Hot tubs, Spas, + Waterfalls Beneath a Volcano
Trip Start
Sep 09, 2006
1
27
113
Trip End
Ongoing
Banos,
Ecuador
Sunday, December 24, 2006
The bus ride on the way to Banos was through windy Andean highlands, and descended down to 1800m. What´s interesting is that throughout the many bus rides we´ve taken, we never cease to understand the mentality of locals who stuff their faces with street food, immediately before, or sometimes during the bus ride in motion. On this bus ride, however, we attained newer levels of perplexity. Ron and Nazimah and the 2 of us exchanged that look of disgust after witnessing two vomiting episodes from locals sitting near the front of the bus, and we were ever-so-happy that we had picked seats that were thankfully at the back, away from the stench, and potential spillage from the mess. We were carrying a National Geographic magazine with us, and a couple of curious teen-aged boys beside us seemed to be peeking over our shoulders to catch a glimpse of all the pretty pictures. So, we handed it over to them to borrow for their viewing pleasure. No more than 5 minutes later, one of the boys, now looking rather clammy and pale, was doing his best to push open the window as sweat dripped inched down his brow. We realized immediately that our National Geographic had induced motion sickness. We warned them against reading while moving, but they seemed obsessed about examining and discussing every single picture, especially the fancy car ads. Pretty soon, the other young man looked like he was suffering from the same plight. We shared a chuckle of pity with the other passengers as the two boys pulled their jackets over their heads in an attempt to find relief from their nauseating situation. Well, since our book had induced this mess, we decided to help them out by handing over a couple of Frisk mint candies. Worked like a charm, as it always does.
We´re running out of Frisk, by the way, if anyone decides to send us a care package.
On the morning of August 16, 2006, at around 8:25 a.m., a huge explosion signaled the start of a violent eruption of the Tungurahua Volcano that looms over Banos. After a long period of rest, the volcano also spewed about eight million tons of ashes and hot rocks. The eruption was characterized by a continuous source of lava located at about 1 km above the crater, gas and columns of ashes estimated at 13 to 14 km. Villages located directly in the path of the lava, were evacuated on time, but their buildings were destroyed. An estimated 4,000 people were displaced.
The volcano has since become inactive, however, the locals have taken this natural phenomenon to new lengths of advertising in this touristy town. At any time of the day, touts on street corners will attempt to sell you tickets to a night tour of the volcano in a minivan, where they "create the mood" by serving hot chocolate around a fire built from logs.
Choosing to opt out of the tourist trap, and having never seen a volcano, we decided to go our own way. The next morning, we took to the hills. We climbed up the hill to a vantage point called Bella Vista. Granted, all we could see was a mixture of smoke and fog seeping out of the top of the mountain, but it wasn´t difficult to use our imaginations to picture mounds of hot lava and smoke erupting from its crevices.
After being at the mercy of so many modes of transport, it's nice when you get a chance to be able take control of the wheel once in a while. And that´s exactly what we did for Ashif´s 33rd birthday. We rented Quads and Go-Karts for a day, and motored our way around narrow mountain roads, through dark tunnels along the gorge, stopping at pretty waterfalls along the way. At the half way point to our destination, we crossed the gorge on a zooming cable car ($1, just for kicks), and got a thrill from the heights over the valley.
After a little more adventure driving, and feeling like we were navigating around sharp bends in a video game, we arrived at the Paillon del Diablo (Devil´s Cauldron) waterfall, claimed to be one of the finest waterfalls in the world. It is so named because of an erosion resistant rock formation that juts out from the middle of waterfall said to look like a large cauldron. We trekked down a steep trail into the gorge, and as we crossed a suspension bridge to a vantage point, we marveled at the formations and tried to decipher where exactly the cauldron was. We then decided to brave it and venture nearer to the mighty outpour of the falls. Drenched by the powerful mist, we were in awe of how close we were able to get and admire its power.
On the way back to Banos, we traded play vehicles with each other, and zoomed our way back to town. This was very exhilarating, and satisfied the childlike yearnings inside Ashif and Ronil for speed and adventure. Fun!
Pooped and exhausted from our strenuous hikes the days before, the 4 of us needed some spa time. So we donned our swimsuits and headed for the Banos of Banos. We sank our aching bodies into the 48 degree therapeutic pool, (geothermically heated to that temperature by the volcano), then into the luke warm cess pool, and momentarily into the freezing cold pool. We showered off directly under an icy waterfall, and posed in action for our model shoots.
A special spa treat was the "Banos de Cajon". For only $4, the 4 of us sat in 4 steam boxes, covered up all the way, with only our heads sticking out. The steam boxes were filled with the vapour of eucalyptus leaves, and were extremely hot. As we alternated between sitting in the hot steam box, and dunking into various levels of increasingly cold water, Mama Banos, as we called her, an older lady that had been working in the Banos for years, sprayed us down with a cold water hose. She also graciously positioned glasses of pink tea water right below our lips so we could rehydrate through our sweat beads. Reeshma and Ashif opted for an extra half hour traditional aromatherapy massage, and experienced the strange customs such as using rubber gloves for the massage, hair pulling, and inserting fingers in the ears (nowhere else, just the ears). Nonetheless, we felt fantastic, rejuvenated, and relaxed enough for yet another bus ride!
DID YOU KNOW? The term, spa, is derived from the name of the town of Spa, Belgium, the famed site of healing hot springs.
(View this entry´s Slide Show/Photo Album above)
