Banos, Ecuador

Shortly after returning from our bike ride on Tuesday it started to rain. It rained all night and it was still raining on Wednesday when we woke up. We changed our plans to have an inside day.  Good thing as it rained all day. There were several mudslides and new waterfalls on the mountains around us. Some other people in our hotel tried to take a bus out of town and the bus had to turn around due to mud slides on the road.

Mud and water on the street outside our hotel

 Notice how low the clouds are.
When it is not cloudy you can see the town in in a beautiful valley surrounded by  green mountains.

Thursday morning it was still raining but when it stopped for a bit in the afternoon we put on our swimming suits and went to the mineral baths. The water is a murky brown color but they claim it is just from all the minerals in the water. Sometimes things that should be a simple process can be difficult when our language skills are limited. But we managed to purchase our tickets, get our swim caps (everyone, including bald Rich had to wear one), put our stuff in the appropriate storage bins and shower before enjoying the warm baths. After about an hour it started raining again so we decided it was time to be done.

In the mineral baths. Ugly color water, but a beautiful setting

We had planned on heading to the jungle after our time in Banos, but we kept hearing various reports from other travelers that maybe that wasn't the best plan for us right now. Still wanting a taste of the jungle we took a day trip tour that included a stop at a zoo type place, a visit to a village, a canoe ride and a hike to a waterfall. A fun day, but I do hope to one day actually make it into the Amazon rain forest.

Some funny signs at the zoo

The canoe. It felt like it was going to tip over if anyone moved at all.

After the canoe ride

Jenna on a swing in the jungle

hiking in the jungle

At the waterfall

By the waterfall. Not sure how authentic this really is but still kind of cool.

Saturday we woke up to more rain and decided we needed to move on from Banos. But before leaving the kids and I did one more fun adventure called canyoning, which is basically rappelling down waterfalls. We first had to hike about 20 minutes up to the waterfalls in ill fitting shoes with no socks. As we hiked up it started to lightly rain. I tried not to think of mudslides and what would happen if one occurred right above us. Once at the top of the waterfall, our guide taught us what to do and we practiced on a rock then it was time for the real thing. We did a series of 5 waterfalls and the first one was my least favorite. Our tour was supposed to include photos but our guide didn't take very many and the ones he did take really didn't turn out very good. Still it was fun. Banos is certainly a good place to get an adrenaline rush!

Elaine

Seth

We are finished with the 5 waterfalls

Sunday we attended Church and then went and caught a bus to leave Banos. We didn't do everything we wanted there, but we did have a great time and are glad we went.

And this doesn't relate to anything in this post except it is in Banos