| Day 125 We said our fnal goodbye to Martha and headed south to Baños. The driver invited us to sit with him up front. We were excited for about 30 minutes until we realized it only provided a better view of how close you come to death on buses here. There are no lines on the roads which makes driving very creative. Our bus broke the side mirror when we passed a bus that was itself in the process of passing another bus. We arrived in Baños just in time for a parade. Baños is a small resort town at the foot of Volcan Tungurahua. It is set in a green valley and has a spring-like climate year-round despite its altitude of over 5,000 feet. Anyway, back to the parade, it was in honor of the town´s protector, the Virgen of Agua Santa, and included a band, fireworks, children carrying lillies and roses, caballeros and their horses, ox carts pulling palm leaves, and a group of the town´s leaders carrying a replica of the Virgen. The residents of theBaños attribute scores of significant miracles to the Virgen over the past 300 years (many of which are commemorated in murals at the Basilica). Hotel -$6, Food -$12, Trans -$4, Random (shoe repair -$1) Total -$23 |
| Day 126 Today marked th one year anniversary of the town´s evacuation. Last year the government was increasingly concerned about a large eruption, but ultimately the military had to be called in to forceably move the people out. (Baños insisted on their protection by the Virgen). As fate (or faith) would have it, instead of disaster the volcano just spewed smoke, lava, and ash. Three months after the evacuation, with the government still declaring danger, the residents of Baños marched past military blockades to return to their homes. Today over 10,000 people made a pilgrimage to symbolize this return and to honor their protector. On a side note, because literally every shop, restaurant, and even hotels closed to participate, many travellers were left stranded and hungry. Wisely (well, actually just lucky) we had earlier rented bicycles to tour the waterfalls south of town. We would follow the Rio Pastaza for several hours, almost always downhill. The surrounding hills had hundreds of waterfalls of every shape and size - some thundering, other beautiful wisps, some flowing over the road (very cold!), and others cascading hundreds of feet. The best part of the day was meeting a very friendly vacationing couple from Guayaquil, Julio and Tonya. We become good friends when my chain broke during the ride. We were stuck, so I tried to keep up by pushing off with my feet and then coasting (not unlike the Honduran burra driver). Next, we borrowed a rope from a passing driver and I pulled Lady for a while. I was having so much fun that I was a litle disappointed when we found a more qualified person to fix the bike. Hotel -$6, Food -$16, Trans -$2, Random (bikes -$10, chain -$2, bike parking -$1) Total -$37 |
| Day 127 We were supposed to travel south to Cuenca today, but after a late start and leisurely breakfast (with Martin, Melissa, and Neil - friends from Galapagos), we lost all of our ambition. Instead, we enjoyed the continung parades and fireworks, watched the taffy pullers on the street, and hiked in the hills above Baños. Later, we went to a small zoo which had a surprisingly large number of birds. We even got a closer than comfortable view of the lions when the gardner offered to take us inside the cage. Hotel -$6, Food -$15, Tour -$2, Random (internet -$1) Total -$24 |
| Day 128 We arrived early this morning at the station but our bus didn´t. Then, a ¨direct¨bus took us an hour out of the way and Lady was carsick from the winding road. We missed our connection in Riobamba and enjoyed quality time together watching our bags in the sketchy bus station. Here, I was evicted from my seat when a man (with 3 beautiful teeth) walked up and chained his bike to the chair I was quite comfortable in. When we fianlly boarded a bus to Cuenca, we discovered it would take 7 hours instead of the 5 we had mustered the courage for. And this, unfortunately, did not include the unscheduled hotel stop the driver made to spend quality time of his own with a woman from the bus. Anyway, the road was too bumpy to do much of anything and Lady was sick again. Twelve hours after we started, we arrived in Cuenca. After eating just crackers all day, the celebratory cocktails were very effective. Soon after, we splurged at the best restaurant, ran into our friend Ssebastian (from Galapagos) and had ice cream. Our day was almost forgotten. Hotel -$8, Food -$26, Trans. -$10 Total -$44 |
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