Getting to Banos, Ecuador

Sometimes getting from one place to another is easy and sometimes it's not. We knew we had a long travel day starting in the Galapagos and ending in Banos, a town in the mountains. The flight was easy and even landed a bit early. Next was a taxi ride from the airport to the bus station. Pretty straightforward, until we walked into the bus station that really is a large busy mall attached to the bus station.

We saw signs for departing buses but did not know where to purchase the tickets. We passed a food court and even though we were all hungry, decided to get bus tickets first. After wandering around the mall, up and down stairs, with our suitcases and backpacks we finally found a bus information kiosk and were able to figure out where to buy the tickets. We went back down stairs and found the hall with the ticket sales. A man asked where we wanted to go and Rich told him, then the man rattles off a bunch of Spanish. Rich, who knows survival Spanish, turned and looked at the rest of us questioning what we wanted to do. Of course, I had no idea what the man had said because he talked so fast I couldn't even pick out one word. The next thing I know we are taken to another window and buying tickets to Riobamba, a city part way to Banos. We asked when it left and then said, "right now." We said we needed to get some food and water first. The man quickly took us up an elevator and to a little shop. I only had a minute so I bought some water and a loaf of bread. So much for the Duncan Donuts we had seen earlier! We then quickly went to the bus departure area and while Rich loaded our bags in the storage area of the bus I was able to buy some chips and cookies from a little stand. Lunch would consist of bread, water, chips and cookies. We got on the bus and the bus pulled away before we could even take our seats in the very back of the bus. As soon as we left, someone got up and starting talking. He went on and on and I had no idea what he was talking about. At first I thought he was giving information about the ride but Rich finally figured out he was a salesman selling some sort of herbal digestive product. We opted not to buy any.

We ate our lunch and tried to enjoy the ride while a violent movie played very loudly. There was a small TV in the front of the bus, which I couldn't even see from the back of the bus, but I sure could hear it well. Listening to my own music sort of covered up the sound of the movie. I had read that buses can be over air-conditioned so we all had jackets with us, but instead there was no air-conditioning and it was rather warm. Two hours into the ride we stopped for a little break. Rich, Joe and Jenna hopped off the bus while Seth and I stayed on to watch all our stuff. Several locals came on the bus walking up and down the aisle selling food items. I honestly did now know that many people could fit in the aisle of a bus at the same time. Out on the street, Rich bought some of the cheese empanadas, which really were quite good. Or maybe we were all still hungry since our white bread didn't fill us up.

Once the bus continued, we headed up more mountain passes. Between the patches of fog we could see views of the green Andes Mountains.

 Light rain began to fall so all the windows on the bus were closed which didn't help the heat situation. Soon it began to be dark and we were still on the winding mountain roads. Then I notice other people on the bus putting on jackets. It had cooled down a bit so it felt quite comfortable. About two hours after we had began, they called out "Riobamba" so we made our way to the front of the bus and confirmed that we should get off. The bus left us on the side of a road, not at a bus station. We hopped off the bus wearing our shorts and t-shirts (remember we had come from Galapagos) and saw all the locals wearing coats and hats. We soon figured out why as it was cold and then we were glad we had packed jackets. We had no idea where we were, no hotel reservation for the night, and just a general idea where we needed to be. We walked to the corner to see if we could see a street sign to help us get our bearings. Instead of a street sign we found a large skinned pig on a table with a few chunk of meat gone. Oh, why did I not take a picture?  Becoming a vegetarian sounds better all the time! We found a bakery next door and went in for more high nutrition of mediocre donuts and to ask for some directions. We found out we were in the completely wrong end of town than we wanted to be. So next step is to find a taxi and hope we don't get ripped off. Luckily we found one within a few minutes and we picked out a hotel from a guidebook and told him to take us there. About 10 long minutes later we were dropped off in front of the hotel and charged $3. The hotel had a room available so we took it, dropped off our stuff and went out to find food. We found a restaurant that looked busy and we decided to try it. We do cause quite a scene everywhere we go even if we don't try. I thought some people were going to have very sore necks from turning their heads and staring so much. A woman came in and even though there were several empty tables she sat down right next to us and proceed to take a good look. A little bit awkward. Dinner came to a total of $21 and we all had plenty to eat.

Our hotel was fine for one night but we really weren't to sad to checkout the next day. After attending church, where everyone greeted us, we took another taxi to the actual bus station and purchased tickets on to Banos. 

Church in Riobamba

What we saw walking home from church

Our hotel

Riobamba bus station

This time we were sitting near the front, yay. Rich and Jenna were in the very front, I was in a seat and behind me Seth and Joe shared a row. The teenage girls sitting directly across from me saw Seth and Joe and they completely turned around and stuck their heads in the aisle to look at them. It wasn't just a quick peek either. Once again, I should have taken a picture! After a two hour ride we arrived in Banos. Now let's hope this place is worth the effort it took to get here!