seekingmygreaterperhaps

Hola amigos!

Baños is one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been. I wish I had more time to spend here, but I am so glad I made the trip to this small city in Ecuador. When I travel, I like to have 1 “big” activity a day to leave room for rest, food, and exploration. I had 3 days in Baños, and am happy with what I chose to do!

My first day in Baños I set out to see the “Swing Over the Edge of the World” and for only a $2 entry, I would say it is amazing. I actually ended up going twice because I met a girl at the hostel who rented a car and wanted to go. The first time I went, the entire place was covered in clouds, so it was a good thing we went back for sunset. You can see a little bit of the patchwork farmland that I talked about in my last post in the background here. This swing was incredible. They also have guys who help you get really high and jump up to give you a push. There is a ramp you run down, and it is beautiful. This little complex is very cute, filled with flowers, and there is also a mini zipline on your way out. I would say an hour is well spent at the Casa del Arbol.

In the evening, I went to a hot spring in Baños with this new friend, and we hung out with locals who were very confused why we were there. It’s always fun to be a surprising gringo in a good way. Baños is named after these baths, so it was neat that I was able to participate. Plus, after the let down in Papallacta, I really wanted to bathe in a thermal bath.

Hands down my favorite activity was renting a bike and biking along the waterfall route. The “Ruta das Cascadas” was epic. It was a physically tiring day, but all of these gorgeous waterfalls are just along the side of the road in Baños. My first waterfall that I came to, I was able to pay $1 and ride in a basket over the waterfall.

I thought, this is where I die most likely, because I think I was the first of the day, and I needed to wait about half an hour because there was a mechanic working on the basket. I ended up trusting the process (and praying a lot), and it was SO worth it! I floated over the top of the waterfall so closely that I was able to get some mist.

This magical bike ride just got better. I saw a lot of waterfalls from across the river, but then I also made it to the “Diablo de Papaillon” where you have to pay an entry fee, but you get really close to the waterfall. You see a couple waterfalls on your way down, and then you get to the big attraction.

I had an energetic tour guide take some great pictures of me here. Then I made it back to my bike and continued on towards 1 other waterfall.

The last stop was even better than the other ones. These waterfalls kept getting better and better the more I saw of them. The trek, and I do mean trek, down to see the last waterfall was long. There were so many steps, and the more steps I went down, the more I thought- I have to climb all of these on the way back. My final waterfall is the 1st one on the bottom row above. It was so tall. There is nothing good in that picture to give you an idea of how tall it was, but it might be the largest one I’ve ever seen. I was able to take my shoes off and bathe a little bit further down the stream, and ate some well earned oreos to help build up my energy for the bike ride back.

For the low low price of $5, I was able to store my bike in the back of a truck near the Diablo del Papillon and get a ride back to the town of Baños. At this point my legs were jelly, and I was ready to be done. Highly recommend putting your bike in the truck and going back the easy way.

My last big activity in Baños was going Canyoning. I had never heard of this adventure sport before, but I repelled down waterfalls. I was with a group of Eastern European men who were very adventurous, and they made the trip enjoyable.

Throughout the tour, we went down about 5 waterfalls. The hike up to the first one was long- and we were in wetsuits. I had been training for my half ironman for months now, and mentally I thought I should be in better shape than this. The first waterfall we went to was essentially a warm up. It was tall ish, but enough to work out any kinks with fear. The waterfalls got consecutively bigger and bigger as we went down. They were so tall that the last 3, I didn’t look down before I started repelling. I don’t have a fear of heights… but I have a little fear of heights. I conquer this fear often, but anything I can do to help myself is often utilized. This canyoning experience was a 10/10. I felt like a super badass after repelling down waterfalls, and then when I got to the bottom and looked up, I was even more impressed with myself because they were BIG! My body was pumped with adrenaline and an incredible experience.

Baños inspired me, got me back into nature, and helped me get my heart pumping in a lot of ways. I enjoyed my trip to Baños and wish I could have stayed longer. Getting back in touch with nature was rejuvenating and a perfect way to end my trip to Ecuador.

Adios for now, and can’t wait to get back to sharing my adventures. Thanks for sticking with me through the gaps in my blogging!