Adventures in Baños

We just spent three days in one of Ecuador´s top tourist spots, for both locals and foreigners, called Baños. We arrived just as Carnaval was starting and were able to join in on the fun of this very exciting fiesta, as well as take part in some outdoor activity. Early in the morning on our first day we enjoyed a hot springs bath (hence the name of the town), and then headed just outside of town to catch a glimpse of the active volcano, which actually erupted a couple years ago. It is an amazing sight to see the smoke puff out of a volcano, something prehistoric about it.
Next we rented bikes to ride and glide 60 km down to the jungle, along a beautiful route, with waterfalls around every corner. This was a wonderful day, which included a cable car ride, hikes, and the freshest trout meal you can ask for with our two new bike amigos, Wendy and Bill.
That night we met up with our friend Beth from Cuenca and headed up a mountain to see the volcano at night, which turned out to be not so interesting but a fun bus ride all the same.
The next day we went white water rafting on Class 4 and 5 rapids, it was thrilling. We even managed to flip the boat, which resulted in an incredible rescue effort of people and paddles! That evening with our paddle friends and hostel amigos, we headed out on the town to partake in Carnaval festivities and parades. To back track a bit, for the past month water balloons have been thrown at us, as a warm up to Carnival and then for the actual days of carnival the water balloons continue and foam spray, flour, eggs get added to the list. So day and night you are pretty much guaranteed to get wet or sprayed while walking on the streets. It can’t be avoided, so you have no choice but to join in, and join in we did. And let’s just say Phil really likes Carnaval.