And southward I go

Basílica de la Virgen de Agua Santa

Baños was an interesting place to visit- it´s a small town but one of the bigger, better connected towns in the area. So in addition to a lot of tourists (especially on Saturday and Sunday) you get people coming in to sell produce, pick up supplies, meet up with friends.  If you come here, you´ll have no trouble keeping busy - you can tour the jungle, hike about a volcano, white water raft, get a massage and eat your weight in rotissierie chicken (I´ve never seen so many chicken places).  That said, you can probably fit everything there is to do into two to three days (unless you aim to camp overnight).  Make it a weekend - things get very quiet on Monday. Also, make sure you come to the right one: Baños de Agua Santa, Tungurahua, Ecuador -- there´s another Baños near Cuenca.

From Baños, I travelled by bus (two actually) to Cuenca, the third largest city in Ecuador and home to some fine examples of colonial architecture, Incan ruins, a university, and several Spanish-language schools. It´s also a good jumping off point for a visit to Cajas National Park.  (I only arrived yesterday so I really don´t know much about the place beyond what you can read about in a guidebook). I do know however the the human physical limit for bus riding is seven hours. At least that´s mine. Don´t get me wrong- the buses and roads on my journey to Cuenca were in fine condition and I barely feared for my life at all*, but right around hour six I was desparately searching for signs of Cuenca. That said, while you can fly between Quito and Cuenca, I´d recommend the bus - it´s a beautiful country and I think you´d miss out on that from the air. Also, you´d miss cows on leashes.

*Again, Ecuador is very hilly so, should you be blessed with a window seat during your trip you will periodically find yourself winging around a turn about two feet from a fifty foot vertical drop. With no guard rail. Like a guard rail would help. You (like me) may find this terrifying. No one else on the bus will even  notice.

(I´ll post some more pictures when I find better internet).

Live from Quito!

(I never stop being amazed that
people build cities up mountains)

So I did finally make it to Quito. (There was "weather" at Quito airport so my last flight circled a couple of times then got rerouted to Guayaquil - so a little like trying to land at O'Hare but they do the Spanish announcement first, then the English). In practice, only about eight hours off schedule but I slept pretty much all day Sunday.  That last five hours staying awake in the airport just finished me - I am too old to stay up all night.

As is my custom I've spent a big part of the last few days wondering about, looking at pretty buildings and politely (I hope) declining offers to purchase handicrafts.  Quito isn´t as crowded or frantic as, say Bangkok or Mumbai, but the traffic will keep you on your toes.  The bus system is good though - the guidebooks have it right when they say skipping Quito is a mistake.

Below are a couple pictures from the older part of the city: Santo Domingo (well, part of it) and El Panecillo (a hill about 9840 feet above sea level with a sculpture dedicated to the Virgin on top).

(I wanted to go up the hill to get a better look at the sculpture - there are stone stairs going much of the way up, but one of the neighborhood ladies waved me off.  Now that I think about the area a bit, she was right.  I´ve heard a lot of warnings about my neighborhood, Mariscal, - which seems just fine to me - but this was worse and nobody said a thing about it until I was right there).

I am actually writing this my last full day in Quito - I aim to catch a bus to Baños de Agua Santa on Friday.  Also, to sleep indoors while I´m there, so I´m off to make a few awkward phone calls.  (Seriously, learn Spanish if you come to Ecuador). Wish me luck!

And off I go...

Tomorrow I leave cool, rainy Chicago-land for cool, rainy Ecuador.  I am almost packed, almost rested, and almost convinced this is a good idea.  But good idea or not, I've got tickets -- so off I go.


Since I don't have any new trip pictures yet, here's a photo of a silly chocolate lab: