Baños

Friday, 10 de Agosto, Ecuador celebrated 198 years of independence from España. Most people had Friday off, so everyone and their brother went to Baños, a 4 hour bus ride from Quito.



Think: Jersey shore but 4,000 feet above sea level nestled between an active volcano and a river. Instead of swimming in the ocean, people bathe in thermal pools heated by the volcano or hike down to the waterfalls. Rather than chugging down the Budweisers, tourists have a nice trago de jugo de caña.



We hiked up to the Virgin of Baños... a hike + 614 steps!



Carlos, me, Stephen, Renee, Kathy. Oh, and the Virgin.



Notice the Emergency Volcano Evacuation Route in the background.



View from behind the Virgin.



We rode the Chiva Bus because it was too muddy to bike or hike to check out the waterfalls.



At the bottom of the waterfall. We should be in a Tesalia (bottled water) ad.