A quick aside before I start this next blog post. I got home from my trip two days ago, on February 4th, after being in South America for just under 8 months and being gone from the US for 8.5 months in total (including my Israel and Portugal trip). The culture shock began at the airport where it was weird hearing everyone around me speaking English and even just going to the counter to order food at Wendy’s felt like a crazy experience. I was also finally able to flush my toilet paper in the toilet again. Sometimes it’s the little things. Then 15 minutes after we got home from the Tampa airport; Mom, Dad, and I went to the Subaru dealership for me to test drive new cars (because I need to buy one in the next 12 days before starting the road trip back to Denver). Talk about a huge culture shock. The price of a new Subaru is more than it costs to backpack around South America for 8 months. Hmmm let’s see buy a car or go on the adventure of a lifetime; touch decision. Uhhhh why did I even come home?
It’s a crazy feeling being back in the US and there is so much to reflect on from this trip. My brain is all over the place right now. While I am sad that the trip is over and all these amazing experiences are now behind me, I am so grateful for having had this opportunity to go on this journey that far exceeded all my expectations. I have so many new experiences, stories, friends from all over the world, perspectives on things, wisdom, knowledge, and so much more. While it flew by in some regards, it also feels like I have lived 100 lifetimes since I was last in Denver. It’s so nice be home in Sarasota at my parents’ houses in a comfortable place where I don’t have to repack my bag, figure out my next travel plans, talk to a bunch of new people, go out and order food in Spanish, etc. It was really weird this morning having so many clothing options to choose from.
It actually feels like I have so much time on my hands now. These next few weeks are going to be a great way to decompress my past 8 months and start moving forward into the next stage of my life with my new post-backpacking South America perception on my life and the world. I feel renewed and rejuvenated after this experience and am very excited for the future ahead.
All that being said, I am still about 4 months behind on this blog so I will be slowly catching up on this as well. Luckily, I have lots of good notes on my phone and it is going to be way easier to write entries now that I have a laptop rather than using my phone. It’s still going to be time consuming and take awhile for me to write all the stories, but the blog posts will be more frequent over these next couple of weeks. It will also be a good way for me to re-live these memories as I fill in the blanks on all my various scatter brain notes.
Getting In
After trekking the Quilatoa Loop for 3 days, our (me, Lena, Sophia, Andi, and Heidi) bus from Quilatoa got back to Latacunga a little before 6pm and from there we had to take a 1 hour bus to Ambato and then a different 1 hour bus to Baños. But first we had to get our big bags from the hostel. The receptionist at the hostel told me the buses from Ambato to Baños stop going at 7, but it’s South America and no one ever knows the true bus schedule so we decided to go for it. I’ve learned that in Ecuador you just have to start traveling in the direction you want to head and figure out the rest as you go. We hopped on the first bus to Ambato and told the guy we were going to Baños (by we, I mean me, as I was the best Spanish speaker in the group). In contrary to what the hostel told us, he said there would still be buses running to Baños at this hour. As we got closer to Ambato, the bus attendant came and rushed us off saying we could flag down a bus to Baños from here. The bus had dropped us off at a gas station on the highway just outside of Ambato. Oh Ecuador you just never know what will happen next.
Luckily there was an Ecuadorian guy in his early 20s waiting at the gas station too. I asked if he was also waiting for the bus and told him we were trying to go to Baños. He was going to a town just passed Baños so he was looking for the same bus that we would need. At least we were in the same boat as him because otherwise I didn’t know what bus we were even trying to flag down from this highway gas station. And obviously the bus attendant didn’t tell us what to look for when he rushed us off the last bus.
There was 5 of us so worse comes to worse we could taxi the 50 minutes to Baños or just get a hostel in Ambato and leave the next morning. Plus standing at a gas station at 7:45pm in the outskirts of Ambato felt safer with 5 people than when traveling alone. We waited for over a half hour and multiple buses flew by that the local tried to flag own with no success. Countless buses going to Riobamba also drove by, and while they would actually stop, that didn’t help any of us. At some point another Ecuadorian guy, who was also heading in the same direction as us, came to wait, so at least we were seemingly in the right place. Finally, after having waited for nearly an hour, a bus came that was headed in the direction of Baños and stopped to pick up all of us standing in front of the gas station. Success! It felt like we were traveling like true locals catching the bus on the side of the highway. Always an interesting experience when you’re traveling here. I was really hungry so I decided to buy a bowl of chicken and rice from one of the ladies that came onto the bus to sell her food. It wasn’t great but for $1 I couldn’t really complain. We ended up making it to Baños just before 10, ordered some pizza, and all crashed early after a long day. It was crazy to think that we had been hiking the final day of the Quilatoa Loop that very same morning.
The City
Baños de Aguan Santa is a small, laidback town in central Ecuador that is a gateway to the nearby Amazon Basin. While most people in the world have never heard of Baños, it is very well known in the backpacker community as the adventure sports capital of Ecuador (similar to San Gil in Colombia). You can do all the extreme sports in and around this one city: bungee jumping, whitewater rafting, zip-lining, canyoning, biking, hiking, etc. The town got its name from several hot pools bubbling from the ground and so it’s also a top destination for hot springs. It is located in the valley at the base of the active volcano Tungurahua and the town itself is surrounded by luscious green hills and countless waterfalls.
Overall, I had a great time in Baños as it served as a hub for adventurous backpackers looking to push themselves outdoors. I had a nice social blend of hanging out with the Quilatoa crew I came with and meeting new people at the hostel. My experience here was interesting because I didn’t actually do a lot of the typical adventure activities that most people come here to do: I didn’t raft because I was kayaking down rapids in the jungle in a few days; I didn’t do the bike tour to different waterfalls because I was too hungover; I didn’t bungee jump because it scares me; and I didn’t zipline or go canyoning because I didn’t feel the need. Instead, I went on the Swing at the End of the World, attempted to hike to the top of Tungurahua, and partied with new friends.
The Lodging
Me, Lena, Sophia, Andi, and Heidi stayed at the Great Hostels Backpacker. Stupid name, I know, but it was a nice spot to meet people and socialize. There was a fire pit out front, that never actually had a fire, but it was a good place for people to sit around and chat. Then inside the lobby area was a pool table and a bar so that was always another good place to hang out.
It was nice because we had a big enough group that our 6-person dorm for the first 2 nights turned out to just be the 5 of us. Our good group chemistry and energy from the Quilatoa Loop continued over the next couple of days.
The People
Of course, I had my crew from the Quilatoa Loop so we all spent a lot of time together over the first few days before the crew ultimately split up: Andi left after 2 days to catch a flight to Galapagos, Sophia and Lena left a day before me to go to Cuenca, and Heidi kind of just stopped spending as much time with us and left at some point. Toward the end of the Quilatoa Loop we realized that she didn’t quite fit in with the group as much as the core 4.
This hostel was the most people from the US that I had met in one place on my trip up to this point. I didn’t expect Baños to be such a hot spot for Americans but I guess the word is out. I must have met at least 8 other Americas during my 4 nights at the hostel. Most of them were just doing the typical US style of travel for 2-4 weeks. Then there was Sebastian. He was from LA but had been living in Ecuador for a few years, first in Montañita and now in Baños working as an employee at the hostel. He was super cocky and could be annoying, but we did have some good conversations. “Bro if you need anything I’ve got you covered. I know everyone in the tourist industry in this town. I have the hook ups.” One of those types of people. There was 2 American guys, Theo and Everett, that were absolute characters. They were the typical loud and obnoxious Americans with really idiotic tendencies and dirty senses of humor. At times they were annoying and other times they were super entertaining. They reminded me a lot of some people I know at home, and I ended up getting along really well with them. I think I just needed a small taste of goofy American characters.
Then randomly enough, Alec from Belgium, the guy I had shared the tiny 3 person B&B with in Machalilla the week before showed up at the hostel with this Swiss girl Luna and her friend Elias. When I wasn’t with my Quilatoa group then I was hanging out with them and the American guys. We spent a lot of time at the hostel drinking beers and shooting the shit. There was a few other Dutch and Canadians that would also hang out with us. One night Luna and I had a funny conversation where I asked her if she preferred sweeping or mopping. I’m not sure how we got to that topic but it was nice to chat about something random like chores at home. It was not your normal topic of conversation after all these months backpacking. Overall, it was a very social hostel. Between this and the Quilatoa Loop, it was a week with a lot of English and not much Spanish practice. But I needed a week like this after doing 2 weeks of school and putting a lot of outside focus on Spanish. It was nice to take a break from learning Spanish and just enjoying myself.
The Food
There was nothing overly special about my food experience in Baños. One morning with my Quilatoa crew we went to a hot chocolate place with these oversized chairs that was kind of fun. Then that evening we cooked a group dinner at the hostel so it was good to not go out to eat for once. On my 4th afternoon, Sebastian took a group of us to a restaurant where it was only $5 for a delicious lunch with zucchini soup, a big entree, juice, and desert. Not as cheap as some of the menu del dia meals I had in the past but it was a little fancier as well.
The Experience
Casa del Arbol
This is a fun little adventure park built on the top of the hill next to Baños with great views of the city down in the valley and of Tungurahua volcano (although it was a bit too cloudy to have a good view of the volcano). I took the bus up here with the Quilatoa gang on our first full day in town. There was a number of different viewpoints and structures setup to take photos and we were still in our goofy group mode so we took some silly photos that day.
The park has a few swings built into the tree houses that allow you to swing over the edge of the mountain with amazing views. The swings have a seat belt which make them feel safer. There are a couple different swings and for the first one we took turns pushing each other.
But then the second one there was actually an employee working whose sole job is to push you on the swing, so even though he’s a tiny Ecuadorian dude, he was very good at it. He would use all his force to really get you some air time and even spin you around in 360s. It was a little scary but also super fun. I mean what’s the worst that happens, you fly off the swing and roll down the mountain? Okay I guess that would be pretty bad.
There was also this sketchy looking caterpillar slide that ended with you landing on some old, beaten down mattresses. This old guy standing outside by the bus stop kept trying to convince us to go down. I was uncertain at first that we would even fit through the slide, but Andi is a big guy and he took one for the team and went down it first. Afterwards I decided that I had to give it a shot and it turned out to be quite fun.
Hike to Tungurahua Volcano, aka Mr. T (11.82 miles, 6464 feet elevation gain, 8850 feet elevation loss, in and out but we went down further than we started)
Tungurahua Volcano is the 10th highest peak in Ecuador with a summit at 5,023 meters or 16,479 feet. “Tungurahua” means”burning throat”in the Quechua language. It Is one Ecuador’s most active volcanos so it’s important to check with locals to make sure it’s a safe time to hike to the summit. The latest eruption began in October 1999 when the volcano became active again and initially prompted the evacuation of the entire town of Baños. When the volcano increased its activity in 1999, the ice cap melted away and the peak has been free of ice since then. During a long period starting from the year 1999, the climbing of the volcano was prohibited as dangerous due to repeated eruptions and it wasn’t until September 2016 that the Tungurahua area officially reopened.
Day 1 (3.8 miles, 4,100 feet elevation gain, point to point)
My legs were still pretty sore after having hiked 4 out of 6 days going to Laguna Verde in Illinizas National Park, taking a day off, then doing the 3-day trek to Quilatoa, taking a day off, and now I found myself already back on the trail once again. There is a term that I coined back in Colorado called “hiker’s amnesia” which applies to situations like this. I told Lena (and a few other hiking friends) about this term and they loved it so maybe some day I will become famous for it…or if I ever write a book about hiking then that will be its title. I came up with “hiker’s amnesia” last summer in Colorado on a day that I hiked both a 14er and 13er in the same morning. Basically, it’s a term for when you are hiking up to the top of a summit and start feeling a bit miserable toward the end but really push yourself to keep going. And then when you get to the top of the summit you have this sense of accomplishment and feel like you could hike more, so when you’re on the way back down you decide to do another peak because you have hiker’s amnesia and forgot how miserable you were at the end of the last climb. And once you start going up the second peak you once again are reminded about the endurance challenge you are putting yourself through. This term can also apply to hiking multiple days in a row. Even though I was exhausted by the end of the Quilatoa Loop, I was once again suffering from hiker’s amnesia and decided to try to hike to the summit of Tungurahua Volcano with Lena.
Lena is more about going off the beaten path when it comes to hiking so I’m glad she discovered this trail because I hadn’t even heard of Tungurahua Volcano until she mentioned it on the bus from Quilatoa back to Latacunga. It’s not necessarily well known in the backpacker circuit, or really anywhere in the world for that matter. She just had met someone earlier in her travels who summited it and said it was super challenging but had very rewarding views at the top. We could never actually remember the name of the volcano, and definitely didn’t know how to pronounce it correctly, so Lena and I just always called it Mr. T for short. We had cracked a lot of jokes about Mr. T over the last couple days so there was no way we couldn’t give it a shot.
Normally people hire a guide since the path from the Refugio to the summit is incredibly steep and not very well marked. It can be dangerous with risk of getting lost, wind conditions, and falling rocks due to how steep it is. However, Lena didn’t want to pay for a guide so we tried to gather some more information ourselves as there wasn’t a whole lot on the Internet. When we spoke with one worker at the hostel, he said it would be no problem getting to the Refugio without a guide and that we could go a little further, but it was unlikely we would be able to reach the top. Then another worker told us we wouldn’t even be able to hike passed the Refugio. There was definitely a lot of uncertainty going into the hike, but we figured we would just get as far as we were comfortable with; whether that was making it to the summit or just going passed the Refugio. If nothing else it was going to be nice hiking off the beaten path as this clearly isn’t a trail that is on many people’s radars. We would also have to see how the weather is to determine how far we can make it. Overall, it was the type thing that would make my mother very nervous. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little nervous myself, but hey I came on this trip to have some crazy adventures. And at least I’d be hiking with a partner who had just come off finishing the PCT so she’s clearly a very advanced and adept hiker who knows her limits and how to properly access the situation.
The weather forecast for the next 2 days was a little dicey as far as rain goes, but then again, every day I was in Ecuador it said that it was going to rain all day. And more often than not it either didn’t rain at all or it only rained for a very short time period, so we knew not to totally trust that. You just can’t trust the forecast when you’re at the equator. Otherwise, you would never leave your house. It was a cloudy morning when we woke up, but at least it wasn’t rainy so we decided to start the trek up to the Refugio. And the day turned out to be even sunnier than expected.
We could have started the hike in town from Baños but there was really no reason to add all that extra mileage and elevation gain because we still had a long day ahead of us (it turned out to be over 4,000 feet elevation gain even from where we started), and day 2 was going to be super challenging to try to summit the volcano. We took a taxi as far as we could go up the winding road before he said he couldn’t go any further and then we started our hike to the Refugio. We had to walk about a mile uphill along the road before reaching the trailhead. There was no one working the desk at the entrance to the trailhead and the door was locked so that we couldn’t even register saying that we were staying the night at the Refugio in the Sangay National Park. But the day before I had been in contact with the Refugio via WhatsApp to ensure there was space for us to stay there (to find out later we were the only ones staying there) so at least they had written records saying that we were coming.
Lena and I are both experienced hikers so we just walked at our own paces and knew in the end that we would be meeting at the Refugio. She goes slower than me but has that long hiking mentality with a constant rhythm and pace. I mean she hiked from Mexico to Canada over the course of 5.5 months so she knows how to keep a strong and steady pace. I would always be some distance ahead, but occasionally took breaks and waited up for her. Since it was such a steep trail, and I was running on tired hiker’s amnesia legs, I had to take more breaks than usual.
I didn’t know what to expect from the hike up to the Refugio since our main focus had been on the following day when we would attempt to summit the volcano, but it turned out to be an incredibly beautiful trail. The trees had a tropical rainforest vibe and the vegetation was much greener than I thought it would be since we were so close to a volcano that had erupted just over 20 years before. There were lots of mossy trees and cool “tree tunnels” that we would walk through.
The whole climb from the official start of the trailhead to the Refugio was a nonstop steep incline with the occasional viewpoint. This was a case where I really had to push myself hiking up such a steep trail with already sore calves and thighs. Not to mention we were going from 8,500 feet to 12,500 feet so it wasn’t exactly the easiest air to breathe. Some hikes are good for clearing your head and peacefully walking through nature, and others are meant to challenge yourself physically and mentally. This one was the latter.
I hadn’t seen anyone on the trail for over an hour when I overheard a guy talking to his guide on their way down. It turns out to be my Swiss friend Dave from my Spanish school in Montañita. What are the odds of seeing him out in the middle of nowhere on this random volcano hike after not having seen anyone else on the trail all day. Small world! We caught up a bit and he said the hike from the Refugio to the top was super hard. The guide was wondering if I was hiking alone and I said no I have a friend somewhere behind. He didn’t say it wasn’t possible to get to the top, but he had this look on his face like okay I hope you guys know what you’re doing. We’ll see how it goes.
As I continued walking, I met a group of 3 people – two from the US and one from Ireland. I started hiking up with the American girl because we had a similar pace and turns out she has a lot of parallels with Alex’s life: her name is Maya (like his daughter) and she is from Chapel Hill and went to UNC (his alma mater). She was a very chatty person so we talked the rest of the way up to the Refugio although sometimes it was difficult with the altitude and the steep elevation. Toward the end, we passed by a Turkish guy who had completed the summit solo (no guide or even hiking companion) and showed us some incredible photos from the top. He said it was very challenging the last 500 meters, but knowing he did it solo without a guide gave us some faith. All of the sudden Maya, who had only planned to do the Refugio, was like should I just stay up and do it. Total wildcard move since she was in shorts and a tank top and only had a rain jacket. I told her that Lena and I definitely have enough food (we had pasta to cook and so many snacks) and that I might even have some extra layers she could wear. And just like that, she made the impromptu decision to join me and Lena the next day.
Maya and I got to the top around 1 (Lena was about 15 min behind) and just hung out the rest of the afternoon eating lunch and other snacks, chatting, and enjoying the view. She was at the start of a 16-month trip around South America so she was quite adventurous and still had a very long time to go. Maya was a big hiker and backpacker so she fit right in with me and Lena, and we had some great conversations throughout the afternoon. Of course, like any good nature loving American she was asking Lena a lot of questions about the PCT. And like any good UNC graduate, she was describing the color of something and goes oh yeah it’s like a Carolina blue, as if Lena from Austria had any clue what color Carolina blue was. We all laughed about that one.
It actually turned out to be a beautiful sunny afternoon and for the first time since arriving in Baños, we could see Mr. T perfectly. And he was definitely a very intimidating looking beast to climb. Even though we were so close distance wise, we still so looked far from the summit. Tomorrow was going to be a very challenging day. The clouds were moving so fast that they would roll in and block the view of Mr. T then 20 minutes later it would be clear skies again.
It was just the 3 of us at the Refugio so it was a really great experience feeling so isolated from the world. The kitchen was actually nicely stocked with pots and pans; and there was butter, garlic, and oregano that other hikers had left which helped spice up our pasta with tomato sauce dinner. As the sun started going down, we got this amazing sunset creating this fire-y orange colors behind the clouds. We just so happened to time dinner perfectly with this sunset and enjoyed carbo loading with a view.
It got cold quickly once the sun went down so we were continually boiling water and drinking hot water to keep us warm and hydrated. Since we didn’t bring any tea to add to the hot water, we put some apple and orange slices into the boiled water to try to add some flavor. It didn’t really do much for the first batch, but as the fruits stewed in there for a longer period of time it started tasting a little better.
We discussed what time we wanted to start trying to summit Mr. T. When talking to Dave and his tour guide, they left at 3 in the morning while it was still pitch black because it takes a good 4-5 hours to get to the summit and (a) it’s nice if you can see sunrise and (b) you want to make it up to the top early in the morning to be heading down before any inclement weather sweeps in. Typically, the mornings are less rainy and windy than the afternoons. However, the Turkish guy said he didn’t leave until 8am and he still made it so clearly it just depends on luck with the weather. We concluded that since we didn’t have a guide and might get lost, we should get started by 2:30 in the morning. Sheesh that’s going to be tough.
After a game of cards, we started trying to go to bed around 8 for our 2:15 wake up the next morning. The Refugio had mats upstairs to lie on but nothing else for sleeping. Lena had a sleeping bag that she had brought, but Maya and I used these small little rugs we found outside the Refugio to help with the cold. They certainly weren’t great but it was better than nothing. I also wore all my layers besides the one I let Maya borrow. I slept decent that night all things considered; occasionally waking up cold.
Day 2 (8 miles, 2360 feet elevation gain, 8850 feet elevation loss, point to point)
The alarm went off at 2:15 and it was absolutely freezing. It had been raining all throughout the night and was still drizzling outside. Not off to a great start. But the rain stopped by 2:30 so we decided to just go for it. We were starting this early because that’s when the guides start so you can get up around sunrise and to avoid the weather later in the day. I think we might have been a bit aggressive and probably could have started a few hours later. Anyways it was pitch black so we used our headlamps. I had only been up for only 15 minutes and was already starting to trek straight up a volcano in the dark. It was quite an interesting way to wake up. My brain wasn’t working yet but my body was in auto pilot mode as we worked our way up the steep incline.
It didn’t take long for the hike for the landscape to turn from green vegetation to volcanic rocks and sand. I could only see what was immediately in front of me with my headlamp as we continued up a super steep path uphill. I was leading at first but then Lena took charge as she set a nice continuous pace for the group. She became are group leader and I trusted her fully. You really can’t go fast with how steep it is combined with the limited visibility: it was super foggy on top of the 3am darkness. My calves were screaming as this was my 6th day hiking in 8 and it was the steepest yet (and one of the steepest I have ever done). Plus, the volcanic sand and crushed rock made it extra tiring. Oh, and we were over 14,000 feet high so the altitude was also a total ass kicker. The whole experience was crazy as we slowly made our way up the steep volcano in the dark. I had that slight sense of nervousness but just kept going one step at a time. When my brain started waking up a bit more it couldn’t believe that we were hiking up the side of a steep active volcano, in the dark, without a guide. Don’t worry brain, just let the body keep moving. I had my AllTrails going but it really only gave us a slight directional sense of where to go. For hikes like this with no real trail you just have to do your best to continue heading up and try not to get too far off course.
After 2 hours we reached our max of what we felt comfortable doing. We had only gone a mile in distance and about 2400 feet of elevation gain and were a little over halfway up from the Refugio to the summit of the volcano. At this point the weather had gotten worse and turned into a cold, light rain amidst the fog soaking our clothes and making the crushed volcanic rock and sand ground even more slippery. Plus, there was absolutely no longer a path to follow. Lena was doing a great job leading us, but she was really struggling to figure out what the best way to go is. We discussed as a group and decided it was no longer safe to continue. We might have been able to get a little further but probably not to the summit so what was the point. Even with a guide the summit would have been challenging and possibly undoable given the weather conditions. Our fearless leader Lena was the final voice of reason. It was a bit disappointing but it was the right thing to do. We had made it to 14,900 feet up so we still did pretty damn good and could be proud of ourselves for going as far as we did. The final 0.5 miles and 1,500 feet of elevation would have been crazy to do in this weather and visibility. Even though it doesn’t sound that far on paper, it probably would have taken us another 2 hours given the terrain and our lack of knowledge about the “best path.” Plus, the Turkish guy told us that the last 500 meters was the hardest section and what we had already been doing was insanely hard so I can’t imagine what that part would have been like.
We weren’t in the clear yet as we now had to go back downhill on the crazy incline we just went up. It was steep, wet, and hard to see; so we took it super slow. It was a nerve racking 1.5-hour hike down because the last thing anyone of us wanted to do was slide down the side of the volcano or injure ourselves. We were trying to retrace our steps but it was much easier to get lost going back down. We just kept going whichever way seemed easier and keeping an eye on AllTrails. Maya and I both slipped a few times, although nothing too bad. It’s very difficult to keep your balance on the steep, slippery downhill made up of crushed volcanic rock; and neither of us had poles. This was definitely a good trail to have poles, which Lena did. She also has such good footwork after doing the entire PCT. As we got lower down the volcano, the sun was starting to poke its head out and it finally became clearer where the main trail was.
By 6am we were already back at the Refugio. Even though we didn’t make the summit, we all felt elated about how far we made it. Plus, the sheer adrenaline rush of that experience hiking a volcano in the pitch black. We hung up our soaking clothes and had breakfast and drank more hot water. Afterwards Lena and I took a nap until about 8 before the 3 of us start trekking our way down. Our clothes were still soaking wet but we just had to power through. After a night and morning of raining, the ground was much muddier on the way down than it was on the way up the day before. And since it was also very steep; once again Maya and I had a slipped a few times. But we still made it down relatively fast in spite of the conditions. The 3 of us had developed a nice hiking pace together.
When we got to the entrance of the trailhead, the park office was open this time so we were able to give them some money for our night’s stay at the Refugio. Once back on the main road, we just ended up doing the hike all the way back to Baños since there wasn’t any taxis. The beginning was along the road before we took a short cut on a trail through forested farmland. This was the part of the trail that Lena and I decided to skip the day before. My knees were really starting to feel it toward the end. We had descended over 8,500 feet going from our highest point on the volcano that morning all the way back to Baños which is an absolutely insane descent. I don’t think I’ve ever gone down that much in a single hike and usually not even in multiple hikes combined. We made it back to the hostel around 11:30 so we still had the entire afternoon to chill and hit the hot springs.
Overall, it was a super cool experience and I’m happy and proud for getting as far as we did. I came on this trip for thrill seeking adventures and this certainly checked all the boxes. I really enjoy doing this off the beaten path hike and we had a great hiking crew. Lena, Maya, and I agreed to all meet up and do another hike like this – Laguna Amarilla – after our next respective little trips. We were going to meet there in 4 days since I was going to go kayaking in Archidona, Lena was heading to Cuenca, and Maya to Riobamba. Unfortunately, this never ended up happening because the weather continued to be rainy and we had read that the trail to Laguna Amarilla gets super muddy. So much so, that there are sections you have to wear rubber boots to even hike through them. Oh well, just another thing to come back for.
Termas de la Virgen Hot Springs
Baños has a number of different hot springs around town with a variety of reviews about how nice the facilities are, how crowded they get, and the difference in prices. I just went to Termas de la Virgen Hot Springs because it was only a few minutes away from my hostel. It is known to be quite crowded and not the cleanest of places, but the price was right and it still had some nice views being right by a waterfall.
Andi and I tried to go on the first night but per usual everyone gave us different information on closing time. The hostel said it closed at 9, Google said 10, and someone else told us 9:30. Since it was 9:15 we decided to give it a shot and see if we could squeeze in a quick 45 minutes. But when we got there, they told us that it closed at 9:30 and they weren’t letting anyone else in. So, we had to improvise by drinking more beers instead. We went back to the hostel and this was the night that I met the crazy American guys Everett and Theo.
On my third day in Baños after finishing the Mr. T hike, I went to Termas de la Virgen with Maya. It was the late afternoon and absolutely packed with Local Ecuadorians. You are required to wear a swimming cap to go into the hot springs so I bought one from the concession stand for a few dollars. Then you put all your possessions in a locker, which surprisingly was free, and they give you a key on a bracelet to put on your wrist.
The upper area had a few larger pools that were hot, but not piping hot. They were filled to the brim with people. It was a nice spot for an initial soak. Then in the downstairs area there was one super-hot pool that scorched your skin the first time before getting used to it, and there was a super-cold pool. Maya and I kept jumping back and forth between the two spending a few minutes in each. Supposedly doing this type of hot/cold shock therapy is be good for the muscles, improves immunity and circulation, reduces inflammation, and reduces stress. It is challenging at times to convince yourself to go back and forth between the two because it’s the feeling of extremes, but it’s so worth it. And you really can feel the difference in your body. This was exactly what my body needed after hiking 6 out of 8 days and having done the crazy uphill and downhill inclines of Mr. T earlier that day.
Nightlife
The main club that everyone goes to in Baños is the Leprechaun Bar. Somehow on the same day that I hiked Mr. T, I rallied to go out with a big crew of people from the hostel to the club. There was a main room that was packed out with people and played typical Reggaeton tunes. Then there was a second room that was more lowkey playing salsa and cumbia music. I mostly hung out in the less crowded room as my energy was low after a super long day. The music and vibes of the club were whatever but the company of people from the hostel was good. I somehow still stayed out until nearly 3am making for a more than 24-hour day after having woken up at 2:15 that morning to begin the attempted summit of Mr. T. Big change of scenery that day from hiking the volcano to dancing in the club.