May 17 was a travel day from Alausí to Baños. Our bus dropped us off on the outskirts of Ambato where we hoped to catch another bus into Baños. Standing on the road beside us was a woman who assured us we were in the right spot and yes, that huge smoking mountain was the Tungarhua volcano and our destination.
A few minutes later an older gentleman driving a vintage Toyota Corolla in need of a new muffler and possibly a ring job offered us all a lift to Baños. On the way we told him of the warnings to avoid Baños because of the eruption and heavy ashfall around May 2nd. He assured us this was exaggerated and that such activity from the volcano was normal. As we discovered, he was correct (for the time we were there) but the warnings had a definite effect on tourists as Baños was very quiet and businesses were suffering.
Our accommodation at Posada del Arte was excellent and located in a quiet corner of town near a small waterfall. That night we had an excellent meal at the Swiss fondue restaurant and over dinner decided to do the bike trip from Baños to Puyo.
The first leg of the ride was a nice downhill section and I should have clued in right away that something was amiss with my rented bike as Sally kept creeping up on my back wheel and using her brakes. Basic physics says that shouldn’t happen as I am much heavier. On the first uphill section I stopped to investigate a strange noise from my front wheel and discovered that both disc brakes were warped and dragging. Merde! I knew our ride would be an effort and this development would certainly add to it.
Our first stop was at the cable car over the river gorge to see the waterfalls Manto de la Novia. The total span is about 400 m. and is about 100 m. above the river. The local woman on the far side offered us a $3.50 lunch of fresh trout from her trout pond. It was too early for lunch so we thanked her for the offer and moved on.
Next stop was Pailon del Diablo… the Devil’s Cauldron. Leaving our bikes in the parking lot we walked 1 km. downhill to visit the narrow but very powerful waterfall that created enough spray to make a permanent rainbow and soak you if you ventured too close. Sally crawled along the cliff edge to a point where she could partially stand behind the waterfall… a feat for which she was thoroughly drenched.
While the 60 km. ride to Puyo drops 850 m. there were several uphill stretches that had us gasping and our legs failing. Consequently, we did some walking in order to survive to ride to the finish. By the time we reached Puyo, we were pretty much toast and following a restorative beverage, we took the bus back to Baños. Arriving in darkness we decided to dine at our Posada and call it a day.
Next day was Spa day, a volcanic ash and salt exfoliation, lunch and hot pools at a location 500 m. overlooking Baños. The volcano obliged by rumbling and sending up clouds of ash and smoke we observed from our hot pool.
The next day we explored around town and had a surprise reunion with friends we had met in Vilcabamba the previous week.
For a few more photos, see http://www.flickr.com/photos/sataylor/sets/72157626789627370/
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