One Day In Baños

Our first day in Ambato started well, despite Sherryilynn feeling like she was on Death's doorstep and staying behind on our day of tourism. She decided to stay at the hotel and rest while the rest of us gathered in the morning and were met by our hosts for the day: Amabato Rotary Club President Fabian and Rotarian Guillermo. We traveled about one hour of of town to the lovely city of Banos which is perched on the slope of the active volcano for which the province is named, Tungurahua. Tungurahua means "throat of fire" in Quichua (Kitch-wa), the Incan language spoken by Ecuador's indigenous peoples. Besides offering the thrilling backdrop of a crater that occasinally spits smoke and fire, Tungurahua bestows high waterfalls, streaming thermal baths, dense jungly vegetation and deep river gorges that make a great playground for nature lovers and adventure seekers.

Despite Rachael's desire to bungee jump of a local bridge along with other tourisits, our group remained more nature lovers than adventure seekers. A quick stop at the Sugarcane Stalls on the edge of town is where we tried local treats such as chewable sugar cane, sugar cane juice, and sweets made of guava. Within the town, the ladies were treated to a local taffy called melchocha that is softened and blended by swinging it onto wooden peg, usually mounted in the doorways of shops. We then visited the Basilica of the Virgin Saint of Holy Water and were treated to the beautifully echoed songs of the parishioners.

From Banos, our crew headed towards the upper Amazon region along the La Ruta de las Cascadas (Highway of the Waterfalls) for about 10km. Our first nature loving event was at the beautiful Manto de La Novia waterfalls where we took the engine powered tarabita (cable car) about 500m across - and 100m above - the Pastaza river gorge.

We then headed up the road for about 30 minutes to the village of Rio Grande. From there we hiked downhill for about 20 minutes to get to the base of the Pailon del Diablo (Devil's Cauldron). Marta chose the less risky (and drier) view of the falls from the suspension bridge while Fabian, Maddy, Heather and Rachael crawled their way up the side of the mountain to get the views from beside and behind the falls.

After a quick stop for dinner, the tired adventurers headed back to Ambato to prepare to get back to work the next day.