Week 3, Part 1- Venturing out of town

Week 3 has been packed and has gone by quite quickly!

Last weekend we had a 3-day weekend due to some holiday that no one seemed to know exactly what it was. Who cares, though, right? :)  My best answer would be that it was Independence day for one of the larger cities in Ecuador. Anyhow. The other volunteer from the clinic, Tamara, and I went to a town called Baños for the weekend. It was about a 3 hour bus ride out of the jungle and into the mountains.  Read: windy roads!  Here are some pics...

First adventure on the buses out of town. There doesn't seem to be a speed limit, or bus stops. Just flag the bus down and tell the bus driver when you want to get off. 

First view of the town, beautiful gorge with waterfalls over the cliffs.  

 Procession through town, women serving a cinnamon drink out of the back of the truck to the people watching.  Make note of the hills in the background...they'll come up a little later. 

There is a volcano just outside of town, after all.  So when in doubt, follow the big green arrows. 

View from above (from up in the aforementioned hills) , I think this is the first time we were cold in 3 weeks! 

Tree house with a totally reliable swing. ;) Not much of a view though, due to fog rolling in. 

 We decided to hike back down, but that involved a wrong turn heading up towards the volcano as clouds crept in... 

Then we met Jairo Sanchez, who works the land in these hills and was able to help us navigate the many trails that the locals use.  

The virgen de Aguas Santas greeted us at the end of the hike, with more beautiful views of the city....

...and at least 500 uneven stairs to get down.

Baños, as hinted in the name, is known for it's hot springs, fed by the waters of the volcano. Hair caps are obligatory, and quite attractive. 

We rewarded ourselves with pizza and beer for surviving the day of travels, hiking, getting lost, and treking across/through/above town. 

 DAY TWO:

We rented bikes and road the "Ruta de las cascadas", trial of the waterfalls.

At each waterfall you could cross by cable car or zip line, we chose cable car. 

Favorite part of my day was lounging in the refreshing river above the falls! 

More cable cars, more amazing views! 

Best fish I've ever tasted! Fresh out of the river!

After we'd refueled, we hiked to the Pailon Del Diablo waterfall (Devil's cauldron). This was part of the trail. 

A cauldron, it was! We got soaked! 

We ended this hike with Jugo de Caña, sugar cane juice. Straight from the cane! 

Funny that no one really explained that they way back to town was in the back of a truck... in the rain. At least we had our helmets. 

Then came the evening... Everyone was in the streets, blasting music from there cars.

If you can't beat 'em, join 'em! 

DAY THREE:

Canyoning- which means repelling, zip lining, sliding down waterfalls, and looking really good in wet suits.

Since we were the only two picked up from Baños, they ushered us quickly onto the bus from the side of the road (rather than entering the bus station like they are supposed to). We're assuming they gave our seats to some other people they picked up along the way because we sat on the bench behind the driver for the whole trip home.  Although it was less leg room, the view was awesome, and we enjoyed the conversation.

The best part was ending the weekend with this beautiful gift of nature that extended all the way down into the river.  Amazing!