The 2018 Blog / June 10, 2018
Banos “Bathroom” Ecuador
During our three day trek around Quilotoa, almost every other traveler we met was either heading to Banos afterwards, or had just come from there, and insisted it be our next stop too. Since we literally have no plans for this trip, we decided to go for it. Besides, how could we resist going to a town whose English translation is “bathroom”?
After a bus finally came by the two of us sitting on the ground at an unmarked location in Quilotoa, we started the journey back to Latacunga. We first stopped by Hostal Tiana again to grab the bags we had left in their dungeon of a basement and used their bathroom to freshen up (after being interrogated about whether we were using the shower (we would have to pay) or just the toilet (free, unlike in the bus stations). We also used their WiFi to determine our next move: how to get on a bus to Banos.
Even though Banos is a natural next stop from Latacunga, the process to get there was a little complicated. We had two options - one was to take a bus from the Latacunga to the town of Ambato (where we accidentally ended up with our buddy Luis the day before), then take a taxi to another bus station, and then get on a bus direct to Banos. The second option was just to take a taxi from the Latacunga city center to a bus stop just outside of the center and wait for a bus to Banos to roll by.
The second option sounded easier and cheaper, so we went with that. We knew the general direction of where the bus stop we needed was, so we thought it’d be a quick, simple ride. But then the very chatty (chatty in Spanish, we just smiled and nodded as he rambled on) taxi driver started driving in the opposite direction. We drove by Cotopaxi Volcano, drove by signs pointing to Quito, and kept passing freeway exits. As we kept driving the wrong way, we were sure this little old man was trying to abduct us. I briefly considered looking up the US Embassy number on my phone, not really sure what they would do about it, but then we took a left off the highway and breathed a sigh of relief, until we slowly drove by a big building and the driver happily pointed it out as the town prison. Then we took another left and breathed another sigh of relief, thinking he was finally heading to the right place, but then he pulled over and cheerily told us this unmarked side of the road was the bus stop. He wished us well and drove off.
Well, it was a bus stop, but not the bus stop, but we had no other option except to join the handful of other people waiting on the sidewalk. From there we asked three bus drivers “Banos?” And they all said no, even the bus with “BANOS” in capital letters written all over it. Finally, another bus stopped and the guy said “Banos,” and even though it had another town name on the front of the bus, we got on anyway and hoped for the best, because at least it was going in the right direction.
Things were going smoothly until about an hour later, the bus pulled over to another random stop and the bus dude came to our seats and said “Banos” and gestured for us to get off. We got off the bus, he handed us 2 dollars (I guess we had overpaid him before but he knew our Spanish was too bad to try to explain) and pointed to another bus in front of us. And finally, we were actually on our way to Banos! And not only that, but this bus was showing a really intense telenovela. A truly captivating ride.
At long last, we arrived in Banos and promptly took a nap in our hostel beds (almost getting kidnapped really takes it out of you) before heading out to eat some enchiladas (“cheesy soggy tacos” according to Jonny) at a Mexican place with very friendly hosts. We then picked up a tub of cookies n cream ice cream and ate it in bed with our travel sporks while watching a show about people with disabilities trying to find love (it’s called The Undateables on Netflix, it’s great). So all in all, we had a really great first night in the “Adventure Capital” of Ecuador.
The next day we actually did stuff and rented bikes (and helmets!!! They didn’t fit right but it’s the thought that counts) for $5 each, and then we headed out to bike the “Ruta de las Cascadas” or the Waterfall Route, a 10 mile ride on the outskirts of town with a bunch of waterfalls along the way. It was advertised as a mostly downhill route, so I thought, great my legs can rest a bit, but the key word was “mostly” and there were a couple times I struggled juuuuuust a tiny bit and resigned myself to the fact that, at some point, eventually, I would catch up to Jonny.
Along the way, we stopped one of the many places offering zip lining and gondola rides across a canyon with beautiful views of a giant waterfall. But we got distracted by a puppy wearing a shirt. The owner handed me the puppy, whom we named Frankie Jr., and she was totally fine with me carrying him up to the zip line platform with no railings on a very windy day! I ignored everything the guy said about prices while we were up there because I was so sure I was about to drop this puppy down the canyon. Thankfully Jonny was listening to him and we decided on the cheaper gondola ride across the canyon instead of zip lining. We got some great views on the ride and came back across and spent another 30 minutes playing with lil Frankie (honestly the puppy was more worth the $4 dollars than the cable car) before hopping back on our bikes for the rest of the route.
Frank Jr
But we got distracted by a puppy wearing a shirt. The owner handed me the puppy, whom we named Frankie Jr., and she was totally fine with me carrying him up to the zip line platform with no railings on a very windy day! I ignored everything the guy said about prices while we were up there because I was so sure I was about to drop this puppy down the canyon.
Thankfully Jonny was listening to him and we decided on the cheaper gondola ride across the canyon instead of zip lining. We got some great views on the ride and came back across and spent another 30 minutes playing with lil Frankie (honestly the puppy was more worth the $4 dollars than the cable car) before hopping back on our bikes for the rest of the route.
We finally finished the route at the famous “El Diablo,” where we locked our bikes and hiked for 20 minutes down to the roaring waterfall. In order to get to the viewing platforms, we had climb up some steps and then literally crawl on our knees under some very wet rocks. We finally understood why everyone else brought ponchos. After drying off a bit, we made our way back to our bikes and hitched a $2 ride in the back of a pickup truck with a few other travelers that would take us uphill to Banos. Along the way, we saw a double rainbow!
Starving, we went straight to dinner at “Pepitos,” where we had burgers served by a girl still in her school uniform and doing homework in between patiently trying to understand our orders in broken Spanish. Before we left they let us write something really unoriginal on the wall.
The next day, our legs were pretty tired from all the hiking and cycling, but we wandered aimlessly around town in the morning after eating a hearty breakfast of fried chicken and French fries at the local KFC. We walked to another waterfall and climbed up some steps to a platform where we could look down on Banos - the thing that caught our eye was one of the local hot springs. Banos is primarily known for its hot springs, and everyone we met raved about them. However. One look at the warm, yellow, stagnant water packed with people and we didn’t even have to discuss it before crossing “soak in the hot springs” off of our to do list. It was fulfilling enough to watch from a very safe, fungus-free distance.
That afternoon, we caught a bus to the famous “Treehouse” or “Casa del Arbol” - where we could try out the “Swing at the End of the World.” It was surprisingly not crowded at all, so we were able to take our time swinging over the valleys of Banos. At one point, a group of Ecuadorian teenagers showed up and insisted on helping push us on the swing. By “help,” I mean “try to make us do a 360 over the tree branch,” and even though I was screaming, Jonny did nothing to help me and in fact told the teenagers to “push harder.” They didn’t speak English but they definitely got the message.
Go Warriors
Thankfully, we survived, made our way back to town, ate at a pub and then made our way to a brew house where we drank beer out of a gigantic pitcher and watched LeBron get destroyed by the Warriors.
The next day, we had a lazy morning, a nice breakfast, and then hopped on the first leg of a long bus ride to Cuenca- our last stop in Ecuador before heading to Peru!
Signing off,
Sarah
Originally published June 10, 2018 / See the Baños gallery
