reina de la selva

IYesterday I went on a tour into secondary jungle. We drove through a series of remarkable stone tunnels to Puyo, in search of 11 rain ponchos. 

The area was considerably more tropical than Baños, and nearly 1000 meters lower. 

Pulling on high rubber boots, we set off for a hike to a waterfall. 

Paulo our guide showed us how to weave with palm fronds. 

These same pliable palms are used to make "Panama" hats, which are really from Ecuador. 

The flowers were glorious. 

The trees and air plants even more extraordinary. 

A palm is dwarfed by a giant fig. 

Then it began to pour. We were all completely soaked. a few people went for a swim behind the cascade. 

All this rain is very good for the plants. I didn't mind the rain so much because it was warm and soft, but crossing the surging rivers on rickety bridges and once without one was a little terrifying. 

We dried out a bit after lunch, though my hat is still wet a day later. 

Then we set off for my favorite part: canoeing through tiny rapids. 

Jan from Ottowa proclaimed me an honorary Canadian. 

Our penultimate stop was a Kitchua community on the river where we learned to blow darts and got our faces painted. 

The very last was a zoo for rescued animals, in the near darkness. 

I saw monkeys and a jaguar and macaws, I think. 

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. 

an antipodean adventure

Despite a lot of fun domestic jaunts in 2014 and unseasonably sunny winter weather at home, I've been stateside far too long. 

Time to remedy that with a trip south of the equator. Just barely, to the mitad del mundo en Ecuador. 

Got my yellow fever shot and anti-malarials, and altitude sickness meds to combat lightheadedness at 12,000–15,000 feet. And a scopolamine patch for those windy roads. (Be prepared!)

Looking forward to hummingbirds and butterflies and coffee tours and world-class chocolate. Not to mention volcano-warmed hot springs and UNESCO heritage sites. 

Glad you could join me on this journey. See you at the other end. 

traveler’s tales

“Two is company, four is a party, three is a crowd. One is a wanderer.” 

—James Thurber

end of the line

All good trips must come to an end. Happily this one did long after I'd forgotten what day it was.

I will miss the temples and statues and fountains.

And iced coffee.

And freshwater pools surrounded by grenery.

And leaves as big as I am.

 And restaurant farms overlooking rice paddies.

And all the flowers. Sigh.

I even had a great meal in Taipei airport on the way home: beef tendon soup with tempura, kimchee, edamame, and a pot of puerrh.

But in the end, there's no place like home. Especially when you live here.

Happy 2014! May your year be filled with adventures.