CLOSING OUT EPIC ECUADOR TRIP IN BAÑOS!

After getting our cultural and nature fixes in Quito and Cotopaxi, we decided on closing out our epic Ecuador trip in Baños. This small city located in the Andean Highlands is known as the adventure capital of Ecuador and for good reason. It offers up every possible type of outdoor excursion you can think of. Everything from white water rafting, bungee jumping, zip lining to walking suspension bridges, swinging from the edge of cliffs, and waterfall viewing. We chose the latter.

Where to stay – La Casa Verde (budget option)

We decided to stay at La Casa Verde for our first 2 nights in Baños. This Eco Guest House not only is a great value, but it’s location is hard to beat. Away from the noise and bustle of the main part of town and along the banks of a river, it was the perfect place for my family to set up shop. We particularly enjoyed the green hills all around us and the soothing sound of running river water to listen to as we slept. Combine that with an excellent host and great WIFI and it was hard to beat the deal we got.

Due to covid restrictions in Ecuador on our visit, tourism was down across the country and Baños is no exception. Because of this we had the entire property to ourselves! We had never stayed at a hotel where we were the only guests so that was surreal in a way. I mean, we aren’t talking about being alone in a huge property like in the movie The Shining or anything like that but walking by all the empty rooms and floors was a little weird.

Johan our excellent host.

Our host was Johan and he was a super friendly, kind, and attentive manager. He arranged all of our taxi’s, tours, and food delivery takeout. When we inquired about Covid testing, arrangements were made for someone from the red cross to come to the hotel the next day to conduct our tests. Per US rules at the time we had to produce negative test results no later than 72 hours before departure. He also had our breakfast and coffee ready every morning and even made our special request pancakes! Johan took good care of us and I recommend you give this place a try if you’re visiting Baños.

Baños de Agua Santa – Town Square

After checking in and setting up the following day’s activities, we freshened up and took a cab into town. Cabs are super cheap here and we never paid more than $3 dollars to go anywhere. We arrived at the main plaza and the town was bustling with people everywhere. The town setup was like most in Latin America and it had that step back in time feel to it . It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and the smell of food was all around us. That would be our first order of business here.

The Cuy

We were all pretty hungry and I was on a mission to find some grilled Cuy (guinea pig) to eat. I didn’t have to look long before I found some! The look on our kid’s faces was priceless. To say they were tripping out would be a huge understatement, lol. Unfortunately, there was a long wait to get the Cuy so we had to keep it moving.  It was not meant to be on this trip. My kids trying out this local delicacy was a box that would remain unchecked on this trip.

Town was pleasant but there were tour operators everywhere.

We continued to stroll through town and did some shopping along the way. Until finally, we found a restaurant we could all agree on. I asked for a table on the 2nd floor outdoor balcony so we had front row seats to the sights and sounds of Baños. The restaurant had live music, decent food, craft beer, and nice views for people watching. Just a great setting for a Sunday afternoon.

One thing that stood out while walking around the town is the sheer number of businesses offering tours. It seemed like there was at least 50 tour operators in the central plaza alone! I’m sure most were legit but some did look shady AF. I would recommend that you book your excursions through your hotel. And on that note, we had ours scheduled for early the next day. We would be chasing waterfalls in the morning.

WATERFALLS GALORE

Baños is known for it’s natural hot springs and pools but there are also lots of waterfalls in the area. A couple of small ones can be found in town but to get to the really nice ones you have to trek about an hour and a half out of the city and take the ruta de las Cascadas (Waterfalls Highway). This route will take you by more than a dozen waterfalls and you can spend as much or as little time as you want on each.

Due to heavy rainfall the week prior to our arrival, the main road was washed out in certain areas. This caused city officials to block traffic to make repairs to the road. Which then caused major delays to everyone (us 😩) trying to get on the waterfalls highway. We decided to improvise and I told our driver to take us directly to the main event instead. The Cascada El Pailon would be our first stop.

Cascada El Pailon del Diablo – Which entrance?

Our driver (also our guide) took us to the newer top of the waterfall entrance. There are 2 entrances (one at the top with better views and easier access and one at the bottom that goes behind the waterfall). I had read online prior to our visit that it was a steep wet climb to get to the bottom. My wife has bad knees and our kids didn’t want to get wet so up top it was.

We explored and took pics near the entrance before paying the small fee (a few bucks per person) to enter. Our guide was telling us folklore stories about the devil’s waterfall and the river it feeds. Different spooky shit about some troll that’s seen in the water and there being YouTube videos out there showing it, etc… It was all entertaining and we all got a kick out of it.

He also would stop periodically on the hike to the waterfall to tell us about the different trees and plants we were seeing. The short trail was winding and at times had a nice little incline but was fairly easy for the most part. We walked through the forest/jungle mix until we reached an opening and got to the suspension bridge that takes you to the waterfall.

Suspension Bridge reminds me of the movies.

Once we got to the bridge you could see and really hear the waterfall. We all took turns taking pictures and videos from the bridge and it reminded us of the ones you see in the movies. It would sway and rock as you walked across and I was imagining it breaking on one side before we made it to the end 😮.

Cascada El Pailon del Diablo – Otherworldly

Otherworldly is what came to my mind when I first laid eyes on the waterfall and surrounding area. It looked like a scene straight out of a Sci-Fi film, or Lord of the Ring, or Game of Thrones. It was powerful and beautiful and well, see and hear for yourself.

We walked down to the last viewing platform to get as close to the waterfall as possible. Mother Nature in all her glory before us and we were taking it all in. I especially loved that we had her all to ourselves for a good 30 minutes before other tourists arrived. It was a special moment that we will all remember.

Mega Adventure Park Rio Blanco

After leaving el pailon we made a couple of more stops on the way back to town. Our guide knew the waterfall highway like the back of his hand and made sure we hit the highlights. One of those being the Mega Adventure Park Rio Blanco. This place is an adrenaline junkie’s dream spot. I linked the website because the options were crazy and I would have to write a whole post on all that they had to offer.

But as I stated before, I’m not about that adrenaline life. So we kept it simple and did the bridge with the see through glass and also took a little cable car across. My girls (wife included) are not fond of being at heights and my boy and I didn’t want to push the envelope or exclude them. So, we settled on the 2 activities but man that ziplining looked pretty sweet when they flew by us.

La Casa del Arbol

After a quick lunch, our next stop was La Casa del Arbol! We made our way back to Baños and started heading slowly up the road that takes you to the top of the hill that this famous treehouse sits on. It was a long winding scenic drive that took 30 minutes but seemed to go by quicker than that because our driver was telling us stories about the last volcano eruption nearby. The road ended near the very top and our guide informed us that there was still a little hike to reach it, so off we went.

The short hike gets a little steep in some spots so I recommend taking it slow and taking breaks to catch your breath. Remember, you’re at over 8,500 ft above sea level! There’s no need to rush, that swing ain’t going nowhere 🤣. Once you do get to the top, it all becomes worth it.

Incredible views aside, the thing that struck and impressed me the most were the gardens up there. Beautiful flowers everywhere and the scent they gave off matched with the altitude gave you a pleasant feeling. There were nice viewing areas along with benches to sit down and relax as well.

The swing at the end of the world!

Okay I’ll admit that when I saw pictures of this swing on the internet prior to our visit, I thought the images were captured in a way to create the illusion that you were going over a cliff if you fell. I was wrong. Your ass is definitely going to disappear if the swing breaks or you somehow fall off. Hey I’m just keeping it real fam. Aside from that, boy these swings are a blast!

Before you get to the famous swing at the end of the world, they have some practice ones set up so you can get a feel for what the real one is like. Here you can try out your poses and those taking the pictures can get some trial runs on different angles. You’ll also have a little more margin for error as these swings aren’t as close to the edge as the main ones on la casa del arbol are.

Once you’ve got your swinging moves down pat it’s time to do them on the main swings. Sit in the chair, put your seat belt on, walk back as far as you can, and take off!

25th ANNIVERSARY – Day 3 in Baños

Our third day in Baños was very special to us. It was after all, the whole reason we went on this epic Ecuador adventure. My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on this journey and we got to share this magical trip with our kids. This called for a little splurging and we checked out of La Casa Verde and went a little down the road to a fantastic Spa Resort to celebrate our milestone.

Where to stay? – SAMARI SPA RESORT

From start to finish the Samari Spa Resort treated my family and I like distinguished guests. We arrived around noon which was a little early, but they allowed us to check in. Our kid’s room was ready so they went to theirs but we had to wait an hour and half for ours. We didn’t really mind at all. After all, the Samari manager gave us free drinks at the bar while we waited. I don’t mind if I have another one 😉.

We had a couple of drinks and (okay, a few), booked our couples massage, and took a stroll around the resort’s 10+ acres. The grounds were well kept and there were even walking trails on the property. The layout of the place was beautiful with flowers everywhere and stone walkways. Very picturesque and we could see why it was a favorite for wedding picture taking.

They gave us a cabin way in the back of the property away from others which I thought was funny. I mean, I had informed them it was our special 25th anniversary but we weren’t going to be that loud. Anyway, the suite cabin was absolutely charming and everything we had expected. Real wood burning fireplace, jacuzzi, rose petals on the bed, flowers, and chocolate were all waiting for us. They really went all out with setting the mood.

Our epic Ecuador vacation finished on an excellent note.

We had a full course dinner with our kids, popped a couple of bottles of wine, let everyone partake in the drinks/celebrating and laughed the entire time. Just when I thought things couldn’t get better, Samari management had the candles and fireplace lit in our cabin suite while we were finishing our dessert. They would be on when we walked in. These people were on top of it. It was such a great night and one we’ll never forget.

We checked out late the following day and had our driver take us back to Quito. Back to where it all started.