After a week at high altitude cities in Ecuador, it was very refreshing to arrive in jungle-y, rainy Baños, the adventure capital of the country! While it was raining about half the time I was there, as one could expect for the climate, it was still comfortable enough to wear a rainjacket and shorts, which was just the perfect temperature. I knew I wasn't going to be in Baños for long, so 5 minutes after checking into Hostel Timara, I was already renting a bike for $5 for the day at one of many outdoor tourism shops. I was shocked at how little direction they gave me for biking the famous Ruta de Las Cascadas, but I was invited to join a group of three other tourists who were going the same direction.
This quickly spiraled into one of the sketchiest things I've observed traveling, when two of the folks I just met collided into each other and one of them fell, breaking his freaking clavicle! This was just 5 minutes in, needless to say we were all very traumatized and sent him to the Urgent Care while we proceeded onward (yes, this sounds absolutely horrible but we didn't know the guy and I don't know how I would've helped him more than moral support). I ended up breaking off on my own because tbh biking on the road is really scary for me, and there was a whole tunnel I had to bike through and pray to god that the truck drivers behind me wouldn't run me over. After maybe 2 miles of biking on the road, the cascadas (waterfalls) finally began, and it was really beautiful to bike under falling water, all downhill so with a firm grip on the brakes. I didn't really take my time because I was high on adrenaline from the incident at the beginning, and had a lot to do that day!
Look at this pink plant! It looks spray painted but that's just how it is!!?!
The end of the route lands you at Rio Verde, a small town with an incredible waterfall called El Pailon del Diablo. This was one of those days where I was overwhelmed by all the beauty around me and had no idea what to expect, and was absolutely at a loss for words. I'm gonna see if I can paste a video in here so you can see just how incredible this waterfall was, but it wasn't just the powerful waterfall, but also the spiraling staircase, the effect of the mist, the rope bridges, and the greenery that took my breath away. It was only $2 to enter this waterfall and a 15 minute walk down from the main road where I parked my bike. This was probably the cheapest, best value thrill I have ever had. I can't believe I didn't see this waterfall on the top of more bucket lists. You gotta go!
Getting back up the hill to Baños after the downhill bike ride wasn't so easy. It started to downpour and the first bus didn't have a storage for the bike, so I had to wait a bit till I got a lift the rest of the way. By 2 PM I was back in Baños, giving me a chance to have the cutest little coffee with elephant latte art. The barista must've seen my elephant plushy baby sitting there!
I still had time to catch the last $1 bus up the mountain to the most touristic part of Baños, the Casa del Arból. While it was pretty foggy at the top, it was a very cool (and very VSCO) experience and for only $2 entry, I was able to go on multiple swings, walk through the pretty gardens there, and they had a mini zipline. I enjoyed a nice choclo (corn) up here after one of those days where you're surviving off of snacks.
I got back to Baños and worked my butt off tutoring, which was convenient because I had my own room for just $8 so I could work in peace! The following day, I was up early to go whitewater rafting for the first time in my life! This has been on my bucket list for a long long time, but I'm pretty happy that I waited to leave California to do it, because it was only $30 for 3 hours and 18 WHOLE KM of river! But before I got rafting, I checked out the cutest cafe to trade out my book for a new one, and god bless they had a guitar that I got to strum for a bit. Would definitely recommend this cafe or another one also looked super tasty and earthy spot for breakfast. Prices were a bit higher to reflect the touristic nature of the town.
Rafting was insane! As it typically goes, everyone on the trip was from a different country, and none of us had rafted before, but yet we were still dumped into Class 4 rapids (which sounds very advanced on the internet, if someone wants to confirm). I got placed in the front which was the splash zone for SURE! So very fun. I cannot believe I didn't drown, I was shaking when I got off after about 90 minutes of intense rapids, paddling, chucking ourselves in the air and somehow never falling off or capsizing. They would've had to follow me all the way down the Amazon had I fallen out. The water was quite chilly but they provided everything, including wetsuits for us. Afterwards, we had the most lovely tranquil meal in Rio Verde, overlooking lush greenery and waterfalls.
Back to Baños, I had enough time to visit the namesake of the town, the thermal baths right under the waterfall at the edge of the town. While I imagine there are pricier, more aesthetic thermal baths, this one is kinda the community gathering spot and looks kinda murky, costing $3 and an extra dollar to buy a mandatory swim cap. It might seem tempting because it is the Baños of the town, I would honestly skip this in the future because I only stayed for a few minutes just for the experience.
While I had booked my hostel for two nights, I decided to take an overnight bus to Montañita on a whim, which meant that I left at 7:30 PM and arrived on the coast at 5:30 AM. That was the worst night of my life (not dangerous, just uncomfy), but lets FaceTime soon so you can hear that story....
