Baños

/bæn-yoʊs/ noun.

1. Bathrooms.
2. Thermal baths at the base of a volcano.
3. A resort town nestled in central Ecuador.
4. Our weekend excursion (with a few added twists).

It was time for a weekend getaway. After some research and helpful conversations with fellow volunteers, we decided upon a trip to Baños. A trek away from the chaotic bustle of the city, surrounded by mountains with plenty of outdoor activities for us to enjoy. A spa town built upon thermal baths heated by a nearby active volcano. No commitments, just an agenda of fun. The weekend possessed some alternate plans for us with a few unexpected surprises along the way.

The 3.5-hour trip seemed like a manageable distance to prepare us for longer upcoming journeys. Although the kids ran out of things to keep occupied about an hour short, they didn’t drive us completely nuts. We arrived in Baños shortly after dark, dropped our packs at La Floresta, and then headed into the quaint city center for dinner. When three steaks, a chicken entree, octopus appetizer, two rounds of drinks, and dessert came to only $80, Erin and I decided to celebrate our arrival by enjoying a bottle of wine in the hammock on our back porch overlooking the courtyard.

Saturday offered a day full of promise. The morning was sunny and warm, we enjoyed a good breakfast and hot showers (finally), and were gearing up for a family bike ride along the Ruta de las Cascadas, a stretch of mostly downhill highway passing by a series of waterfalls and accompanying cable cars and zip lines to fully explore. Right before we left our hotel room, Keegan started complaining about a belly ache (which we simply brushed off as we sometimes do with Keegan), until he proceeded to vomit twice all over the bathroom floor. He immediately felt better so we chalked it up to the belly-churning combo of natural yogurt and pineapple juice he had for breakfast. We pressed on.

After proudly negotiating entirely in Spanish for four appropriately-sized bikes and helmets, and determining our route there and ride back, we started upon our 15 km journey. Before we left the downtown core, Keegan tumbled when his bike fell off a curb trying to avoid a pedestrian. When he smashed into a wall next to the sidewalk maybe 10 minutes later, he completely lost his mind. We had just gotten onto the narrow highway — which was a sketchy enough ride under ideal conditions — and one ill-timed tumble could have ended the day very badly. Keegan was now wailing about being dizzy and a splitting headache. So we opted to turn around, pushing our bikes uphill back into town, and effectively ended our journey. Keegan slept for almost 3 hours that afternoon and thankfully awoke refreshed enough to join us for an amazing (short) hike to the Bellavista, which offered stunning views of the city below and the volcano Tungurahua looming above. Crisis averted and day (mostly) salvaged.

Sunday we opted to visit one of the nearby thermal baths to start our morning. Termas El Salado seemed like the best option, despite a 20-minute hike into the mountains from our hotel. As we climbed for about twice that, we realized something was amiss. Looking down the bank to the other side of the river revealed where we were supposed to be. Our second “hike” of the weekend ended up being more like an hour. Upon (eventual) arrival the baths were filled with Ecuadorian families, some of whom using soap, and none of the pools were as warm as we were expecting. Being the only white people at the site were a definite novelty for the locals. They must have thought Erin and Connor were albinos as I’m not sure many had seen freckles before. We air-dried (no towels) then smartly cabbed it back to the hotel for our last trek of the weekend.

One of the touristy highlights of Baños is La Casa del Arbol, which includes is a series of swings built on top of a cliff that appear to extend into a vast nothingness below. On a sunny day, a rider is delighted by vistas of the surrounding Andes peaks. When clouds in the valley turn to cold drizzle at the higher elevations (like Sunday’s weather), it provides for a cooler, wetter, and less stunning experience, albeit still exhilarating. Thankfully canelazos were available in the cafe at the top to warm the chill from our bones. We hustled back into town to catch an early afternoon bus, but the first available seats weren’t until 5pm. In a twist of irony the sun emerged right when we were originally slated to leave, making for a beautiful afternoon in Baños enjoying handmade taffy and iced coffees.

Sometimes the best laid plans and intentions go awry. Although we didn’t accomplish all we set out to, we still had a heck of a time. Flexibility was paramount. Along with lots of laughter at things ultimately outside of our control or simply at ourselves for foolish mistakes along the way.