Chasing Waterfalls

Things are slowing down in Quito ... which I guess is a positive sign, particularly given that I'm leaving next week to Lima. People in the legislative assembly (both legislators and legislative assistants) and in the university frequently mention visiting the beach and Baños, a small town known as the 'window of the Andes.' Since I'll be back in May, I decided to push the beach trip for when my friends in Quito can travel, and instead take a small weekend trip to Baños. The major appeal for me is that Baños is known for their incredible waterfalls ... yes, that's plural. As some of you may know, I thoroughly enjoy waterfalls. So to 'celebrate' what appears to be a successful field research trip, I left early Saturday morning to visit this town that I've heard a lot about. Be prepared for some amazing photos. After leaving my apartment at 6:30 in the morning and multiple bus rides later, I finally arrived to Baños at noon.


I quickly found a hotel (yes - no plans) that was situated on a quiet street and had an amazing view of the town and a waterfall. Most of the hotels were located near the town square, a LOUD town square. So I paid the extra few bucks for a nice room and an incredible view located in peace.


Generally when I participate in these weekend adventures I try to break from the crowd so I can enjoy my own leisurely time. This is generally pretty difficult when the adventure requires traveling, which was expected on this trip to get from waterfall to waterfall. No worries, bike rental was available for a simple five dollar cost. By one o'clock I was on my bike riding on the road that traced the river that welcomed the waterfalls.


To start, I have never seen such amazing natural beauty. At some waterfalls we had the option of paying one dollar and traveling in a cable car across the waterfall. Yes - I did this for every waterfall where this option was available, without question. Notice the size of the waterfall compared to the cable car in this photo.


Ecuador reminds me a lot of Costa Rica. The two countries have a very diverse geography and are small enough where traveling isn't such a burden, unlike Bolivia. This burden is dramatically reduced because the roads are actually paved and taken care of ... well, at least where there is tourism opportunities. Of course, Costa Rica is the other country where the natural landscape is absolutely amazing.



Taking the bike was a major bonus. I was able to stop freely and even see waterfalls that I think would have been missed if cruising in a car. In fact, at one point I took a detour after hearing a waterfall from the road and ended up hiking up a dirt path that was somebody's private property. I paid them a dollar to guard my bike and they pointed me towards a waterfall that wasn't even on the map. Most of the waterfalls were on the Northeast side of the river and traveling was on the Southwest side of the river. Generally, there would be some restaurant and an open space to draw attraction to specific waterfalls. However, the next picture is one of those waterfalls that could have been easily missed in a car. There was nothing to attract visitors except for this amazing sight.


Overall, this trip was incredible. I'm considering returning when I come back to Quito in May - hopefully one of my buddies will be able to travel with me. We'll see. But for now, I have these images cemented in my mind. Of course, just selecting a sample of pictures was a challenge.