Friday, July 11, 2014

Beautiful Baños

Today was my first full day in Baños and I am glad to say that it was a good day. The owner of the hostel I am staying at had recommended I take a tour of the cascades around this city so this morning I made my way to the main part of town to look for available tours. I didn't have to look far because there were so many tours being offered and I was spoiled for choice.

The tour I chose cost $3 and lasted about three hours. We drove past some of the most beautiful scenery that left me in awe of mother nature. This city is surrounded by hills, I am talking lush green hills that seem to go on and on....the site is really beautiful I can not even describe it in words. We got to see various cascades and sometimes the bus would make a stop so we could explore or take pictures. It was all in Spanish but I managed to get some bits and pieces here and there.





On our first stop we had the chance to participate in canopying which is like zip lining basically unless someone can correct me, Is there a difference really? In short, you are strapped up and pushed through a line so you swing from one end to the next. There were various different ways you could do it: in a seated position, in a stretched out position like you are laying down on your stomach or upside down with your head facing down. This was my first time canopying so I chose the position that seemed safest, the seated position. I was actually a bit nervous but it turned out to be fun! I even managed to take a few selfies and wished the line was longer.

Strapped up and ready to go!


My thought as I was zipping through the amazing landscape around me......."I am enjoying this!"


After landing on the other side, "can we have a do over? I really enjoyed it!"



After driving by several more waterfalls and rivers we ended up at this huge waterfall, Pailon del Diablo which was quite impressive and you could feel the enormous force of the water as it hit the ground.



When I was done with the tour I decided to check out the famous La Casa de Arbol. This is a popular tree house in Baños that is located high up a hill and the unique thing about it is that it has a swing attached to it and if you are on it, it's pretty much like you are swinging from the hill to eternity. Okay, I think I am doing a poor job of describing it so why don't I let the pictures do the talking here.....



Can you believe to get there by taxi can cost you like $20? you can hike up to the tree house and that takes about 3 hours as I was told or you can take a bus which costs $1 for a round trip. I took the bus and gladly paid that $1 with a smile!

That's it folks, this city is very beautiful and any nature lover would enjoy themselves here. For sure I don't think Ecuador will be running out of water anytime soon, with all the waterfalls and rivers I saw I think this country is set for a while!

Random Thoughts of The Day:

Reality just set in on me as a couple of people have asked me what my plans are when I am done with my trip. You want to know the truth? I have no plan whatsoever!! yikes! for sure I know I don't want to go back to working as an Accountant ever again, other than that everything else is uncertain. I don't know if I should start freaking out about my lack of plan after this trip or just go with the flow and see what comes my way. At this rate I think I should start lining up friends' couches to crash on.

This is the whatsapp exchange I had with my mother this morning:
Mama J: When are you returning home?
Me: January
Mama J: Will you start looking for a job before you leave or when you get back?
Me: At this point I am not even sure, I guess when December rolls in I will start thinking of job searching.

So today in the bus this filthy old man sat next to me. I am not being mean but dude was dirty!! I am talking body odor, dirty clothes, dirty hands, face full of dark smudges of lord knows what. You get the picture. Anyway, after I got over the initial gag reflex I continued minding my own business but lo and behold the old guy started hitting on me! he started whispering some nonsense in my ear and kept leaning closer! I turned to give him a sharp look so he could feel ashamed and stop but the bad breath coming from him did me in and I turned my face away to cough in disgust. I tried ignoring him but that just kept him going, eventually I got so disgusted and told him off in a sharp voice. He immediately stopped his shenanigans and even had the nerve to excuse himself and apologize before getting off the bus.

I signed up on taking a one day jungle tour tomorrow and now I am kind of regretting my decision. You see, I like to be comfortable.....I know! who doesn't? but the thing is I am a bit high maintenance in that the thought of sweating in hot humid weather with mosquitoes buzzing around and probably getting my clothes and myself dirty, doesn't appeal to me at all. The adventurous part of me says I should do it because it's a once in a lifetime chance, I mean when will I ever get the chance to experience being in a jungle again? the high maintenance part of me is like, "really? can you just do a spa and call it a day? check out all the spa treatments available in this city!" so people, depending on which voice is stronger I may or may not do the jungle tour tomorrow.

I am loving my new camera!


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