Google the place for more details.

My first goal in Banos was to obtain some necessary toiletries, toothpaste, toothbrush and deodorant. I´m sure that I am not the only person who was thankful for this purchase. I also found a place to buy a couple of pairs of pants and some undershorts. So far this has been the most expensive purchase in Ecuador. Go figure...I have to spend money on things I truly don´t want, for reasons not of my own making, just to be presentable here in Ecuador...its bad enough to risk being an ¨Ugly American¨ much less a ¨smelly¨ one!

Anyway, after a successful shopping trip to procure these much needed items, and an awesome dinner at a little grill in central Banos (grilled porkchop and chicken breast, with french fries and a salad, accompanied by a family-sized bottle of soda, all for $8.00.), I returned to the hotel to find out that the airlines had located my luggage and had delivered it to the hotel in Quito that I stayed at last night 😞 Now I have to spend most of the day Thursday backtracking to my hotel in Quito to pick up my bag... but it should go like a breeze this time...after all...I now have some practice at it!

Tomorrow I have to work at spending my time suppressing the urge to buy all sorts of silly souvenirs and avoiding all the touristy activities that I say I will do on the next trip. I plan on a leisurely day hanging out at the park, watching the people, maybe practicing my Spanish, and trying out some of the local beer. I may be tempted to check out a thermal bath, but for its therapeutic benefits, not because of the touristy thing. Ciao! y hasta pronto!

M. Vagabundo

---