5-1 May Day
The hostel that we are staying at in Banños is really cool. It has a rooftop terrace where you can chill out. We had a very delicious breakfast up there with homemade bread and amazing fresh fruit juice. The terrace has good views of the town, the mountains that surround Baños, and even a waterfall.
After breakfast, we rented bikes and biked down the Ruta de Cascadas (waterfall route) which goes mostly downhill along a deep canyon for 60km to Puyo which is at the start of the Amazon basin. The bike path is mainly on the old road which avoids the tunnels and has the best views of the canyon and all of the waterfalls crashing from the canyon rim down to the river below.
Along the way, they have a bunch of cables running across to the various waterfalls. You can take a cable car type thing across or where a harness and hook up to it in a flying position and zip line across. We figured it would be expensive, but we were able to score a zip fly across and a cable back for 5 dollars, so we did it. It was really fun!! Close to the feeling of flying. As we flew, we were way above the river at the bottom of the canyon. We gained speed as flew right towards the double waterfall. Then you fly right over the waterfall before finishing on the other side. I really loved flying right over the waterfall. It´s a vantage point that you never get to see of a waterfall (unless you are watching an IMAX movie, which is one of their favorite types of scenes).
We continued down further until we came to the hike to Pailon de Diablo (Devil´s Cauldron). We hiked down on each side of the waterfall for different perspectives. This waterfall puts all the other waterfalls we have seen on this trip to shame! It drops several hundred meters and has a huge volume of water, so it´s power is breathtaking and exihillerating. They have built different stairs and viewpoints that give you great close views of the waterfall from below, above, at the middle, and even under it. At one point you have to crawl through a little tunnel to get behind the waterfall. The little lagoon at the bottom of the waterfall is rightly named is it definitely appears to be brewing and bubbling with all that force. The force of water never ceases to amaze me!
After we got back from the waterfall, Elisha´s derailer snapped. Luckily, the company we rented from was cool. While we had a fresh trout lunch, they delivered us a new bike. After lunch we continued biking until sunset. We got to within about 15km of Puyo before we stopped and caught a bus back to Baños.
For some reason, I am super intrigued by active volcanoes and lava, and I have been trying to go to a place where I can see it. I went to Hawaii Volcano NP to see where the lava runs into the sea, but at the time the lava had switched directions and was headed toward a residential area, so they wouldn´t allow us to go see it. I went to Mt. Merapi on Java which is a place you can volcano watch, but the volcano had stopped erupting, and I was actually able to climb it. I climbed to the top of Indonesia´s highest mountain, Kerinci volcano as it has a lava lake. But it rained so much the night before the summit day that the view down to the crater where the lava lake is, was all steam, so I couldn´t see anything (of course I am always seeing pictures of it erupting from my guide on the facebook). I hiked to the top of Volcan Villarica in Pucon, Chile as it usually has a small eruption and you can see lava in the crater, but when I went up, it was only spewing noxious sulfur gas, and I couldn´t see anything in the crater. And of course Abe and I had been unable to convince any scientists to take us up to Erebus volcano in Antarctica to see it´s permanent lava lake (Abe did make it to Vanuatu after Antarctica to see the lava lake there). So a big reason I wanted to go to Baños was because it has an active volcano. But I didn´t have my hopes high, especially since the lady who rented us the bike said there was no lava flowing right now from it.
In the evening, we took a party Chiva (a type of public transportation in Colombia and Ecuador) up to the Bellavista Cross viewpoint. The Chiva was all decked out with lights and of course had loud music playing. When we reached the viewpoint, we were served a hot juice type beverage to which aguadiente (the local firewater aka jetfuel) was added. We had a nice view down towards the city. As we sat and watched the city, all of a sudden the fog cleared from Volcan Tungurahua, a towering volcano at over 5,000m (16,500ft) and we could see lava spurting out of it. I was extremely excited. I asked the guy in charge of the Chiva if there was anyway to get up higher for a closer look and he told me where to go...the tree house hotel lookout.
So when we arrived back down to Baños, we flagged a taxi. I asked him how much it would cost to take us up to Casa de Arbol (the tree house). Elisha and I later laughed at this bc it was about midnight and the tree house is way the heck up there, and why a tourist would want to go up there at that time of night was probably quite a question for the driver. From Baños you can´t see the volcano, so he wouldn´t have known that it was erupting. He drove us the long way up the steep and winding road to the tree house where we walked just a bit to reach the ridgeline. At one point on the road, you could see it erupting and even the driver got excited!
From there we had an amazing and unobstructed view of the erupting Tungurahua. We could see the lava and lava bombs flying out and running down the side of the mountain. We could also hear the loud booms of each eruption. AMAZING! Nature´s firework show. We were all alone way up there watching the fire and light show, hearing the mountain boom amidst the quiet chorus of frogs. We stayed up there for about 45 minutes before waking the taxi driver up to take us down.
5-2
I woke up at 4:45am to hike up to the Virgen viewpoint as I wanted to see the Volcano in the daytime. The whole way up the steep hike to the statue of Mary and baby Jesus, I could hear the booming of eruptions. They were louder than the night before and sometimes even the ground shook a bit. But when I got to the viewpoint, it was mostly misty and cloudy. I did get a couple of glimpses of the volcano and its big ash eruptions, but never a fully clear view. I continued up to the top of this ridge, but the clouds only increased, so I headed back down to meet Elisha at the terrace of the hostel for breakfast.
After breakfast, we decided to do one of the loop trails that gives good views of Baños and of the volcano if it`s a clear day. FIrst we hiked back up to the Virgen, then across a steep mountain to Bellavista. From here we could see the top of the dark gray ash cloud, but not the mtn itself. We then did the steep descent back to Baños.
In the afternoon we relaxed. Did a bit of walking around Baños and trying their famous taffy. Before sunset, I hiked back up to the Virgen with the hope of seeing the volcano clear. I could see part of it, but still not completely clear.
In the evening we went to one of the hotsprings for which Baños is named. It was a funny site as they made you wear shower caps in the water. After a soak and some dinner, we headed back for some cheap drink deals. This time with Mojitos
5-3
We woke up at 4 am so that we could walk up to the Virgen again and watch the lava show in the dark again. We were lucky because it was clear, so we got to watch the eruption from a different angle than the tree house. Again, just AWESOME! Once the sun was up, it stayed clear so we could see the mountain in its entirety and the huge ash eruptions. We continued up the ridge for even better views of the whole volcano from the top down to the base in the valley. Wow!
We started heading down by 7:30, and the clouds had come in and covered it up. We made it back for the delicious hostel breakfast by 8 and were then at a meeting place for a canyoneering trip by 9.
I have done a fair amount of canyoneering (in the philippines and nepal, but mostly with my brother on the Colorado Plateau in Utah), but it was Elisha´s first time, and I really wanted her to try it, and I think she had a good time. We donned our wetsuits and helmets and hiked up a bit before entering a narrow ravine where we started descending a stream, which had 6 large waterfalls that we repelled down. It also had some natural waterslides. One of the repels, was actually set up as a zipline, which I had never done before while canyoneering, so that was cool. The waterfalls were beautiful and as always it`s fun to repel down them.
We arrived back in Baños just in time to grab a quick bite, grab our laundry and gear, and catch the direct bus to Otavalo
The hostel that we are staying at in Banños is really cool. It has a rooftop terrace where you can chill out. We had a very delicious breakfast up there with homemade bread and amazing fresh fruit juice. The terrace has good views of the town, the mountains that surround Baños, and even a waterfall.
After breakfast, we rented bikes and biked down the Ruta de Cascadas (waterfall route) which goes mostly downhill along a deep canyon for 60km to Puyo which is at the start of the Amazon basin. The bike path is mainly on the old road which avoids the tunnels and has the best views of the canyon and all of the waterfalls crashing from the canyon rim down to the river below.
Along the way, they have a bunch of cables running across to the various waterfalls. You can take a cable car type thing across or where a harness and hook up to it in a flying position and zip line across. We figured it would be expensive, but we were able to score a zip fly across and a cable back for 5 dollars, so we did it. It was really fun!! Close to the feeling of flying. As we flew, we were way above the river at the bottom of the canyon. We gained speed as flew right towards the double waterfall. Then you fly right over the waterfall before finishing on the other side. I really loved flying right over the waterfall. It´s a vantage point that you never get to see of a waterfall (unless you are watching an IMAX movie, which is one of their favorite types of scenes).
We continued down further until we came to the hike to Pailon de Diablo (Devil´s Cauldron). We hiked down on each side of the waterfall for different perspectives. This waterfall puts all the other waterfalls we have seen on this trip to shame! It drops several hundred meters and has a huge volume of water, so it´s power is breathtaking and exihillerating. They have built different stairs and viewpoints that give you great close views of the waterfall from below, above, at the middle, and even under it. At one point you have to crawl through a little tunnel to get behind the waterfall. The little lagoon at the bottom of the waterfall is rightly named is it definitely appears to be brewing and bubbling with all that force. The force of water never ceases to amaze me!
After we got back from the waterfall, Elisha´s derailer snapped. Luckily, the company we rented from was cool. While we had a fresh trout lunch, they delivered us a new bike. After lunch we continued biking until sunset. We got to within about 15km of Puyo before we stopped and caught a bus back to Baños.
For some reason, I am super intrigued by active volcanoes and lava, and I have been trying to go to a place where I can see it. I went to Hawaii Volcano NP to see where the lava runs into the sea, but at the time the lava had switched directions and was headed toward a residential area, so they wouldn´t allow us to go see it. I went to Mt. Merapi on Java which is a place you can volcano watch, but the volcano had stopped erupting, and I was actually able to climb it. I climbed to the top of Indonesia´s highest mountain, Kerinci volcano as it has a lava lake. But it rained so much the night before the summit day that the view down to the crater where the lava lake is, was all steam, so I couldn´t see anything (of course I am always seeing pictures of it erupting from my guide on the facebook). I hiked to the top of Volcan Villarica in Pucon, Chile as it usually has a small eruption and you can see lava in the crater, but when I went up, it was only spewing noxious sulfur gas, and I couldn´t see anything in the crater. And of course Abe and I had been unable to convince any scientists to take us up to Erebus volcano in Antarctica to see it´s permanent lava lake (Abe did make it to Vanuatu after Antarctica to see the lava lake there). So a big reason I wanted to go to Baños was because it has an active volcano. But I didn´t have my hopes high, especially since the lady who rented us the bike said there was no lava flowing right now from it.
In the evening, we took a party Chiva (a type of public transportation in Colombia and Ecuador) up to the Bellavista Cross viewpoint. The Chiva was all decked out with lights and of course had loud music playing. When we reached the viewpoint, we were served a hot juice type beverage to which aguadiente (the local firewater aka jetfuel) was added. We had a nice view down towards the city. As we sat and watched the city, all of a sudden the fog cleared from Volcan Tungurahua, a towering volcano at over 5,000m (16,500ft) and we could see lava spurting out of it. I was extremely excited. I asked the guy in charge of the Chiva if there was anyway to get up higher for a closer look and he told me where to go...the tree house hotel lookout.
So when we arrived back down to Baños, we flagged a taxi. I asked him how much it would cost to take us up to Casa de Arbol (the tree house). Elisha and I later laughed at this bc it was about midnight and the tree house is way the heck up there, and why a tourist would want to go up there at that time of night was probably quite a question for the driver. From Baños you can´t see the volcano, so he wouldn´t have known that it was erupting. He drove us the long way up the steep and winding road to the tree house where we walked just a bit to reach the ridgeline. At one point on the road, you could see it erupting and even the driver got excited!
From there we had an amazing and unobstructed view of the erupting Tungurahua. We could see the lava and lava bombs flying out and running down the side of the mountain. We could also hear the loud booms of each eruption. AMAZING! Nature´s firework show. We were all alone way up there watching the fire and light show, hearing the mountain boom amidst the quiet chorus of frogs. We stayed up there for about 45 minutes before waking the taxi driver up to take us down.
5-2
I woke up at 4:45am to hike up to the Virgen viewpoint as I wanted to see the Volcano in the daytime. The whole way up the steep hike to the statue of Mary and baby Jesus, I could hear the booming of eruptions. They were louder than the night before and sometimes even the ground shook a bit. But when I got to the viewpoint, it was mostly misty and cloudy. I did get a couple of glimpses of the volcano and its big ash eruptions, but never a fully clear view. I continued up to the top of this ridge, but the clouds only increased, so I headed back down to meet Elisha at the terrace of the hostel for breakfast.
After breakfast, we decided to do one of the loop trails that gives good views of Baños and of the volcano if it`s a clear day. FIrst we hiked back up to the Virgen, then across a steep mountain to Bellavista. From here we could see the top of the dark gray ash cloud, but not the mtn itself. We then did the steep descent back to Baños.
In the afternoon we relaxed. Did a bit of walking around Baños and trying their famous taffy. Before sunset, I hiked back up to the Virgen with the hope of seeing the volcano clear. I could see part of it, but still not completely clear.
In the evening we went to one of the hotsprings for which Baños is named. It was a funny site as they made you wear shower caps in the water. After a soak and some dinner, we headed back for some cheap drink deals. This time with Mojitos
5-3
We woke up at 4 am so that we could walk up to the Virgen again and watch the lava show in the dark again. We were lucky because it was clear, so we got to watch the eruption from a different angle than the tree house. Again, just AWESOME! Once the sun was up, it stayed clear so we could see the mountain in its entirety and the huge ash eruptions. We continued up the ridge for even better views of the whole volcano from the top down to the base in the valley. Wow!
We started heading down by 7:30, and the clouds had come in and covered it up. We made it back for the delicious hostel breakfast by 8 and were then at a meeting place for a canyoneering trip by 9.
I have done a fair amount of canyoneering (in the philippines and nepal, but mostly with my brother on the Colorado Plateau in Utah), but it was Elisha´s first time, and I really wanted her to try it, and I think she had a good time. We donned our wetsuits and helmets and hiked up a bit before entering a narrow ravine where we started descending a stream, which had 6 large waterfalls that we repelled down. It also had some natural waterslides. One of the repels, was actually set up as a zipline, which I had never done before while canyoneering, so that was cool. The waterfalls were beautiful and as always it`s fun to repel down them.
We arrived back in Baños just in time to grab a quick bite, grab our laundry and gear, and catch the direct bus to Otavalo
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