A Ball en Baños

December 21, 2014

"The Swing"
Tungurahua obscured by clouds

Last week I had the chance to go to Baños, Ecuador with expat friends Dan and Annette, Annette’s mom, Pat (who is visiting from Canada) and Bob and Novena.  What a great time we had!

We booked our rooms at the Hostel Erupción for Friday, Saturday and Sunday night.

Bob and Novena took a Thursday night 10PM or so red-eye bus out of the Santa Elena bus station to Baños (though it is billed as “direct”, there is a bus change in Ambato).  It costs $11, executive style bus, and arrived in Baños around 7AM Friday morning.

(One sour note – During the trip, Novena heard “scuttling around” noises coming from the luggage bin underneath the bus.  When they got to Baños, she discovered her camera and some cash missing from her suitcase stored there.  They filed a complaint with the bus line, but not expecting much response from them, since it likely was an “inside” job if it was stolen by someone with access to the luggage compartment…Hard lesson learned…

Listen, folks – when traveling on buses here, always, always, always keep your valuables (laptops, cameras, important papers and identification, cash) with you.  Do not put it under your seat (someone behind can slash bag open and steal).  Put it where you can see it at all times, preferably right in front of you, or even better – use that carry-on as a pillow).

Dan, Annette, Pat and I drove there in their truck, leaving on a Thursday morning.  Our plan was to drive north through Jipijapa (pronounced “hippy-hoppa”) to Santo Domíngo de los Colorados to spend Thursday afternoon/evening to explore that area on our way there.

However, when we got to Jipijapa, we actually believed the route our not-so-bright GPS lady was telling us (despite some sorta gut feelings, and the vague and outdated maps we had with us that she was sending us in the wrong direction) – which she did...  
We ended up heading back south, towards Guayaquil, and by the time we confirmed this mistake (on the outskirts of Guayaquil) we had no choice but to push back north from there, through Babahoyo, San Miguel and ended up in Guaranda just as it was getting dark and checked into a budget hotel there.

For the most part, we enjoyed the detour, since we got to see a lot of central Ecuador (much of it agricultural and/or grazing land) - truly the “breadbasket” of this country, especially around the San Miguel area.

The town square of Guaranda was
brilliantly blazing with holiday lights, and
reminded me of KC "Plaza Lights"

Town square of Guaranda in daylight.

On Friday morning, not too far out of Guaranda, we had a choice to take the main highway towards Ambato or take the old road (apparently, all roads to Baños/Tungurahua lead through Ambato).
The four of us opted for the back road, though we knew it would take more time.  We tremendously enjoyed that drive through a number of indigenous villages along the way, and got into Baños by early afternoon.

This view of  Chimborazo seen along
the "old" route we chose..

One view from the 4th level balcony
from Hotel Eruption.
A few tables and chairs added to that
terrace would be a good addition.  

We stayed at the budget Hostel Erupción, located adjacent to the main plaza in town, and met up with Bob and Novena there.

After some confusion about our on-line room reservations when we checked in (and took a couple of hours to resolve - which we pleasantly spent in the hostel’s restaurant/bar while waiting), we got settled into our rooms.  It’s an agreeable enough hotel; the restaurant there has nice ambience, a diverse menu – I thought the “Locro de Papa” (an Ecuadorian potato and cheese soup) was particularly tasty – and the staff at Hostel Erupción was super, super helpful and friendly.   For the money, it was a decent place to stay, although in-room wifi was virtually non-existent in Dan & Annette’s room – at the end of a hallway furthest from the router, so try and get a room near the staircase. I was in one of those rooms, and had no problem getting on-line while I was there.

Cuy served here.
Why am I reminded of the old
"Hamster Dance" tune?

On Saturday, we split up; some for massages, some for exploring the town, all of us hitting at least one of the in-town thermal springs, though none of us made it to presumably the best hot spring there – the “Termas El Salado” at the base of Volcan Tungurahua, said to be especially spectacular at night, when it is lit up. There wasn’t time to squeeze this one in.

We had Saturday night dinner at a French restaurant that generally gets good reviews. We found the meal and service lackluster, but maybe we just hit it on an “off” night, or ordered the less than stellar menu options.  After that, we spent time exploring more of Baños at night (festively decorated for the holidays) and ended up on one street that had a wide choice of bars. We parked ourselves in one of those for a while.   

"Hamster Dance" - thanks/courtesy to you guys who came up with it...Has always made my day.



Something about Baños at night seemed reminiscent of New Orleans in a way – a “quaint” Bourbon street vibe, I thought.

Photo  - Courtesy of Novena

On Sunday morning, we all went on a 4-hr double-decker bus tour that featured the area cascadas (waterfalls) and a pass by of Tungurahua Volcano. Tungurahua is somewhat currently active now, but not enough to be afraid of visiting this town, and there are several hills and valleys that protect Baños from lava flows.

That double-decker tour bus left at 10:30 in the morning, and I’m pretty sure you can buy tickets for this tour from any number of tour agencies in town. 


We bought our tickets from one of them – the day before - cost of $6 each, and make a beeline for stairway to top of bus as soon as you get on. May or may not be crowded on top.

We had a wonderful time!

This tour offers several opportunities/stops along the way to take cable cars/zip lines across a few canyons as well.
This tour also basically turns around after passing the volcano, towards some of the best waterfalls in other direction, and heads down the "old road" to Rio Blanco, the "gateway" to the Amazon rain forest of Ecuador. 
Along this route is also the best and longest zip line in Ecuador. 
On bucket list for next trip here.

Volcan Tungurahua

Me. On one of the ziplines along the way
Photo Courtesy of
Canopy Baños San Martin photographers. 

One of the tunnels we went through towards
the best known waterfalls.

The original old road/gateway between Baños and
the  Amazon rain forest in Ecuador.
Once considered the most perilous road in Ecuador,
has since been improved (in the last 7 years or so)
 with pavement and guard-rails.

Standing underneath the
"Puertos del Cielo"
(Doors of Heaven)
waterfall.

Especially enjoyed the Pailón Del Diablo..
The "Devil's Caldron" Waterfall.
On that day from rope-swing bridge.
What a blessing to see the Almighty
show up with
 this rainbow of promise.

"Do one thing a day that scares you"

After we got back, we went in different directions for the rest of the afternoon.

I made a bee-line to the "Tree Swing at the End of the World"(ask driver to take you to "La Casa del Arbol" -- $20 taxi ride from town, with driver waiting till this accomplished).

I have seen so many photos of it and thought “oh, HELL NO!” ...but, of course, I couldn't resist giving it a shot once I got there.
And so glad I did it!

It was a blast (!) and not as scary as it looks from most pictures.

We reconnoitered at Hostel Erupción around cocktail time on late Sunday afternoon, and we had a wonderful meal at the steak house “Bambu" before Bob/Novena and I caught the 10PM bus from Baños back to Santa Elena.  (Dan/Annette/Pat were driving to Cuenca for a few days after Baños).
That bus ride was not very comfortable (said by me, who instantly falls asleep on virtually any moving vehicle… the KC Chiefs could hold football practice in my bedroom at night, and I wouldn’t rouse).

But this bus ride back was a little rough (damn driver kept arbitrarily changing the temperature from hot to cold in the cabin at most sadistic times, made a number of stops so he could pee, get a drink, etc. and I didn’t get a wink of sleep).  It took me until the following Tuesday to get caught up on my rest.

Honestly, I was less jet-lagged coming back from Germany a few months ago.

That being said – I would do Baños again in a heartbeat, and can’t wait to return there!

A delightful scene I came across:
These jugglers
on my way back to taxi after
"The Swing"