Hot Spas and cold compresses
Trip Start
Nov 03, 2004
1
50
165
Trip End
Nov 23, 2006
Banos,
Ecuador
Tuesday, August 9, 2005
many waterfalls we arrived in the thermal spa town of Baņos for a
few days of R&R. Last year the army because of the nightly
pyrotechnic displays of Tungurahua evacuated the town. After three
months of nothing but smoke and fireworks the townspeople
said "enough" and reoccupied the town (not a little motivated by the
army's looting of the town). The British Foreign Office still warns
against over-nighting in Baņos because of the risk of eruption but
Tungurahua seems to be just steaming contentedly in the background
these days almost unseen behind the higher hills
First run
.Baņos is a pretty town nestled in a bowl of hills - just one of
which happens to be an active volcano. The town perches high above
a grade 4/5 river cutting through a steep sided canyon sparkling
with waterfalls. It is warm, sunny and the hotel rooms are brightly
coloured and airy with less than the usual sagging curtains, missing
fixtures and unexplained holes in the walls and ceilings. It is
laidback and friendly with a selection of good restaurants and a
local industry in salt-water taffy that you can watch being made all
along the main street.
Being only a few hours drive from Quito, it's the type of town were
Ecuadorians flock. Throughout South America towns tend to shamble
open around 10:00am(ish) but in Baņos at 8:00am on Friday town is
rocking awaiting the influx of wound up, cashed up businessmen and
their families. They come to eat well, soak in the thermal pools,
roar around town on quad bikes or in the dinosaur road train
Starting the big one
. It'salso the type of town were gringos flock but they come for different
activities (although they're not adverse to good food and soaking).
Troops of wetsuit clad, helmeted gringos pass each other in mud
splattered Landcruisers on their way to raft the rivers, canyon
around the waterfalls or cave. More timid spirits choose the
numerous paths for walking or maybe a horse riding excursion.
We did some walking and it was very pretty but Ecuador needs a
little adrenalin to help it out as a tourist destination so we did
some canyoning as well. (This involves strapping on a Day-Glo
orange plastic diaper and either abseiling or rappelling down
various waterfalls and rock formations in river canyons). We were
very lucky - the group comprised David, me and the guy who could
actually abseil / rappel.
The three waterfalls on the agenda dropped down a canyon only five
minutes from Baņos. The river meandered through the valley and
didn't seem particularly fast flowing although gravity took a hand
over the waterfalls
This is really fun!
. Despite the speed and volume of water flowingover the falls the rocks were an attractive sea glass green with
algae and the bugs seemed to have no problem finding somewhere to
breed and knew that, with both hands occupied with the ropes, you
wouldn't be able to swat at them.
The first waterfall was 20m and a simple abseil down to hurling
yourself backwards into the foaming pool at the bottom. It's
actually easier than it sounds - walking backwards down a slimy rock
face while a waterfall tumbles around you having been instructed in
the finer points of technique in Spanish. At the bottom the pool
was icy cold and I was hooked. The next waterfall was only 10m but
had a more ferocious flow. We were allowed to do this one twice. I
was all set up for a stunning backwards dismount with double half
axel after the second run when I slipped and slammed into the rock
face. David, poised for the spectacular back flop photo, thought
this was hilarious as I disappeared beneath the waterfall. Five
seconds later when I hadn't reappeared and Sandi had bounded down
the fall in three leaps he began to wonder. I thought I had, at the
very least, broken my elbow and thigh. I hadn't but, man, those egg-
sized lumps sure come up fast. Undeterred we took a ten minute
break while Sandi set up the final waterfall. Just a little (6-7m)
abseil down to the jumping platform, change ropes, 3m of edging
backwards and then a 45m plunge into space beside a stingingly fast
waterfall. I'm surprised they didn't hear me shrieking in Baņos - it
was brilliant! I stopped about half way down to do cartwheels, wave
my legs around my head, douse myself in the waterfall and yell
around the canyon. By the time David and Sandi had arrived I was
bouncing up and down and demanding to be allowed to go again ... and
that is the beauty of small groups.
I spent the afternoon wrapped in ice packs and we spend the evening
soaking in the thermal pools after another excellent dinner.
The next day we bussed to Puyo for El Jardin Botanico Las Orquideas
and an animal sanctuary - a three hour run towards the jungle along
a lush green road peppered with winding tunnels and crystal
waterfalls. After Baņos Puyo was a bit shabby and a lot expensive
with no good restaurants.
The orchid garden is a family project - purely a labour of love. 25
years ago the Benalcazar family purchased 25 hectares of farmland
and set about reforesting it. They have slowly coaxed back multi-
layered secondary rainforest with a self-sustaining clean water
supply. They are committed to replacing in the area (if only in
their little plot) the indigenous species that have been eradicated -
although they are having difficulty sourcing seedlings as they've
been exploited to negligible levels everywhere else in the country
as well.
It was raining. The forest was as dim as underwater and nearly as
wet. The ground was spongy with moss and humus and gem encrusted
with the native impatiens (cerise and white) and massive bromeliads
(fire red and canary yellow), which the dog knew he could drink
from. There were massive spider chandeliers and spiny palms whose
spines will pierce a work boot sole. We dodged flitting butterflies
and ducked under vines that will provide water for three days if
cut. We scratched and sniffed the plants that will cure stomach
ulcers and toothache, the termite nests that provide a natural
insect repellent and the pulsing, opalescent grub which, when
smashed up into a fruit smoothie, is very good for asthma. We
chewed green cinnamon leaves and crushed wild cilantro (coriander)
and anise. The forest was noisy with creaks and croaks, snaps and
sploshes, warbles, chirps and quorks but an oasis of quiet. Every
tree truck dripped jewel-like orchids, from the world's tiniest
(visible only under a magnifying glass) to saucer-sized. Every one
lovingly hand-tied to the trunk - thousands upon thousands of
orchids over a quarter of a century - a personal statement that
protecting the environment and treasuring traditional heritage and
knowledge is as important for Ecuadorians as the income generated by
banana and pineapple plantations. Hopefully the idea will catch on,
but as yet they don't police fishing in marine reserves and everyone
tosses their used drink bottles (plastic and glass) out of the bus
window.
The animal sanctuary may have started with the same intent as the
orchid garden - protecting indigenous animals by providing shelter,
protection and rehabilitation to animals that had been injured or
displaced because of habitat encroachment or trafficking before
their return to the wild. But they seemed to have somewhat lost
sight of their original goals. We did met some injured animals (a
macaw with a broken wing and a blind coati) but there were also too
many animals that seemed perfectly healthy being held in a zoo-like
environment. Some of the animals (a couple of brown capuchin
monkeys, a family of coatis and some macaws) seemed to have the run
of the place and stuck around for the free sugarcane supply but most
of the animals were in cages - the tapir and the Amazonian contender
for giant-rat-on-a-stick seemed pretty happy not to have to move out
of the mud / run away a lot but animals that never meet their
parents (boas and caimans) don't need to learn how to fend for
themselves again and could be returned to the wild immediately upon
being handed in / healed.
Having done what we came for we decided to return to Baņos that
evening - Puyo being drab and lacking in latte. First, of course,
there was extracting a refund for the night we had (foolishly) paid
in advance - apparently this was impossible because the owner of the
hotel, petty cash and hotel takings for a day could not collectively
come up with USD26.00!
