Wow- it’s been too long.
The past two weeks have flown by in a sense- at least in the sense that you get after tirelessly trying to accomplish something and then finally getting a chance to look up. The majority of the past 15 or so days have been spent focusing on Blood Pressure…
But before I get into describing “business” though, I can’t go any further without mentioning the reason why I was unable to update my blog last weekend; sadly, I decided to relax a little bit…
Since I arrived in Ecuador I’ve heard from almost any person I end up talking to about possible tourist destinations that “Baños” is a must see place. I know, I know, all of you out there with any background in Spanish are probably thinking that this must have been some sort of joke, or that I would’ve definitely already visited the baño, but to clarify, Baños is a small pueblo about 4 hours away from Quito known for its thermal baths and incomparable scenery. At the foot of an active volcano (don’t worry Moms & GrandMary, not too active) the city serves as home to a fairly small population of people devoted to tourist activities, and a pretty constant flow of visitors from all over the world. In fact, other than the section of Quito known as “gringolandia,” I hadn’t seen such a concentration of toe-headed short-wearing persons since I left the states.
We decided to take off for Baños Friday afternoon in a mix of excitement to begin the weekend and acceptance that waking up at 5am the next day to compensate for the bus ride wouldn’t exactly fit under the “relaxing” agenda. Ajay and I left work following a patient-filled morning, headed home, packed backpacks. Then hit the road to Quito. After making a pit-stop to grab some schwarma before leaving the city, we hopped in a cab to the bus terminal in the Southern valley. Oddly reminiscent of the University of Denver campus, the metro area of Quito is confined to the only space available atop the 9,350 ft mountain it rests on- an area only a mile or two wide, but tens of miles long.
Normally, it isn’t a problem to journey through the city, but because of this characteristically narrow design, when going from the Northern valley of Tumbaco to the Southern terminal in Quitumbe, you are basically traveling the longest distance possible through the urban landscape. Throw in the most viscous traffic you can imagine, and to traverse this distance of under 15 kilometers takes a little more than an hour and forty minutes.
Not knowing this at the time, we set off for the bus station around 5 pm; arrived at the terminal in time for the 7 o’clock bus to Baños, and then made it into town with about a sitcom to spare before midnight. The ride, in general wasn’t extremely memorable due to the darkness that hid anything worth seeing, but one thing that has been getting to me lately is the fact that no matter where you go, disparity is undeniably present. Whether it’s driving by house after house constructed only of a mixture of grey concrete and dilapidated wood, or being asked by a 4 year old boy in tattered clothes if you would please buy some of the candy he’s managed to procure; 5 pieces for 25 cents, or 10 for 50. At every stop we'd pick up a new group of children trying to make a living, and at every stop I'd get the same sad feeling in my heart. I find myself overwhelmed by a mix of feelings, mainly describable as disheartened at first glance, but humbled and grateful for the opportunities I’ve been blessed with after. And more than anything, I can't help but feel motivated to continue the work that I’m doing, motivated to help improve these situations in any way possible.
When we arrived in Baños we decided to head to our hostel and get a full night rest in lieu of the adventures and action packed day that was in our plans. In short, the hostel was more accommodating and welcoming than money could pay for. Run by a Kiwi couple that decided to move permanently from New Zealand to Baños after working as tour guides, the eco-friendly “resort” of sorts, involved a free (and extremely delicious - not a common combination) breakfast buffet consisting of fresh fruit, granola, and home-made bread. Also, due to the connections the staff had, we were able to easily acquire numbers and information of reliable tour companies; which, Saturday, included a “manly” adventure to go canyon-ing, and later, a horseback ride up the mountain juxtapose to the volcano. In Baños we met up Regina and Ben (two other volunteers from the clinic), and as part of the compromise Regina proposed to Ben, as a way to convince him the “thermal spa” town would be more interesting than the jungle, was that Ajay and I would do sufficient adventurous, guy activities. So, along these lines, we three men decided that the best outlet to enjoy our escape from estrogen would be to rappel down cliffs next to raging waterfalls; a.k.a. go “canyon-ing.”
The guide did a great job of explaining the logistics of the reverse mountain climbing, and as I descended down four different waterfalls, even in spite of the extremely slippery rocks and water splashing in my face, I had a pretty good time. I'll throw in a few pictures to give a more visual idea about what the experience looked like when my internet connection isn't so slow, but even then, they hardly will do justice to how fun it was.
The final waterfall was a leap of faith. About 140 feet vertical drop, the last plunge involved about 5 meters of rappelling down a sheet of water, and then jumping off the rock ledge into a graceful descent alongside the falls.
After drying off and getting some food, we picked up Regina from the hostel and the four of us volunteers rode rented horses through the town, up a scenic path that wound alongside a ravine, and into the mountains of the Andes. The scenery was unlike any other I’d experienced before. Even growing up in Colorado didn’t prepare me for the awesomeness of the landscape; protruding mountain tops jutted out from either side of the river, rising above my line of sight and surpassing the blanket of clouds that enveloped the evening. A distinct and vibrant emerald green, flourishing with plant life I never even knew existed, these mountain tops redefined the power of nature for me. And as we continued to trot through the valley, although the ultimate goal of seeing the volcano Tungurahua was unfulfilled due to the prominence of the aforementioned cloud-cover, I felt a peace that only the sounds of the meandering stream could even begin define.
The next day, believe it or not, I slept in past 6:15 a.m. That’s not to say that I didn’t have a little help (in addition to being tired from all the adventuring, a night spent out trying the local sugar cane alcohol until the point that we ended up singing Hotel California at a karaoke bar might have contributed…), but it was refreshing to get up after the sun for a change. Following breakfast we packed our bags and headed to the name-sake thermal baths. My companions didn’t feel that they were necessarily warm enough or up to par with what they were expecting, but I found it hard to complain looking up from the semi-steaming pool and seeing the jungle covered peaks that surrounded us as we sat neck deep in water. In fact, with the 6 hours of buses that followed, my body was thankful to have had any sort of time devoted to its relaxation. We made it home safely, and even though Ajay lost his credit card in the process, other than stiff feet, legs, back, and a sore neck after the bus ride, I’d say the weekend was a success. In the very least, it allowed me to approach the upcoming week with a little more enthusiasm and vigor- which upon reflection, I'm really glad I had.
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