deep salad

Today I walked up the steep valley to Balneario El Salado, close to the source of Tungurahua.  

We are strong in our land because we live with the volcano (!)

It was a steep hill, but I loved the fertile volcanic soil. Lots of farms and greenhouses in evidence in every direction. Ecuador is the top supplier of roses in the U.S.  

Everything about this hot spring was fancier than yesterday's, including the sign. 

It cost $3 plus $1.50 to buy a swim cap. I got hot pink, of course. 

The complex was filled with families of all ages, in 7 pools of assorted temperatures plus a freezing cool-down loop. 

Some women brought mugs to drink volcano water from the pipes where it entered the pool. An older man with his grandson tried to talk them into using the fountain, to no avail. 

Here are the chemical properties of volcano water. 

I loved these tube pyramids where bathers stuck their shoes. No lockers  provided, just a check service. 

La palabra do dia es profundidad. Which means depth (of the pool) but is also the root for profound. 

The balnearios of Baños are conducive to deep thoughts, or at least deep sleep. 

air mail

Stopped in at the correo to pick up postcard stamps. They were $3 each (!), so everyone will be getting email and blogposts. (I paid $2 from Peru, and they still arrived weeks late.)

Wish you were here. 

Love,

Diana

our lady of the waters

Baños has a central square dominated by Nuestra Señora de la Agua Santa. 

There were services every time I walked by. 

The acoustics are superb. 

Around the sides are a series of paintings depicting various disasters: 

fires, floods, and of course eruptions. 

Most but not all featured miracles. Oops. 

This was my favorite painting. She's like Joan of Arc, or maybe Pele creating Haleakala. 

There's also a doll-like crèche of a very white virgin inside an erupting volcano that reminded me of a holy science diorama. I wanted to take a photo but didn't want to upset the people praying and lighting candles. 

You can have your picture taken in front of the church. 

But this mural exemplifies why I have no patience for the Catholic Church in South America: native brown-skinned people supplicating to very white saints and religious leaders. Even if it is historically accurate. 

At night the church is floodlit like Disneyland or a small castle. 

A beautiful site, regardless of beliefs. And who wouldn't worship the water in this town. 

agua caliente

This morning I walked over the hill to one of the many volcano-fed hot springs Baños is named for. I wasn't too wobbly so maybe I am acclimated. The weather was warm and just cloudy enough. 

Along the way were signs warning what to do in the event of an eruption: leave!

My lovely hostess told me about a Swiss resort at the top of the ridge but said  they had trouble getting towels to dry. 

The springs themselves were very modest, simpler than similar places I'd been in Costa Rica or Peru. They did have 7 pools though. 

The walk through the fertile grounds reminded me of hot springs in New Zealand where I went with Susan Carter. 

I was the only tourist. The pools were fairly empty when I arrived but full of happy kids by the time I left. A giggling little boy wearing Angry Birds water wings hung out with me for a while. 

The heart-shaped pool was the hottest: 38.1 degrees (100 Fahrenheit!). The kidney pool was freezing. 

Admission was $2. Obligatorio gorra rental cost 50¢. Worth every penny. Of course I loved this empty pool. 

Tomorrow I'll try the big springs closer to the volcano. 

La Virgen de Agua Santa

In the last 24 hours, one guy asked if I was from Mexico City and a cab driver complimented my Spanish. Also a woman on the street ran her hands through my hot pink hair. 

There was snow on the mountain tops in Quito. Happily Baños is a lot warmer and lower. So I can hang out in the hammock, watching the hummingbirds. 

Pop quiz: what's the currency of Ecuador? Answer: the US dollar, though you may not recognize some of the people on the coins. 

More to come tomorrow. Hot springs and hand-pulled taffy and waterfall hikes up the 16,000 ft volcano.