Tena and Baños- rafting and relaxing

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After sadly leaving the jungle, we headed south to another town on the edge of the jungle- Tena. Fortunately Tena had a bit more going on than Coca did. In addition to breaking up our bus journey southward towards Peru, we were really only stopping in Tena for one specific reason- to go whitewater rafting. I booked a guide online for a day long float on a class IV river. Though I had been on heavily commercialized rivers in Colorado (everything is commercialized compared to Ecuador), I was looking forward to taking in some remote scenery from the inflatable raft. Matt wasn´t so excited, since I think he imagined something similar to cruising Sacramento's American River, which usually involves rowdy highschoolers (and those who wish they are still in highschool) trying to meet a self-imposed drinking quota of at least 15 cheap beers. As you can imagine, no skill is needed for this type of rafting trip. But we soon found how different this would be. As it turns out we were the only ones going for the day. So we headed out with our Irish guide who had been living in Tena for 15 years and a native guide who would be following out boat in his kayak. To get to the river we took a 4 wheeler on a very remote, unmarked dirt road out of town. Our guide explained that the best thing about rafting in Tena is that there are so many undiscovered rivers of unaccessed rivers in the area, still waiting to be rafted on. But often, until a local community or tribe builds a road through the dense rainforest, no one knows about the river or has access to it. As we cruised down the dirt road, we passed locals and our driver would yell at them to "come on", and they would run after the vehicle and jump on the back bumper. It turns out that these would be our porters. For a few bucks, the locals would carry all the food and gear for the 30 minute hike to the river and set up the raft. After a very muddy hike, we made it to an unbelievably beautiful river. The water was clear and big white rcoks rose out of the water along the river. The river cut through through a valley with steep dense rainforest on both sides. We knew right then that our day was going to be incredible. And it was. Luckily, we had a smaller raft, which was good because the water was low and the river a bit more technical to navigate. Before lunch there were some decent sized rapids. Exciting, but nothing big enough to toss us out of the boat. After lunch, we merged with a second river, and things got more intense. Even though at the bottom there were straps to lodge my feet under, it did not take me long to get hurled into the river. All I remember is getting launched over Matt on the opposite side of the boat. Somehow Matt and the guide managed to stay in the boat. I simply laid back in the cool water and waited for our native guide to come get me and I laid on my stomach on the back of his kayak. Shortly after I was back in the boat, our guide purposely navigated us into a washing machine rapid, where the water basically sucks the boat down. Of course, I happened to be on the side of the boat that got sucked in. So I threw myself on Matt as the water sucked at my legs, and begged him not to let me fall in again. This time, If I was going, I was taking him with me. But after what seemed like minutes (but was really 25 seconds) we popped out with out falling in. We hit several more rapids like this, but never got sucked in. I am also sad to report that Matt somehow managed to stay in the boat the whole time. We had rammed our feet in the straps so much that they were rubbed raw and were bruised for several days. It was not all excitement though. There were plenty of spots to relax and watch the numerous waterfalls we passed by. We were able to jump in and swim often ass well. In the end, Matt jumped off a bridge into the stream. I think his reason for doing it was the same as my excuse for not doing it- "I'm getting too old for this." Overall, our jungle rafting trip was spectacular. We never saw another person on the river. Rafting was the best way to take in the remote scenery and it was surely one of my favorite activities so far.

After our day in Tena, we traveled five hours southwest to our most touristy destination so far- Baños. "A tourist town in Ecuador?" you ask? Yes there is one, and I think this is it. The gringo/native ratio was about 35/65, which is pretty tourist for Ecuador. The scenery, hiking, and baths attract people here. There are also a ton of international restaurants and more tour guides than you thought could possibly harrass you in one place. The people are the friendliest we have encountered so far, and it is clear that they have embraced the tourism. We enjoyed eating familiar foods like curry, huevos rancheros, lamb and even brewed coffee. We also enjoyed a tourist favorite- homemade taffy that is made by continuously pulling it around a wooden peg. On our full day in Baños, we took a great, very long, and very uphill hike. Th mountains around Baños are a patchwork of different greens due top the area farming. Hiking up to one of the little mountains allows for good viewsd of Baños spread out on the valley floor below. We were able to enjoy our hike despite the fact that our Canon camera stopped focusing properly, making it almost impossible to take clear photos. We searched in Baños for a new camera, but it did not appear that they had yet discovered the digital camera. We were not willing to regress to film, so a new camera would have to wait until Cuenca. Strangely, one thing we did NOT do in Baños was visit the baths, which the town is named after (baños= baths). Hot mineral springs fill several main pools around town. One thing I failed to mention about our rafting trip was the fact that I had forgot to put sunscreen on the tops of my legs. So in Baños, dipping my 3rd degree burns into a scalding bath did not sound that appealing. So we left the mimi town of Baños without the bath. We would next head to Cuenca and Vilcabamba before crossing the border to Peru. (Matt will cover this in a future blog)

Since, after 2 months in Ecuador, we are finally crossing over to another country, I would like to conclude this blog with my personal list of
"The Best of Ecuador"
-Buses- This could just as easily be ona worst of Ecuador list, but I have grown fond of using the bus system here (it is the only way, afterall). Every bus ride (not night buses- those are terrible) has been incredibly scenic and it is fun to look out the window at the farmers and rural people of Ecuador. The tickets are also easy to buy here. You simly set foot into the terminal, and suddenly several people come up to you yelling names of destinations. I just have to tell them where I am going, and they nicely point me to a bus company that goes to this place. I am also a fan of people boarding the bus to sell food. At a busy bus stop, I have seen up to 8 people board the bus, squeeze by eachother up and down the isle, and tell what they are selling (all at the same time)- homemade potato chips, fried plantain chips, homemade popcicles, ice cream, eggs, fruit, hominy, candy, yogurt, juice, etc. This can really save me on a ling bus trip when I don´t have any food. Of course, the buses are really cramped sometimes and can be so full that people squeeze into the the isle. And the roads are generally gravel or dirt, and can be very bumpy- bumpy enough that I can not often read or write, but somehow this adds to the whole experience. (Thank God for the 30 wonderful episodes of NPR's This American Life I have loaded on my Ipod....They make staring out the window more fun.)

-Best town- This goes to Cuenca, a southern town we loved. Unfortunately it was everything we had wished Quito had been and after visiting Cuenca, we regretted not studying spanish there instead of Quito. The colonial town of about 400,000 is beautiful and safe. It has a surplus of small bars and characterful cafes throughout the city center. It remined me a lot of southern Spain or Portugal. The people were very nice and we always felt safe, even at night. It is also good proximity to national park Cajas and other nice countryside.

-Food and Drink- The best food hands down is the fruit. Especially the fresh juices. Every cafe and restaurant has at least 5 different kinds available at any time- orange, lemon, watermelon, pineapple, passion fruit, dragon fruit, strewberry, rasberry, papaya, blackberry, apple, melon and more. They are always completely fresh, and the only thing they add is a little water for the right texture. A glass usually costs about $1.00. I will certain miss the juice in the future... My other favorite drink is the caipiroshka. Though the alcohol drink is actually Brazilian, it can be found everywhere here. It consists of raw sugar muddled with limes, shaken with ice and vodka. Pretty simple. It sounds strong, but it is delicious, and I don´t even like vodka! A more ecuadorian variety of this drink includes the same ingredients but with local sugar cane liquor instead of vodka. This one tastes sweeter, and resembles a margarita.

-Best splurge that is not a splurge- After a day hiking around 10 miles, we decided to treat ourselves to a full body massage at our lodge in Vilcabamba (Southern Ecuador). The cost? $18 for 75 minutes. Yes, $18. Now you see why it made my best-of list.

-Best local encounter- hiking up the hill in Baños, we came across an adorable girl of about 8 years old, taking her 3 sheep to graze. One sheep would not move. We watched her tug as hard as she could and whip the sheep with the rope. It was very cute to watch, but I eventually asked her if she would like some help, and she said yes. So I told her to pull the rope and I got behind the sheep and clapped loudly until it moved to the patch of grass. The I helped her tie it to a tree. It was a quick an simple occurance, but it will stick in my mind for a while. Unfortunately that is the only place it will be since it was at this time we discovered the camera was broken.

- Best hiking- Vilcabamba. We spent 2 days hiking here and I still have difficulty figuring out how to describe it. It is really a hybrid of several places- Tuscany (farmland and the small villa style houses), Napa Valley (slightly green with the same little mountains), and Arizona (the rock formations are similar and the hills have a reddish tint). All in all, beautiful scenery everywhere and challenging trails to keep one busy for weeks. It is also hiking distance to National Park Podocarpus.

-Best nature watching- between the jungle and the Galapagos, this is almost a hard decision. But in the end, Galapagos wins hands down and it is probably the best place in the world to nature watch. If you don´t know why, you´d better read my Galapagos blog again.

-Best travel companion- Okay, so I only have one travel companion, Matt. But I need to give him props for being so good at traveling with me. He has even been nice enough to give me window seat on almost every bus ride because he knows I like looking out the window, and when I sleep I like to rest my head against the side of the bus. He does this on crowded buses even when it means that the teenage girl in the isle is going to sit on his armrest and fling her hair in his face for at least an hour.

Lastly, I want to include a list of strange things that I have grown accostomed to in Ecuador:

*Bringing my own toilet paper to the bathrooms. I always carry some extra wads of toilet paper.
*Never flushing any toilet paper down the toilet. You have to use the trashcan instead.
*Being honked at by every taxi that passes by (there are a lot!)
*Being stared at. Sometime we will pass 5 or 6 people who will full on stare at us from head to toe. But I don't mind now as long as it is not a glare. Sometimes it is so bad that we have to laugh!
*Being asked how much a plane ticket cost to Ecuador. Or how much our Galapagos trip cost. We stopped admitting we had gone to the islands at all. People are just curious and amazed at the amount of money that gringos have to spend.
*Street kids
*Kids getting out of school at about noon.
*Arguing with taxi drivers over fare... before getting in the taxi.
*Eating chips and apples on bus rides.
*Brushing my teeth with bottled water.
*Looking down while walking in cities... There are many large holes and potholes in the middle of sidewalks. And I mean big ones, sometimes 2 ft by 2 ft, with a drop of another foot. Though we have no broken ankles yet, we do trip and stumble quite a bit while walking around, which can be kind of amusing.
*Answering the same questions from other gringos- Where are you going, where did you come from, how long are you traveling, where is your favorite place, have you been robbed?- and then also asking the same questions of them.
*Telling people "Lo siento, no intiendo." (sorry, I don´t understand)
*Waking up to screaming roosters starting at about 5 am, and continuing non stop for at least 4 hours.
*Seeing farm animals tied up on the side of the road.
*Stray dogs, sometimes scary ones.
*Ordering food off a menu when I don´t know what the spanish words even mean.
*Terrible movies on buses. The story line usually involves wife beating, tragically killed children, miraculous healing or a combination of the above. All with the worst actors you could imagine.
*Instant coffee- okay, I will never get used to this one.
*Sitting in an internet cafe for hours, writing these ridiculous blogs.

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Photos

river
pretty view of the river

boat
The porters fill our boat up for us.

waterfall
We stop to pose in front of a waterfall.

Hike
Hike in to the river.

jump
Bridge jumping.

Matt
He´s ready to go.

swim
Matt takes a dip between rapids.

enroute
Riding back after the rafting trip.

Tena
A kid works in the country ourside of Tena.

Taffy
Some of the famous Baños taffy.

hill
View of Baños hills.

main
The main street in Baños.

Banos
From the streets of Baños.

street
A street in Baños.

view
view from above Baños.

yum
Another roasted pig on the side fo the road.