La Gringa Goes to Baños

by Devan Bey

Baños from above.

We reached Baños after a hysterically long seven and a half hour bus ride. It was one of those where trips that should last maybe six hours at the most, but then every minute after that simply increases the misery. Six other international students and myself fell off that dreaded bus, exhausted but pleased to have arrived in Baños, a town in the Sierra (in Ecuador, that refers to the mountains). We had heard of its healing powers and after a tremendously long week, we decided it was necessary to have some adventures and refresh ourselves before exams the following week.

Immediately upon entering the city we felt a strange serenity. Gone were the honking horns of Guayaquil, the stares of strangers, and the oppressive humidity of the coast. Suddenly we were in a town that was charming, something that I rarely seem to encounter in this country (I'm not dissing other towns, they've all got something to be proud of. But charming might be something I reserve for Otavalo and Baños alone). The cool dry air was immediately rejuvenating.

We immediately navigated to our hotel, desperate to change clothes and venture out for food. Again, we were pleasantly surprised by the hostel we were to stay at, called The Backpackers at Los Pinos. Charging only $7.00 per night, the hostel featured a cool, laid back bar, very good CHEAP food, hot water (which is so hard to come by, even in the fancier hotels in Quito there was barely hot water), and comfortable beds. The whole place was a dream, the perfect place to come back to in the afternoon after a long day of adventures.

Downtown-ish.

After finally grabbing dinner at an adorable Dominican-hippie-vegan-awesome restaurant which served soy hamburgers and vegetable tamales, all we managed to do was have a couple of mojitos at the bar, play some pool and fall asleep early.

La catedral.

Mine is right behind the purple wax.

The following morning we were treated to a perfect continental breakfast of bread, jam, coffee, and oatmeal before we took off on our adventure. A friend, Athanasia, and I elected to go horseback riding while the other five wanted to ride bikes to reach an impressive waterfall. We went our separate ways and Ath and I meandered through town a bit, visiting the chapel in the center of downtown. The place was exquisite, as Latin American churches tend to be (it seems that most of the money goes into building the church, regardless of the wealth of the town it is located in). We each lit a candle and stuck it among a hundred others burning away in the church hallway.

Finally we made it to the horse riding tour company (we decided on out of chance because there are probably at least three adventure tour storefronts on every block). This particular one was run by a sweet family with two daughters and two adorable puppies. We were charged $30 for a four hour tour. Seriously, the prices here are incredible. Our five daring friends paid but $20 apiece to jump off a crazy high bridge!

Athanasia on Campión and myself on Mancha.

We were driven in a taxi to meet our guide and his horses. The man who took us on our adventure was named Jaime, and he was extremely sweet and pleasant to go with. He was constantly smiling and singing to himself, sharing information with us about his country and asking us about our lives. He was so eager to learn from us and us from him.

Riding a horse is something I have not done in several years. It's quite bumpy and hard on the legs, constantly bouncing and in such an unusual position. Our two beautiful white horses were named Campión and Mancha, and they were brothers. It was obvious after awhile because my horse, Mancha, was extremely competitive and would often put us at risk of colliding with a wall in order to run ahead of his older brother. Together with these horses we navigated steep hills covered in rocks, deep mud. We walked, trotted, galloped, and almost fell off at least once.

We eventually made our way up to a cafe situated on the hillside, inaccessible except by crossing a sort of zip line with a metal chair over a rocky riverbed below. We were incredulous that this could be safe, but after some slight coaching, we found the courage to ride the chair across. Once landed, we were invited to rest at the charming cafe. I lounged for several minutes on a colorful hammock, simply enjoying the view and the relaxed atmosphere.  These moments were perfect; calm, secluded, and relieved some of the stresses of being in a foreign country and attending university.

Swingin' on that metal chair!

Continuing in relaxation mode, Jaime took us behind the cafe to find a tree house high above the ground. I paid it a brief visit after fearing for my life on the ladder. Next, we were invited to take a swing high above the green vegetation. This may have been one of the highlights of the experience, simply swaying back and forth with all the world underneath you is something incomparable.

Next Jaime guided us down back across the river, back down the hill, and through town to visit a huge statue of the Virgin Mary situated high above the town. From this vantage point, I was amazed to realize that Baños is literally tucked away between mountainsides. We gazed at the city, awestruck by its meekness among its natural surroundings, unable to grasp our own luck to be in such a beautiful place. Of course this feeling strikes me often, and I have a feeling I'll never get used to it.

Vulcán Tunguharua.

Jaime navigating with an Athanasia on his back.

That evening all us girls reunited and decided to relax in the hostel, play some games, and have a couple drinks. As the night progressed we began to feel constricted by the hostel's bar and decided to go out on the town. I was literally wearing pajamas at a bar. At three bars in fact. I found it totally acceptable, I don't know what the rest of the visitors felt about the situation but I had a blast. The party ended for me when an incredibly drunk person fell down the stairs face first, almost crashing into me as I descended the same stairs. To think, I was worried about hurting myself going down the admittedly steep stairs.

The following morning I woke up with a major hangover, making it difficult to enjoy my last day in the beautiful town. Yet, we were still able to grab an hour-long massage ($17) and visit the thermal pools which Baños is known for. Scores of Ecuadorians attempted to swim in the hot pool, splashing awkwardly. I got the impression that very few people actually knew how to swim. Even more amusing was seeing the horror on their face when they hopped into the cold pool. I'm sure I shared that look of serious pain because that water was icy cold. The mineral waters are known for their healing powers, and actually calmed my hangover for a couple of minutes.

Sure enough it came roaring back just in time for us to get on the bus and return to Guayaquil. I passed the time on the bus remembering my weekend of relaxation, sore from the horse riding, the massage, and the hangover, yet eager to return as soon as possible to the city between the mountains.