After a month in Cuenca, we travelled up to Baños on Saturday. It only took around 9 hours to get here, which isn’t too bad when compared to most of the other journeys we have done in South America.
The town is situated in a valley, surrounded by many high mountains. There are hydrothermal springs of mineral water all around the town, so most people come here to relax in one of the many spas around the area. It’s a fantastic little down in its own right, with lots of great little restaurants, shops and bars.
The Basilica in the centre of town is really beautiful too. There seems to be a huge church in every town in South America, however I never get bored of seeing the amazing architecture inside these old churches.
Lots of Ecuadorian’s visit Baños too, so there are lots of great little gift shops selling chocolates and sweets (candy). By far the coolest thing on sale are the hats. I currently have four hats in my bag, but I was very tempted to buy more!
Baños is also a place where many people come to do extreme sports and activities. I have done white water rafting two or three times in the past, so I was not too bothered about that, however my girlfriend Johanna dragged me into doing a canopy ride over the valley. I’ve never really done any extreme activities like that before, perhaps due to having a healthy fear of heights. When I flew over the Nazca lines, I couldn’t enjoy myself due to how often the pilots were turning the plane at 90 degree angles.
So I was surprised that I wasn’t scared before or during the canopy ride. It really wasn’t that bad; maybe I’m not as big as a pussy as I thought I was! haha.
We left Baños yesterday to travel to Quito. It was only a 3 hour journey. After a day or so here, we are going to travel back up to Colombia. I am looking forward to catching up with all my friends and family there. Plus, it will be good to get back into a normal working routine, as I am hoping to complete three or four new books over the next few months.
:)
Kevin