On 2/19 we woke up at Casa Verde, a very nice Eco B&B in Baños. It overlooks the Rio Pastaza and is a little out of town. It is beautiful here. We got up and went for a hike up the side of a hill to see the closest water fall. As previously discussed traveling with children can be hard. Making them walk up hills can be hard. We made it up the road and then up the side of the hill to Cascadas de Chamana. We only did one water fall. Baños has 60-70 depending on who is counting and they are not really close to each other. We watched while a tour group of mostly Ecuadorians repelle down the falls and then we had lunch at a tiny place with a German host called Regine's Cafe Aleman. Good goulash.
Bed and Breakfast living is very different then how we have been living. Sharing space and being quiet can be a challenge but meeting more people can be very fun. Casa Verde is run by a family of Aussies/Kiwis who put a great deal of thought into keeping green. Their son is working out well as a play mate for Cael and Lumia. They started out swinging crazily in the hammocks then Cael and the boy played a couple of games of chess.
On 2/20 we went to one of the thermal bath sites as you should do in Baños since it is named for the baths. It is just up the road from our house and we were the only Gringoes. There are multiple pools not all of which are filled every day from hot to freezing. I prefered the warm to cold and we switched back and forth, and chatted with the Bañosians. We took a taxi way up the hill above Baños to a cafe for lunch and some spectacular views of the town. We thought about hiking down, but it seemed pretty step, so we just taxied back home and looked for another hike. That hike did not work so well partially because we did not have the directions with us so we missed the turn for the bridge across the river. By that time we realized we had missed our turn, our kids were already grumpy. And, now looking up at the hike from town we were previously looking down on during lunch, we decided that we had been too ambitious and simply finished our walk into town. We saw some crazy people jumping off the bridge for sport, got our laundry and later returned to downtown. We had a great meal at Casa Hood (do not confuse with Cafe Hood) where we met a nice family from Quito. Their girls and Lumia danced to the duo playing French accordion and ukulele. They are called Leleswing. If you want to look them up on Facebook, I posted a video to their page.
Today (2/21) we did the required waterfall tour. Most of the waterfalls fall into the Rio Pastaza so we drove down river and stopped at three main waterfalls and other sites. First was a hydroelectric dam just down from Baños. Then we saw the first of a number of places where you can zip line across the valley. Maybe I should explain. The river gorge we are on is VERY deep. The cliff that Baños sits on is easily 100 meters and that is just the last drop. Then the hill and more cliffs soar up hundresds of meters eventually to the volcano which is 1000 meters higher than Baños. These are not little hills.
Next stop we saw the Bridal Veil falls. Lumia, Steph, our driver and John (the son of out B&B hosts and Lumia's boy friend) took a cable car across the gorge and back. Cael and I declined. They said it was awesome. Next we saw what people claim is the face of Jesus in the raw rocks looking over the gorge. You have to be a just the right angle and have just the right light. Lots of Ecuadorians were taking pictures and crossing themselves. Last and best was the Pailón del Diablo, Devil's Cauldron. It was on the close side of the gorge so we had to walk down a very steep path and a steeper suspension bridge to get a good view of the many leveled falls. We all got wet and it is quite awesome. My pictures do not even come close to showing you how cool it was.
Afterwards we had a mellow afternoon back at the B&B and the kids played with John. Cael is getting homesick and a bit weepy in the afternoon especially if he is hungry. If you are Cael's buddy, he could use a note or two of encouragement right now. We went out for American pub food and he had fish and chips so the rest of the evening was great. Tomorrow we head out to Hacienda Los Mortiños up on the side of an even bigger volcano Cotopaxi. There is no internet there so see you in four days. Love from the Intrepid Explorers.
Dear Cael and Lumia,
ReplyDeleteWe are jealous of your weather. It is -17 F here in Minnesota today. Yikes.
Leif and Markus love reading about your trip, finding you on the map, and looking at your photos. Leif likes photos of Cael playing soccer. He says, "Don't fall in the volcano!" Also, you inspired him to read Ender's Game, which he liked. Markus wishes he could play with Lumia on the playgrounds. They are both glad they are not eating what you are. And they have both been dragged on many hikes, so can empathize. They have a new game called Sticks which is played on fingers. They can't wait to teach it to you.
Missing you from afar.
Love,
Martha, Jared, Leif, and Markus