I went to Baños but not for the baths

When I was telling people about my weekend plans to go to Baños, I was afraid I was going to pull a Romeo. Some declare this cool little town about 3.5 hours outside of Quito to be superior to Mindo. "Shoot," I thought. "I've just gone on and on about Mindo, and now I´m going to go fall hard core for Baños." It seems acceptable for a 15-year-old boy's love to be so fickle and flighty, but a refined 30-year-old woman should have a better idea of what she wants. (Though, on that note, I think I know more about what I don't want...) In the end, the worry that my heart would turn so quickly was for naught. While I wouldn't say I prefer Baños to Mindo, Baños does offer a number of outdoor adventures, great restaurants and über cheap spa treatments. It was another lovely weekend.

Last week, due to Fiestas de Quito, we finished the school week at 10:45 am on Thursday. Michelle, quickly becoming a surrogate older sister (or sugar momma--more on that later), and I hopped in a taxi to the bus station, bought our tickets, and boarded a bus to another sweet South American town. To get this far without any misadventures was, honestly, pretty refreshing. I am still kind of amused at how the buses work here. As we are making our way to Baños, the bus stops fairly frequently and the driver's assistant, as I will call him, hangs out the door and yells out our destination. People get on and off the bus all the way to the destination. There isn't really such a thing as a bus that just goes directly to a town, at least not as I have experienced it.

My first impression of this "gateway to the jungle" wasn't all that enthralling, but, well, first impressions aren't everything. After checking into our hostel, Posada del Arte, which was pretty freakin' cute, we headed directly to the spa we had told about, Yerbabuenas.

Room with a view...

Super chevere!

While I opted for a facial, Michelle went for the massage (I had been told to keep your undergarments on for the massages as the masseuses climb up onto you on all fours--I kindly passed along this information). By this point, I was taking quite well to the town. Follow inexpensive spa treatments with dinner at a place like Quilombo, which is a super eclectic Argentine restaurant that serves generous glasses of vino, and yay, I'll be cool hanging out in this place for awhile.

7:00 pm is a bit early for dinner in the Southern Hemisphere, as you can see, but check out the decor!

There were all these funky figurines hanging from the ceiling.

Those blocks are the menus. Michelle and I share a passion for fine cuisine. #kindredspirits

As we went to pay for dinner, I came to find that my Produbanco bank card is missing. I was certain I put it in my purse, but it was MIA. A bit of panic set in. In addition to worrying about someone having access to my funds, Michelle would once again have to foot the bill. It has become a running joke as she is often having to front me money for silly reasons. She was kind enough to give me a generous allowance for the weekend. (I have since located my card at the Swissotel, where I had sushi the week before.)

After dinner Michelle and I bummed around town a bit, found that there are actually some very cool little town squares, and retired at a reasonable hour to read and catch up on sleep. (Meanwhile in Quito, many of our friends were livin' it up for Fiestas.)

Breakfast in our hostel Friday morning proved fruitful, not just because they served delicious huevos rancheros, but because a fellow traveler told us about what an adventure it is to rent bikes and ride to a number of cascadas, or waterfalls. While Mindo is a bit more of a sleepy little town, Baños is one to offer lots of outdoor adventures. In fact, when my students heard I was taking this trip, they all began suggesting I do some good rafting and four-wheeling. As I continued to think about massages and pedicures, it occurred to me how likely it is that I am quite un-fun these students' eyes. Anyhow, they'd be a bit proud that I opted for something more than a relaxation retreat. 

sunscreen: check
 helmet: check
gafas del sol: check
"Let's do this!"

So the biking trek started off by riding down a road, a highway really, to get to each cascada. Have no fear, I was wearing a helmet, so the huge trucks whizzing by weren't intimidating at all. (Mom, I still think this was a safer bet than trying out the swing that gives you a view of the edge of the world.) 

See that big bike? That indicates to the truck drivers that they must share the road. As you probably already know, driving laws are very respected here. 

Just as I was feeling pretty smug about how in shape I am from those spinning classes, we turned off the main road and started quite the climb uphill to the first waterfall. Mmmm, there was a lot of walking the bike up that hill going on. After that bike-walking-climb, there is another little hike where you leave the bike behind before reaching the actual waterfall. It looked something like this:

And here is a look at the second cascada:

There are a number of waterfalls that one can hike to along this path, but after the first two, our legs were already burning, so we opted to go the one we were told was The Best! and then head back to town for yet another spa treatment.

El Diablo, as the waterfall is endearingly named, proved worth the effort. After climbing through some tunnels cut out of the mountain, we arrived. Check out the power of this cascada...nope, sorry, Blogger doesn't want to upload the video. Little devil. 

Well, anyway, after checking out the falls, we needed some sustenance of course, and, after lunch, as we were walking back to where we left the bikes (and would catch a truck back to town), I stopped at a juice stand where I had the best carrot-mango juice of my life. Previously I had never had carrot-mango juice, but even if I had, this was still the el mejor de mi vida! After exclaiming how delicious my second glass was, the juice stand man poured me even more. Really, I was good marketing for him. 

As we were arriving back into the center of town, we stumbled across a parade. Couldn't miss it really. 

Bright colors and festive music. 

A lady and her gentlemen.

It is quite unfortunate that we never found these mariachi men in the evening. They had awesome moves. Michelle and I are convinced the eligible bachelors are kept in some locked room. Whose got the key??

After a manicure for me and another massage for Michelle, we met up with Sung (a fellow teacher AND Minnesotan) and his girlfriend Liz for dinner at a great French restaurant. Crepe with spinach and cheese? Yes, please! Seeing as it was Friday night, Michelle and I though we'd find the action out on the town after dining with the lovely duo. What we found were definitely not those steamy mariachi men, but much younger, drunker men who wouldn't take no for an answer when they asked us to dance. We went back to the hostel a bit disappointed, but altogether the day had been quite nice. 

Before heading back to Quito on Saturday afternoon, guess what we did? Yep, another spa treatment. I went for the massage this time. The rumors proved true. Glad I headed my friend's advice. 60 minutes and $30 later, I was unknotted and unkinked, though. 

After such a weekend, I am sure I will make my way back to Baños as well. I am feeling quite fortunate for these experiences. I've long appreciated one of Twain's quotes: Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

So now the Christmas countdown begins. Home in T-10 days. 

Cheers to the holiday season!

Mucho amor,

Jame