Baños

This past weekend I traveled to Baños, adventure capital of Ecuador, with my friend Laura and her sister + another friend who are here visiting Laura for a few weeks.



(Our group, with a guide. L-R, Laura, Melanie, Carlos, Julia, me.)

The escapades started as soon as we excited Laura’s front door to catch a cab to the bus station. It was raining, harder than I’ve ever seen it here in two plus months and we were soaked within a block… with umbrellas. One quickly learns in Quito that the harder it’s raining, the harder it is to catch a cab; they’re all busy! Thus, we waited a good while, watching a torrent of water flood down the street before finally catching about the 10th cab to pass us. Unfortunately, his trunk was not available and so we crammed four soaking wet people and their large hiking packs into one very small taxi. Then we found out there was a protest blocking the main road to the bus station so we got to enjoy the close company for an extra 20 minutes as the taxista found an alternative route. Great start!

Our first day in Baños we went river rafting. One of the girls had a waterproof camera that a safety kayaker used to take some amazing pictures, I promise to post them as soon as I can get copies.

That night we hit up the famous local hot spring baths, renowned for their curative effects. I’m can’t attest to any curative powers (in fact, as I write this I am suffering a nasty little head cold) but they were a nice way to relax after a day on the river.

On Sunday we hired a local guide, Carlos, to take us around in his truck and show us the best sites in the area. It ended up being well worth the fee, as the following pictures demonstrate.




(A view of Banos and the river gorge it borders)




(A deep river gorge, cut straight into the rock.)



(At the edge. I thought the $10 charge to jump/swing was a bit much, but the gals wanted to see someone go and were willing to pay; I couldn't refuse that offer.)




(Me jumping off the bridge, actually the guy sort of throws you off, no time to be indecisive!)




(Above a huge waterfall in a rickety cable car, yes!)




(A view of El Pailon del Diablo "the Devil's Cauldron")




(Looking farther down the same falls. It is ranked as one of the top 10 most impressive waterfalls in the world!)


The scenery was nice but I couldn’t help but also notice how much cleaner and nicer looking Baños was in comparison to Quito. It wasn’t a night and day difference, there were still people begging for money and rundown houses, but overall the quality of life for most residents seemed to be higher. All the tourism money flowing into the town has certainly been a boon for the residents. There are currently hotly-contested arguments about whether to drill for oil in Yasuni National park but if one takes Baños as an example of what can happen when eco-tourism is chosen over eco-destruction, I think it makes a compelling case for withholding drilling. Oil companies’ promises to share the wealth with those whose lands they use have proven to be hollow promises again and again. Thus, the people whose lands are exploited for oil are left with minimal compensation, if any, and a polluted landscape. If you are interested, there is large quantity of informative material on oil development in Ecuador, by and large it is very depressing. A history of oil exploitation in Ecuador can be found at: http://www.thirdworldtraveler.com/South_America/Perilous_Prosper_Ecuador.html