A Weekend in Baños, Part 4: Swinging with Monkeys

As we headed into Puyo, you could see that the topography was changing. It was much more lush and green as the vegetation became thick and lively. We passed by small towns and little tiendas all along the road, giving off the good smell of the tantalizing street meat. At Fundación Los Monos Selva y Vida, it felt a bit like entering Jurassic Park.

The 6 of us were a bit apprehensive at first. No one wanted to touch the monkeys and get Ebola. But as we saw the workers playing with them and they assured us they were tranquilo, we moved in closer. First we saw spider monkeys playing with a dog and fighting over a palm tree branch. Then some of the monkeys were wrestling with each other. We were warned that they would steal anything you had, so all we brought with us was our cameras.

Some of the monkeys didn´t want to play much, but others were swinging from ropes and jumping onto people. Some monkeys napped in the fetal position while a few others made a small girl cry hysterically as they jumped on her. We were shown different types of monkeys, then a couple of turtles and an ant eater, before we were lead over to the monkey swing.

A huge rope had been fastened to some trees, and you could swing, through the jungle, with a monkey on the swing with you. At first no one wanted to, but eventually we all took the opportunity to swing with them. The monkeys liked the women better though, and didn´t really want to ride with me. But as I swung back and forth I reached out for one, and he tried to grab on but didn´t make it.

After the swing, a couple of monkeys started to jump onto my head and shoulders, as they played games around us. It was an incredible way to end the trip, and as we left, it was clear that it was a great experience.

Back at the hostel, we rested up and showered and headed out for a final dinner. The town was active again, but we just wanted to have a little wine and hang out in the hostel before another big travel day.

I´d run out of money by the next day and had to start borrowing for everything, even just to get home. All told I spent over $80, but it was a great weekend that was definitely worth the experience. For the hostel, we only spent about $24 on two nights, two breakfasts, and some beers. The mountain bike excursion was $22 and we got to play with monkeys in the end. And getting to and from Ambato was about $8 each way. So all told, it was a pretty reasonable trip with some great results.

Coming back into Cuenca with thick fog and rain falling consistently, it was gray and tiring, but a definite relief to be back. It’s feeling more and more like a home, and it was nice to get out of the “tourist” role and back into the “living here for a while” role. Back home, it’s time to get back to the teaching.

Above: A monkey on my back, monkey’s fighting a dog for a palm tree branch, a monkey with a stick

A Weekend in Baños, Part 3: Mountain Biking

Heading out on the small road, we took up positions as some people went out in front and others hung back by the truck following us. It had been a while since I rode a bike, so it took me a few minutes to get my bearings, but once the awkwardness was out of the way, it was smooth sailing. The old saying is true, once you learn how to ride a bike, you never forget. It felt great to be cruising down the hill with the wind blowing in my face and the sun on my skin as I weaved recklessly from left to right avoiding pot holes, cars, and occasionally people.

The scenery was absolutely spectacular, and the most difficult part of the trip was finding the balance between looking from side to side at the mountains and keeping an eye on the road. The bikes were nothing special, and in fact, they wound up breaking down as the day went on. First one of the tires blew out on Charlotte, and later her chain came loose. Shortly after that, my chain came loose, and later Charlotte´s chain broke again, so we had to ditch the bikes just as the biking portion of the tour was ending. But that wasn´t until later on in the day.

We went out with 6 of us, along with two other men and a son. The men worked on construction projects for U.S. Embassies all over the world, and the 11 year old son had already lived in Nicaragua, Cambodia, Japan, and now Ecuador. He said that he usually learned the language and translated for his dad, but when he left the country he would forget most of the language. The kid was really cool and mature for his age. I want to be him when I grow up.

We passed by waterfalls and tall peaks that you needed to stretch your neck up to see the tops of. We would take a few stops along the way, but just for a couple of pictures and to adjust the bikes. Most of the trip was downhill, and it was very easy and pleasant. As the day went on, the sun was getting hotter, and I could feel my skin burning without any sunblock. There was little I could do except borrow some from my friends and hope it held up.

After Charlotte´s bike had a flat, we stopped in a little rest area with a view of a valley and 3 or 4 tiendas for about a half hour while it was fixed. I sat down under a tent to avoid the sun and talked for a little bit with a professor from the University of Ambato, who was touring the area with his family. It was nice and relaxing, and just enough time to get out of the sun and rest up in the middle of the day.

Once the bike came back we pushed on, but trouble soon developed as the bike broke down again, and Charlotte was fed up with the problems. A short exchange with the guide left a dent in the bed of the truck, which he was not happy about, and soon after that, we had reached the end of the biking part of the excursion. Ending at a waterfall called Machay, we took about an hour to hike down the steep path and check it out.

It was probably one of the biggest waterfalls I´ve ever seen, and it was worth the 50 cents to get in. Once you got down there you could head down the path to the pools of water where the falls hit or just stand back and still get hit by all of the mist coming out. We stayed down there for a while until we were refreshed, but of course after hiking back up to the road we were hot and sweaty once again.

After wards, we piled into the truck, somehow comfortably fitting 7, and started driving the rest of the way towards Puyo, at the edge of the Amazon Rain Forest, also called the Oriente in Ecuador. Once we got into town we had lunch which was included in the cost of the trip. We all got a soup with every bit of the chicken, including the liver, feet, and head. We could then choose from grilled chicken, pork, or steak. It was delicious and extremely necessary, as we were all starting to crash after the long day.

After lunch we headed out to the animal reserve, where we would play with monkeys.
Continued in Part 4…

Above: Images from the bike ride, Machay waterfall

A Weekend in Baños, Part 2: Getting Aquainted with the Town

After the lunch we walked around a bit and met up with more of the volunteers that were in town for the weekend. It was getting late and we were in no rush, so we didn’t bother to find anything in particular to do. We walked over to the waterfall and had a good view of the town, which is very small, and then walked back towards the center. The town is known for its natural baths, hence the name Baños, but we never wound up going in them. They didn’t look that appealing after going to Papallacta, which had much nicer baths.

Window shopping and getting a feel of the city, we decided on mountain biking the following day. Going with Exodotours, we worked out a deal for $22 to rent bikes and trek half of the 61 km to a town at the edge of the Amazon Rain Forest called Puyo. From the last waterfall on the route we would be taken in a truck to Puyo, where lunch was included, and check out an animal reserve with monkeys. It was a good deal, and we would have a guy following us to make sure nothing went wrong. If we’d just wanted to rent the bikes it would be $5 for the day, but we went for the higher end deal. Leaving at 9:30 a.m. from Baños, we would return from Puyo at 5 p.m.

For the rest of the afternoon we strolled and had a few beers, and after a good dinner, we were too tired from the long day to do anything else. Because it was a holiday weekend, the town was electric and ready for a party, but we couldn’t take part.

The town of Baños felt very safe, even though there were tons of tourists around. The economy of the town depends on tourism, so safety is important there. Though I wouldn’t want to spend an extended period of time in a touristy town, it was a nice break from what we’ve been doing over the last month. I felt like I could actually take out my camera and leave it around my neck, and though I had reservations at first, I realized that I’m blond and no matter what, people will know I’m a tourist from a mile away.

It´s a funny town because it almost feels like Disney Land. Everywhere you go are tourists off to do extreme sports or some kind of excursion. The town is sort of like the equivalent to Interlaken, Switzerland, where tons of backpackers head each year to do extreme sports like skydiving, canyoning, and paragliding. Literally all day long people drive by in ATVs, motorcycles, or go carts that they use to tour the surrounding areas, and since the roads are so narrow, it feels like you´re actually walking across a track meant for them. The motors roar all day, but it doesn´t ruin the tranquility of the town. At night in Baños, the church is lit up with purple lights, and actually looks like the magical palace in Orlando.

In the morning we woke up early and had a great breakfast on the rooftop of the hostel. I got two pancakes with sugar cane syrup, but it kept reminding me of a rum I tried in Grenada that was made of sugar cane, and after one pancake I was too full to continue. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and it was heating up quickly, and I realized that I hadn’t brought any sunblock. A big mistake.

A friend had told me it was cold there and it totally slipped my mind. I had to mooch some sunblock off of the others, but it didn’t do, and by the end of the day my arms and knees were pinkish-red. You’d think I’d know better by now, living on the equator, but I’m still an idiot about it.

The tour agency was right across the street from the hostel, so we moasied over around 9:30 to pick up our bikes and get started. After very quick test runs down the street to make sure they actually worked, we put on our stupid-looking helmets, which probably wouldn´t actually help in an accident, and headed out.

Read more in Part 3…

Above: The start of the bike ride, The view from the rooftop restaurant at the hostel, A man eying some tantalizing street meat,

A Weekend in Baños, Part 1: Getting There

With a three day weekend to celebrate the independence of Guayaquil, a few of us decided to take a longer trip and head up to Baños, a small down about 8 hours from Cuenca and 3 hours from Quito. To get there and maximize our time, we left early on Friday morning, catching the 5:15 bus out of Cuenca. It was a tough wake up call.

I caught a taxi to the terminal and after I got out I realized that my cell phone fell out of my pocket in the car. I ran after it but the driver was already gone. I stood on the corner furious with myself and totally upset that I’d lost another phone. I was hoping my friends Lauren and Annie would should up soon so I could call the phone and beg the driver to come back. But before they even got to the station the driver pulled up holding my phone, saying I forgot it. I was shocked. Somehow, I managed to find one of the honest taxi drivers, and he actually came back to give it to me. I don’t even know how he saw it since I was in the backseat. Now I knew the trip would be off to a good start.

The bus ride up was lousy and long, as we stopped for everyone on the side of the road. That’s what you get when you pay $7 for an 8 hour ride. The stink in the bus kept getting worse as we wound our way through the Andes, and after trying to grade some papers for a while, I started to get a little nauseated. After long enough, we finally made it to Ambato where we switched buses for the 45 minute ride to Baños. The change was dramatic. The new bus was like a party bus, comfortable and with cool salsa music playing. The atmosphere was also good, as everyone knew they were on their way to a fun destination.

The trip in through the winding roads was beautiful, but it only got better as we entered the town. Hot but not oppressing, the temperature was perfect to walk around. After finding our hostel that our friends had already gotten rooms in, we dropped our stuff off and got some lunch. We stayed at Hostal Plantas y Blanco located on Martinez y 12 de noviembre. This was a great location because it was right on a main drag where all of the tour booking agencies were located. We paid $7.50 a night because it was a holiday weekend, but normally it could be a little cheaper.

The rooms were comfortable and clean, and we were given towels for free. A great plus about this place was the breakfast restaurant on the roof with a great view of the town and mountains. The food was delicious, and the pancakes were a specialty, though I couldn’t eat more than one. If you’d had the appetite, you could eat fruit salad covered pancakes with sugar cane syrup for about $3.

At night, people hung out on the rooftop and grabbed beers from the fridge, that you would later pay for on the honor system. This hostel also had free internet and steam baths, so all told, it was a hell of a deal. This was my first hostel in South America, and I was not disappointed.

More to come…

Above: Three photos of the town of Baños from Hostal Plantas y Blanco