Baños

Today's post is a little longer. I'm squashing 4 days into it, so bear with me. Captions appear below pictures, just in case you get confused. 

We began our trip by organizing our packs for carrying. Geordie here showing what that looks like. This pic is actually in Baños where we were heading. Stayed two nights at a backpacker place full of youngsters who thought nothing of sitting outside our room chatting and drinking beer till midnight (official quiet hour). 

Back to Quito - the bus station. We took the local TroleBus to the bus station. It was packed and we began stuffed in. Bad thing - at the very first stop we were pushed in further and, in the scrum, Geordie had his wallet pick-pocketed. Yep. He lost about 40 dollars and an expired license. Lesson about where to carry wallets learned. 

A bad pic of the view down into the valley where Baños is located - 1000 meters lower than Quito, but still cool in the evenings. 

This glorious double blossom hibiscus was in our garden at the first place we stayed - the Hotel Transilvania. 

 Just threw this in. It's the chimney over the fireplace at the restaurant we are in right now in Baños.  A little kitschy. 

The streets are not nearly as crowded as Quito here in Baños, but this was a protest against the failure of some promised education for children. 

For the gourmands out there, here's a local Andean delicacy. It's roasted Cuy. We know it more familiarly as guinea pig. 

Making candy in a doorway. The candy is twisted and stretched over and over using the wooden hook in the doorway. There are a number of these around town. 

The local cathedral. Very much revered by the locals. It venerates La Virgen de Agua Santa - the virgin of the holy water. This is a town of hot springs with an active volcano in the background ( not visible from the town - although the town has been evacuated because of eruptions -most recently in 1999. 

The church does have beautiful carved doors - a source of some pride. 

St. Peter with the keys. 

The interior is somewhat gaudy. But highly decorated. 

Here is the venerated Virgin who is taken out on parade in richly dressed gowns occasionally. 

High on the walls are pictures, many of them commemorating miracles attributed to the Virgin. 

There are essays below the somewhat primitive paintings which tell the story of the miracle pictured. 

Outside one can buy candles. 

To bring inside - there are so many burned that they've installed two huge chimney hoods. 

This is the view from our little balcony at La Petite Au Erie. Gorgeous flowers. I have never seen such tall hibiscus. 

This gorgeous flower is in the garden of our second hotel -La Petite Auberge. 

And this exuberant banana flower. 

With a hand of red bananas. 

At a local fruit stall, the red bananas are available to purchase. 

Of course chocolate is grown and processed in Ecuador. We had this bar with cacao chips and salt. 

Just at the edge of town one can see this tall waterfall. More on it later. 

The farmers set fire to the fields on the steep slopes of the mountains. It cast a pall on the hillside all day yesterday. 

Just at the edge of town is a steep gorge with, far below, a small bridge. 

Directly above it is this bridge. Where crazy young people throw themselves off. Yes, they are attached to a rope and wear a harness, but they must have a death wish. This isn't a bungee jump. 

See the guy? Yes he is in mid air. The rope stops them about halfway down and they are lowered the rest of the way. I thought it wouldn't be terribly popular, but there was a line-up to jump!

In the other direction one has a great view of several waterfalls pouring over the cliff. 

We had lunch at this little Fonda in the local market building. It may once have served as a shopping Mecca but now it only has these small restaurants all seeing exactly the same food. 

We made it to the waterfall which has a hot springs operation and is something of an amusement park.

 

Witness these stuffed horses which are offered for photo opportunities for your children. And the dinosaur trolley in the background. 

Here we found a long line of washing tubs - inaugurated exactly two days before Geordie was born. Above him on the left the small stone tower bears the date of my year of birth, too. 

See - it says 1950. It's quite a lovely waterfall and there were lots of people out on Sunday enjoying the day. 

And the hot pools themselves. The water looks none to salubrious but it isn't smelly like some hot pools. 

Here is another representation of the Virgin of the holy water. 

And a view this morning of the hillside from the gallery of the church cloister which houses the quirky museum I promised to share. 

Here we have an image of the Virgin done completely in beans. 

And a quite nice painting with the Virgin hovering over the city. 

And another done as a floor rug. 

These trucks. 

These wooden figures representing the native population. 

And bird feather headdresses. 

Another erupting volcano. 

Typewriters, a vcr, a megaphone, a record player, and a 16 mm projector. Wedding dresses, confirmation dresses, a Valentine heart. 

And this delightful knitting grandma - who was housed with many more kitsch objects in the same vein. 

I'll leave you with this lovely painting, not in the museum but in the men's bathroom - done by Lorena, age 11. I actually think she has talent.