After an easy three and a half hour bus ride from Quito on the morning of the 10th, we made it to Baños by mid afternoon. No, Baños is not a bathroom, but it is a small tourist town located near one of Ecuador´s many active volcanoes and the name comes from its reputation for its thermal hot springs(or baths).
Yesterday, we walked to some hot springs which are a little outside town. Along the way we were expecting to cross a foot bridge over a river, but when we came to where the foot bridge once was, all we found were the reminants of the old bridge and a few small boards crossing the river. Luckily the river was not very wide across or deep so we weren´t worried about quickly running over the not so sturdy boards from one side to the next. We then climbed up a foot path to a road which continued with a steady incline to El Piscina del Salado. Once arriving we paid the $3 entrance fee and then entered total relaxation. They had six baths total ranging from freezing to enjoyably hot and two chorros(showers) with cold and hot water. I entered my first Spanish conversation with a local, which went smoothly considering I understood 85% of what was being said and the couple was very nice.
Today we spent the day mountain biking along curvy roads from Baños to Machay for a total of about 18 miles, most of which is downhill. Along those 18 miles we saw 17 waterfalls! The landscape was stunning but what was worrisome were the giant buses passing us with no shoulder to turn to if something bad were to happen. Also, about halfway down we came to a tow truck removing a crumpled car from one of the cliffs below. Our theory that nothing bad ever happens to people performing dangerous activities in South America has now been disproved.
We will be adding photos once we get back to Quito!
