Baños - Hiking, biking, waterfalls, volcanoes and other stuff

Baños, meaning baths, is famous for its hot tubs, but has so much more. I arrived here with Boris, a friend from Paris I met down in Riobamba, and we quickly made our way to the famous baths underneath a beautiful170 foot waterfall. The next day was time to check out the city from above and hike to a volcanic lookout point where we met an old man whose job it was to watch the volcano for activity. A little weird, we thought, as some type of seismic sensing equipment would seem to do a better job, but perhaps this is another example of creating jobs for people that I`ve seen a lot here in South America. In any event, the guy, Señor Carlos, was a super cool old man and told us how he hung out under the tree (and tree house) watching the last eruption. Though rocks destroyed his roof and solar panels, he assured us he was protected by a helmet and a gas mask. Ha! More hiking, getting lost, swimming in waterfalls and bike riding made this one of the more enjoyable stops I`ve made on this trip.

Into Ecuador - Vilcabamba, Cuenca & Riobamba

Since I had been to Peru before and was eager to get to Ecuador, I went from La Paz all the way through Peru and into southern Ecuador in just a couple days. It was an exhausting myriad of taxis, shuttles, little buses and big buses, but it was cheap. Once I finally got to Vilcabamba, it was all worth it. This small town nestled in the mountains is the definition of tranquility. My room had a huge window with a view of the mountains and a church in the foreground and breakfast was served outside on a balcony with another beautiful view. The hiking was amazing if not a little scary on some of the high ridges.

After Vilcabamba I went up to the beautiful colonial city of Cuenca where I was given a tour by a local girl I met through the couchsurfing (CS) website I mentioned a while back. It´s my goal to use this site as much as possible over the remainder of my trip as its a great way to meet locals and to practice my Spanish.

After a short visit I made my way north to Riobamba for a CS-Ecuador meeting. About twenty of us from all over Ecuador and the world were hosted by a young Ecuadorian guy very enthusiastic to share his culture and beautiful country with fellow travellers. Over the weekend we tried many local delicacies including pig for breakfast (see photo) and had a couple great days of hiking in the area. The weirdest point of the weekend came when we made it to a mountain refugio on a local volcano and saw a plaque in memory of a group of climbers that had been killed in an avalanche fifteen years ago. Unbeknownst to most of us until that point, one of the men killed was the father of one of the guys we were with. Wow.

La paz, Copacabana & Isla del Sol

After a month of fairly intensive Spanish classes, it was time for a break. With Lisa, a fellow student from Switzerland, I headed North to the other capital of Bolivia, La Paz. The view of this city from above is breathtaking (literally, at 12,000 feet above sea level) and unlike any I have ever seen. Looking into the city from the El Alto area high above the city center is like looking down at the 50 yard line from the nosebleed seats. Picture an 800,000 seat Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, with the smog-filled air, it was tough to get a good picture.









After some time exploring the (cold) city, we headed off towards the sleepy town of Copacabana on the shores of Lake Titicaca where we would catch a boat to the Isla del Sol. People from all over Bolivia and Peru come to Copacabana to have their cars, buses, bikes and whatever else blessed by the local priest. We randomly ran into some (gringo) folks we knew who were here to join in and get their VW van anointed. When in Rome, I guess.









The sunsets and the tranquility of this place were a welcome respite from the craziness of La Paz, but paled in comparison the the paradisaical feel of the Isla. After a day hiking from the North to the South, we arrived in time to have one of the best tasting beers I`ve ever had. The sunset and sunrise here were enough to make me never want to leave. Ahhhhhhhhhh.