Baños and the Amazon

Yep, you read that title right. I took a trip to Baños, which is actually a cute little town surrounded by mountains on either side and full of tourists. Because of it's touristy nature, it is also filled with restaurants and activities to satisfy any kind of tourist. They have everything from white water rafting, to hot springs, and hikes of every level. Of course, we did a little bit of everything and made sure to squeeze in as much as possible in our 4 day trip. When I say we, I am talking about me and Jordan's (the other exchange student) parents from the US who came to visit for the end of her exchange, since she is a semester student. As you might realize, it was a very eventful trip, therefore this post is quite a long one, but I promise you they are fun and interesting stories and I hope you'll take the time to enjoy them!

Our camp in the amazing Amazon

Now that you know what Baños is, and who I went there with, I'll get on with details about our amazing time there! The first day, we settled into our hostel, which was very nice, and walked around the town, eating dinner and simply exploring. The next day, however, we were all up and ready bright and early, as we were to begin our 2 day trip into the Amazon that day. After breakfast and a quick trip to buy flashlights, we were off! We started the day off by stopping at a local swimming hole, followed by a delicious traditional amazonian lunch of fish (eyes and all), fried bananas, rice, and fresh pineapple for dessert. After lunch, we took a quick rest in some hammocks, and headed for a traditional amazonian village to learn how to use a blow dart, have our faces painted using natural paint, and buy some souvenirs made by the locals. After we had all learned to dance with their palm skirts, we headed out in a canoe to meet up with our guides, who had taken a truck to meet us. We hiked to a beautiful viewpoint, explored some caves, and headed to my favorite thing yet... A chocolate farm! Although it is advertised as a chocolate farm, this farm grows all they eat and has all the animals needed to provide themselves with food throughout the year. We tried all of their fresh fruits and even some herbs, and then were able to harvest the cocoa seeds, toast them, remove them from their shell, and grind them into a bar of 100% chocolate. Then we finally headed to our camp to eat dinner, but day one continued. After dinner, we changed out of shorts and into sweatshirts, as it was time for our night hike! We weren't lucky enough to see snakes or monkeys, but spotted giant spiders, beetles, and even a cricket shedding it's skin! After the disappointment of not having spotted a tarantula on the hike, I actually found one on my way to the bathroom that night, and that concluded day one. 

The view from one of our hikes on day one... Such a beautiful country!

Our waterfall hike in the Amazon

Day two! We woke up from under our mosquito nets, had breakfast, and headed off for a waterfall hike. Of course, our guides took us the long way, and we were able to spot some of nature's other wonders; spiders, "monkey tails," and edible flowers. It was a fairly easy hike, and the waterfall was amazing, and although a bit chilly, wonderful for swimming. As we headed back to the camp to eat lunch and pack our bags, we found a lemon the size of a grapefruit, and of course took it as a snack on our way to camp. The afternoon was simply a time of rest and wandering around the camp, to swim in the river if one wished. It was relaxing and beautiful, but eventually the time came to return to Baños. We were all pretty tired when we got back, but took some time to relax in the hotel pool, and went out for dinner at 10:00pm, which is not uncommon here. At about midnight after dinner, which was delicious at an Irish pub, we decided to head back to our hotel and get some rest before another early morning. 

"El Pailon del Diablo"

Day Three was also very exciting! We were up and at it early again to go white water rafting! none of us had any idea just how white the water would be, but it was one of the most fun, crazy and awesome things I've done here in Ecuador. After riding the waves, quite literally, we headed back and for the hot springs! After rafting we all felt like doing something a bit more relaxing, and the hot springs were the perfect choice. After some relaxing and a little snack, we knew we had to hike the "Pailon del diablo," which is one of the most famous waterfalls around. It was well worth it, but afterwords we were all but falling asleep walking to the car. We got back to the hotel at about 7:30, and thanks to Jordan's dad, had pizza for dinner and were able to just chill. 

Day 4 was more of a half day, but then again so was the day we arrived. Although it was short, it was nothing near uneventful... We had decided the first day that if we had time, we would go bungee jumping, and the last day provided the perfect amount of time to do just that! The fear, adrenaline, and excitement was almost too much, but as soon as I stepped onto the platform, I knew I had to jump. 3... 2... 1... And it was go time, I dove with all my might, knowing if I tried the falling strategy, my fear would overtake me. And it was awesome! It was the kind where you hang from your harness and swing after you jump, instead of hanging upside down, which made it even better, swinging over a river, knowing you had just checked off a huge bucket list item. There are no words to describe it. 

So, this is definitely was a longer post than usual, but I hope you enjoyed it as much I enjoyed sharing about it! Until next time!