I Ate Guinea Pig! (and other things done in Baños).

The plan for this past weekend was to bus down to Baños with my coworker and his girlfriend. The plan changed.

Baños, a town about four hours south of Quito, is famous for its public (and apparently nicer private) baths heated by the local Volcano, and its proximity to the jungle. It is a tourist hotspot attracting both Ecuadorians and foreigners alike. I was looking forward to another weekend outside of the city.

I was informed on Thursday there was a good chance my coworker and his girlfriend would not be going down to Baños for the weekend. By Friday this was fact. I was determined to go regardless. And so, in the course of speaking to another backpacker at my hostel over breakfast, I discovered she too wanted to go to Baños for the weekend. And suddenly I had a travel buddy.

After my tour of Calle de Ronda, I trotted back to the hostel to pack up my things, put the large pack in storage, and find the other backpacker. Once all three were accomplished, we got a bit to eat and grabbed a taxi for the bus station. The large bus station in sketchville. It actually wasn`t too bad. But it was big, and we wandered cluelessly around trying to find a bus to Baños. With two tickets at $7 in hand, we walked through the security gate which cost us 25 cents each (like a 9-11 security fee at a U.S. airport, but not hidden) and out into the rain to wait. Here we met four American college girls who were studying at the local college. One was a student at Duke and was slighted for the rest of the time I chatted with them.

The bus ride began without much excitement. We were seated up front and the bus was relatively full. As the bus slowly made its way out of the station, we continued to gather more passengers. A man was stationed at the door, hanging out, calling out our destination and recruiting people who jogged towards the bus from every angle. This was routine for each small town we passed through. As we entered a town, the same guy would lean out the door or hop off and run along side the bus calling out our destination to prospective riders. Inbetween towns we passed lots of farm land. And with farm land comes lots of animals. Actually, without farm land comes lots of animals, as it wasn`t uncommon to see cows or chickens in the city. These cows and chickens greatly excited my travel buddy. Each time we passed a few, her nose would be pressed firmly to the window.

The excitement of farm animals eventually wore off leaving only truly remarkable sights to entice us to point. This included a cow wrapped in plastic (to keep him dry?) and a man seemingly spying on the road from behind a mound close by. Upon further inspection it was concluded he was not crouched there to spy, but rather to um....shed some weight. He was not the only one we saw doing this as we headed south.

We continued to gather riders in each new town and eventually the bus was packed. People filled the aisle and pretty much any free space on the bus. For some time there was a woman hovering so close to me, it looked as though she was breast-feeding me. This was preferable to the point, some time later, when I had a man`s crotch was thrust into my face during a sudden brake. We thankfully arrived 20 minutes later in Baños and I bound from the bus to stretch and breathe fresh air.

We gathered ourselves together and decided the first thing to do was to find a restaurant that was recommended to my new travel partner. There we made a call to a hostel looking for and finding a free room. There we also chowed down on the best meal I had had to date: marinated trout with rice, steamed carrots, and beans. And a large beer. I needed one after that bus ride. Bellies full, we made our way to our new home for the next two nights. Our room had two sets of bunk beds and one extra twin in the center. And it was all ours. With the middle bed used to empty our packs, we clamied our seperate bunks and went off in search of the so-called bar district. The bar district provided three bars to choose from. Since one of them had karaoke, the choices were really only two. We chose the one with the better music and ordered two gin & tonics. Suddenly remembering the ice in our drinks was probably from the tap, we forced down our drinks warm and sans ice. The second floor had a large open window stretching the length of the bar and there we perched while commenting on the activity outside. Aside from two girls posing for a camera and a creepy guy watching them, there was little to keep us entertained, and after a couple of hours we made our way back to the hostal. I passed out immediately.

Saturday morning I woke again and again to the sounds of a rooster. When I walked out to see what Baños looked like in the day light, I found we were surrounded by lush mountains. The public pools would have to wait, I wanted to go hiking. Actually, hiking would have to wait too, I was starving. In looking for our hostal, we found another one which advertised a roof top restaurant and a great breakfast. Lonely Planet concured that the breakfast was good, and thus to the roof we marched. The view was great. The food was better. We both ordered the Double Pancakes with fruit and sugar cane syrup. Best breakfast to date (a trend was being set) and impossible to finish. But not from lack of trying.

Bellies full yet again, we went back to the hostal to gather shoes suitable for hiking and found our room`s occupancy had increased by two. Two German gals, volunteering with kids in Ecuador, were now sharing our room. We said hellos and quickly went off start our hike.

The path led straight up the mountain. And I got winded fast. When I caught sight of two much older, British women making their way up the path ahead of us, I sucked it up and moved forward. The altitude was hard on the lungs, but probably good practice for the upcoming hike to Manchu Picchu. At least that was the encouragement I heard from my travel buddy a few steps behind, but cleary in better shape. As we ascended the mountain there were several places to stop and look back down on the city. I utilized these stops to the fullest extent I could to catch my breath. Manchu Picchu is going to kick my arse.

A quaint hotel/spa with beautiful pools looking over beautiful views seemed to be the destination of our chosen path. But in speaking with a laborer, we learned another trail continued on to a peak from which to view the volcano. And on we went. Along the way we passed several indigenous farms until the path crossed right through one. This is where we found an Austrian couple chilling at a crude table, eating jam and bread, surrounded my chickens and a few dogs. We stopped to chat and were told they were on their way down from the peak when the woman (who was attending a child behind them) there offered them some food and a chance to rest. So we rested too. I chatted up the Austrian dude, while the woman pointed out various flowers to my travel buddy. Her kids played with what at first appeared to be a dead kitten. Thankfully, it sprang to action. That would have been really sad.

We heard the volcano rumble again and excused ourselves to continue our hike. A short while later we were at a peak where a cow tender was just hanging out. He pointed to a group of clouds and said this was the volcano we were looking for. We nodded and went about looking the other way at the other views from the peak. Then another rumble. We looked back to see a large plume of smoke rising from above the clouds. Oh, so that is the volcano. Old man, you are now our friend. This happens regularly I hope? Yes, it blows large plumes of smoke every day. Sounds safe enough. We plopped down and watched the spectacle for the next 45 minutes, hoping the clouds would disappear. They didn`t. But plumes of smoke continued to raise above the clouds. Good enough. He told us the clouds would blow away by 3, 4, 5 o`clock. We didn`t want to wait. It was 1:20. He suggested a trail down the other side of the mountain where we could see the volcano from the base. We thanked him and went looking for it. He left with the two Austrians, who had come back to the peak, large machete in hand. We never saw them again.

The path was narrow and looked like it had not been used in years. It also went almost straight down the mountain. At several points we ran down to keep from sliding, crashing into various small trees to stop us. Where the hell were we going? Was this a trail to a bunch of angry, machete-wielding cow herders waiting to rob us? We kept moving, despite the new found pain in our knees and ankles, and ignoring the thoughts of large spiders and snakes hidden near our feet. 20 minutes later we could see the town again. We looked back up. Had we really come that far down in 20 minutes? Ouch, my toes. A few minutes later we saw the large seated Virgin statue that watched over the city, just ahead. On we marched. And slid.

The Virgin statue started a long concrete stairway leading down to the town. Steps were a taken with more confidence and a short time later we were back in town. And extremely hungry. I smelled like most of the people leaning over me on the bus down, but decided a shower could wait. It was time for lunch. So at 3:30pm we found a restaurant and order a large meal. The best lunch I have had to date (the trend continues). A smoothie washed down my mango chicken, rice, veggies, and garlic bread (mmmm...garlic bread) and then a cookie followed that. And then a nap followed the cookie. I love hammocks.

I think there were plans to go out that night. And plans looked like they might move that way when I met the large group of volunteers from different countries in the lounge, all planning to go out for a 19th birthday. But my butt never left the plastic chair in the lounge area except to get a grande beer from the fridge. We chatted up a new arrival from Britain traveling through S Amercia for 3 months before starting a new job in Canada. And at 11pm, I happily went to my bed, turned on my iPod, and fell asleep before first song ended.

Tomorrow: Our last day in Baños. And the eating of the guinea pig.

For pictures of the weekend, follow this link:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/15233918@N00/sets/72157603116749838/