Banos

For a place named Bathroom, Banos is a beautiful, clean and good smelling place. (However sewer rats were abundant...) Tucked away under the shadow of Tungurahua, a massive active volcano that last erupted in August 2006, Banos provides a surprisingly serene getaway. (There was even a warning of a potential eruption from the Embassy the weekend we visited) Banos is famous for its natural hot baths, hand pulled taffy made from fresh cut sugar cane, several beautiful waterfalls in the adjoining valley and of course cuy. We left on a Friday afternoon and took a bus 4 hours to this mini haven. First things first, Jenny had to taste the local delicacy. She was told that officially cuy is guinea pig but she felt slightly misled. As Jenny gripped the rat claw and took a bite she determined that it tasted like really greasy dark meat chicken.

Although it wasn't revolting, she decided to let Jay finish the rest which he did gladly. Saturday we rented bikes and rode through the gorgeous valley looking at all the waterfalls. To view some waterfalls we had to cross rickety foot bridges (some of which had limits on the number of people that could cross at once...yikes) and ride a very high ancient teleferico. We found a quaint hostel hidden almost exactly under one such waterfall. For $20 total we had a private cabin, hammocks to lounge in, an evening bonfire and a homemade meal with the owner.

Our hostel at the base of a waterfall.

We've posted three videos of our Banos trip at You Tube. Go to youtube.com and search for JRo, JBird or BanosEcuador and you will find three new videos called "Waterfall," "Banos Teleferico" and "Waterfall Up Close" Enjoy!!!