I need to use the Baños

After I left the Amazon I headed to Baños, Ecuador, which is known for its natural beauty and hot springs.  At first, I was a little bummed because I got there too late to do any of the tours, so I just wondered around the small city for a while eating local food and people watching.  I ran into a couple from Canada that I met in the Guayaquíl hostel and they invited me to join them to rent "quads" (four-wheelers) and drive down the waterfall route.  DONE!  

The next day may very well have been my favorite day of my trip so far.  I woke up at about 6:30 am and went for a run around the small city looking at the surrounding mountains and volcanos.  Afterwards, I went to the Virgin Baths, which is a cement pool where the local hot springs flow into for everyone's enjoyment.  The steaming water was already quite full of people, despite how early in the morning it was.  The water was so soothing (due to the heat and the extensive mineral content) and the view of the Tangurahua volcano and a backdrop of a waterfall falling from the Ecuadorian Andes was nothing less than stunning.

After my quick dip in nature's sauna, I went back to my hostel for a health bath.  For 45 minutes you alternated between sitting in a steam box and cooling your body in different ways--sitting in ice cold water (this part included a bowel massage, not as gross and invasive as it sounds), running freezing-wet towels over your body, being hosed down, etc.  Once I was relaxed and refreshed, I met up with the Canadian couple to rent a couple quads and we were on our way.

I would first like to note the condition of my death-trap vehicle (which would be absolutely unacceptable to be rented by US standards....sorry you have to read this, Mom :) )  The fender was sewn on with plastic wiring, the breaks were AWFUL (especially when it started raining, I was skidding all over the place) the headlights were incredibly weak (we drove through tunnels without lighting and I seriously could not see anything; I could have hit a wall and wouldn't know it until the impact) and the alignment was worse than the '89 Cadillac I drove in high school.  

We traveled down a windy road through tunnels dark as night (literally no lights) in order to find different waterfalls and activities.  We hiked down a few waterfalls, my favorites being Macay and Pailon del Diablo.  At the Diablo, you can climb under a low cave to actually stand behind the waterfall.  We also stopped at a bridge that overlooks another waterfall where you can be attached to a bungee type cord and jump off the bride to swing over the water.  Of course, I can't say no to an adrenaline rush, so I paid my ten dollars and was wrapped into a harness and took the plunge.  

I never knew I could scream like such a girl.

It was amazing!  The jumping is, of course, the most difficult part;  I swung back and forth over the water...the view was amazing.

FOOD CORNER

Yay, street food!  I purchased a plastic bag of Moté, which is basically GIANT corn kernels, that had some sort of meat-gristle-gravy over it....delicious.

Taste: 5 (starchy and salty, can't go wrong)

Aftertaste: 1

AKWARD MOMENT

By the time we got to the Macay waterfall, we had been rained on for quite some time and I was freezing.  For those of you who know me well, you know that when I get cold my fingers and toes instantly lose circulation and turn white as snow.  After we parked our vehicles we sat at a table outside of a house that was selling beverages and food.  The woman who lived there looked at my hands put hers next to mine laughing and saying  "you're so white!  You look like you're dead!"  

Thanks...