Baños, Ecuador

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Last night's sleep in Baños was much better than the two previous night's. For one thing, the noise level within the hotel was not bad, and though the hotel was on the busy highway going from Baños to the Amazon basin, there was little traffic noise from the street. The hotel was like most Ecuadorian hotels in that it was a family run affair. The desk clerk was the nephew of the owner, had spent a number of years abroad, and spoke English well. He was also frustrated by the keyboard of the guest computer as well.

After a nice breakfast of rolls, juice and coffee, I headed into town. So that I wouldn't have to lug my heavy backpack around all day, I thought I might find my next night's accommodation and see if I could at least least drop my luggage off. I found the Hotel de Molino Blanco with no problem and got checked into my room. Incidentally it was a hostel room with 5 single beds, but I had the room to myself. After locking up my backpack, I left the hotel to walk downhill to the park in the middle of the town of Baños.

The park was in front of the local Catholic church, which was the Basilica of the Virgin of the Holy Waters. There I spent at least two productive hours watching the people and the pigeons. I'm not certain as to which posed the most interest, the people or the birds. The people, men, women, children, youths, etc. were all different shapes, as were the pigeons. Just as the people were dressed in many colors and fashions, from traditional dress to school uniforms, so too were the pigeons. Far from the drab stone-grey colors one usually sees in the US, the birds ranged from solid white birds to almost black specimens, including birds with unique patterns and some that were pink, brown, even some with burnished copper backs. Some of the pigeons sported iridescent feathers that resembled shimmering spots of oil in a puddle of water. Their antics were as interesting as those of the people as well. The birds would swoop in as if someone had just broadcast a handful of feed, even if there wasn't a person anywhere nearby. Then on some hidden signal they would fly into the trees that dotted the park. It seems as if they all had their designated places in the trees too. They all seemed to return to the same general spot. One particular fellow, I nicknamed him "Gordo", or Fatso, was clearly much chubbier than the rest. He seemed to forage with a purpose...and when some children started chasing him, he only ran away half-heartedly, reluctant to leave his feeding ground. Perhaps he was just to fat to get into the spirit of flying. A small dog showed up, and began to chase some of the birds, his unused leash dragging behind him. He seemed to only be interested in the snow white pigeons, of which there were two or three. Perhaps it was a result of his color-blindness, or maybe he had done previous research into the behavior of white pigeons and emphatically was convinced of their inherent slowness and/or nastiness. Regardless, he failed to get even close to them. Failure didn't daunt him in the least, and he kept up the chase, much to the amusement of all us watching, until his owner, a very old lady in native dress, regained his leash and led him out of the park. He looked back at the birds as if to say "you are lucky she came along when she did, and just wait until tomorrow!"

After treating myself to a mandarin/lime popsicle that tasted like the fruit itself, I headed up to one of the municipal thermal baths, this one at the base of an awesome waterfall that must have fell 1000 feet or so. This one was evidently named in honor of the Virgin of the Holy Water, for not only were there the thermal baths (cost of entry $3.00) but there was also a series of basins where those people who were not going into the baths could still partake of the Holy waters. Like many others, I washed my face and wet my hair there...and I felt oddly rejuvenated. Of course that might have been because the water was ice cold and not because of any inherently sacred aspect of the waters. To swim in the baths everyone had to wear a bathing cap, I wasn't able to determine whether the caps were included in the admission price or one had to bring their own. That bit of info will have to wait until my next trip to Baños.

My next effort was to see if I could find a t-shirt with a certain logo that I wanted to get. Ecuador's Ministry of Tourism has a very successful tourism development campaign that uses the slogan "Ama la Vida" (Love Life) and a logo that is found all over Ecuador. Since Baños is a touristy kind of place, with lots of t-shirt shops. I had no problem finding a shirt with the logo...the trouble was finding one that would fit. Finally I found two shirts that were acceptable, so I bought them. I was afraid that with my luck I wouldn't see another shirt with that specific logo for the rest of my entire trip.

After a very filling lunch of ceviche and beer, I headed back up the hill to my hotel to rest and recuperate. The hotel had two wonderful hammocks under its front patio, so I claimed one and promptly fell into a peaceful slumber. An hour later I heard a catchy tune coming from down the street. I thought it must be an ice cream truck making the rounds of the neighborhood, but discovered instead that it was the trash truck. What a delightfully civilized method of letting folks know that the garbage truck was coming!

Refreshed and reinvigorated by my nap, I set out once again for downtown, just as it began to get dark. Since Ecuador is situated along the equator, hence it's name..duh..days and nights are of almost equal lengths...just around 12 hours each. Sunrise and sunset occur all across Ecuador around 6:00 am and 6:00 pm, give at take 15 minutes or so, depending on the month of the year. It takes some getting used to, but it should be a great place for someone with Seasonal Affective Disorder. 😊 Tonight in Baños there was a small celebration, with a small group of families in a candlelit procession in the street, accompanied with a small brass band. They were singing hymns and some men were carrying a litter with a seated statue of the Virgin Mary. Upon reaching the Basilica, the families stopped, a blessing was delivered, and the families all filed into the church. Then a man in a suit invited all the onlookers to go into the chapel. I followed with interest, and when I saw that others were taking pictures, I took some as well. Afterward everyone made their way back into street, where the band continued to play, switching to music of a more mariachi flavor. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time, and although I appeared to be the only gringo in attendance, every one was very gracious, even moving out of the way to give me a better view.

I finally pulled myself back up the hill to the hotel, and quickly fell into a well-deserved night of sleep. I didn't even think about the long bus trip ahead of me tomorrow as I backtracked to Quito to recover my wayward luggage.

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