Chiva Tours

I knew the bare minimum of seeing Baños was to do a couple of chiva tours (tours on converted trucks), and the first one I did was the Volcan tour which departed at 2130hrs and cost just $5 from the hotel. The chiva was full of local tourists and after a half hour journey up a mountain neighboring the town, we looked over the edge to see Baños lit up. The neat grid of streets and church towers glowed below us. Unfortunately, I was not able to make out the volcano, but there was an impressive and funny fire juggling show that made up for it. The last part of the tour was a club where some people got off to drink and dance.

The next day, I debated whether to wear my flip flops or my shoes to the Cascadas Tour, but I had a feeling we might do a bit of trekking, so I opted for the shoes. We visited many waterfalls from a distance, and at one point, the 14 year old guide encouraged us to sit on the roof of the chiva. It was a thrill since the bars only came to a little above lumbar height and we drove through tunnels barely high enough to clear our heads, and on roads by the cliffs with ravines dropping sharply down.

The guide's encouragement became clear when the next waterfall fell right over the road. The driver stopped under it for a good few minutes, nearly saturating most of the shrieking and laughing tourists. "Que chevere!" they exclaimed afterwards. Just when I got my washing dry, I ws faced with more damp clothes the next day of travel to Quito!

Our next stop was the cable car, a small, open and fast thing that sped over the ravine as we stood up in in the carriage. By the time we reached our final destination, my quick-dry clothes were dry, and the only dampness remaining were my socks and shoes. I was looking good again for dry clothes by the morning. But I should not have hoped so soon.

At least I had my shoes on, because we had a short stretch of bushwalking to do down the mountain. A path of dirt, rocks, steps and ramps led us to a large waterfall where the mist had us all damp again. It was beautiful, refreshingly cool and peaceful. Surprisingly, the waterfall was quieter than I had expected, with water rushing over the rocks in the stream louder than the falls hitting the water below.

Then we were faced with the trek back up the mountain. At the top, my clothes were even damper with sweat. It was a worthwhile tour, and when I returned to the hotel, they changed my room to a warmer one and everything, including my shoes were dry by the time I caught the bus to Quito.