Baños
I arrived in Baños around 8:30pm with little incident after a three and a half hour bus ride from Quito. I wandered until I found the Hostel Plantas y Blancas, got a room, then headed to the Casa Hood for some dinner. I ordered a plate of beans, rice, and salad and while I ate and several different bands and singers came and went I began chatting with the woman at the table next to me. She’s been traveling for quite some time, including having lived in Buenos Aires for a while. As it was her birthday the next day she was celebrating and I joined her with a delicious brownie of my own. Her friend joined us part way through and we all stayed chatting until the restaurant kicked us out at closing time. I went back to meet my roommate for the night.
Nicolas, from Belgium, greeted me as I entered our room. He had been traveling around South America but was on his way home for a family emergency. We stayed up chatting until about early in the morning, then finally got some sleep.
I spent my Saturday morning on the roof top terrace of my hostel, enjoying a big breakfast and chatting with a variety of individuals, including an independent film maker. In the afternoon I went for a walk on the trails, then returned to read, relax, and head to Casa Hood once more for dinner. In the evening I was joined by a woman from Ireland in my room and we chatted then I headed to the Piscinas de la Virgen, the natural hotsprings, situated under a waterfall. I was the only white individual there, which was very interesting, but also meant that I got to converse with a bunch of locals. After an hour at the hotsprings I returned to the hostel and bed.
In the morning I went for a massage, facial, and pedicure then went to book Paragliding for the afternoon. I checked out of my hostel then met up with Edgar and Isreal, as well as a girl from Isreal and we headed out of town to find some wind. The flying was fantastic, I can see myself becoming a paragliding pilot in the future, its so freeing! After I went I sat with Isreal and watched my companion fly. Late in the afternoon we finally headed back down, stopping several times on the way to take photos of the volcano. Once back in Baños, I exchanged contact info with the girl from Isreal then headed to the bus stop to catch a bus to Puyo, my home for the next three weeks.
