Larry and Geni vs. the Volcano – a Visit to Baños

First of all, Baños is not named after its famous bathrooms, as in "Donde està el baño?"  That is a euphemism; what you are really asking is "where might I take a bath?"  Baños is in fact famous for its hot springs.  We came to find that it is also famous for its volcano.

We had settled in to the foreignness and enormity of Quito, had made a short bus trip to Ibarra and Otavalo, and felt ready for striking out on a genuine adventure. Through an internet forum, we heard about a housesitting opportunity – "nine days of tranquility and relaxation" – so we applied and were accepted.

We have conceived our Ecuador experience as an opportunity to become free-spirit world travelers – just us and a backpack, blowing with the wind and the whim.  So, we packed three days of clothes, two computers, an audio system, pills, and toiletries, and dragged a rolling suitcase and two backpacks down the hill to catch a taxi to the bus station.

We had been invited by our housesitting hosts to use their usual taxi driver for the three hour trip for $80.  The bus cost $5.50. It is easy to say after learning how to do it that using the bus system is easy, convenient, and safe, but first one must learn how to do it. But, to again quote our yoga instructor, "one must become uncomfortable in order to grow."

The Quitumbe (south) bus station in Quito looks like a major airport, with dozens of bus lines.  They are grouped into destinations of Sierra, Costa and Oriente – the central mountains, the beach towns, and the Amazon basin.  Once in the general area of ticket booths, assistants outside call out the immediate departures.  To one we said  'Baños' and he hustled us to the next departing bus line.

The ticket clerk seemed hurried, but efficient, and concluded the transaction with a stern look, saying ''inmediatamente!''  As I tried to form the questions "'what time" and "which portal," it became clear that her message was "GO NOW" or miss the bus.  Just as we were seated, the bus fired up an pulled out.  Unlike the U.S. bus system, there are very frequent connections, and little waiting required.

Once figured out, bus travel is, in fact, comfortable, convenient and safe.  I must add, however, that we just read about a bus accident that killed 13 a couple of days ago, very close to our route.  Ecuador is a very mountainous country, and the most difficult roads are two-laned with steep drop-offs.  Bus travel is still far safer than driving in a rental car.

The views on a bus trip in Ecuador are worth the ticket price.  Rivers, waterfalls, pueblos, Indian villages all are fascinating.  Just reading roadside signs and watching daily life keep the trip interesting.  The best bus lines play DVD movies, although in Spanish.  During brief stops in towns along the way, vendors sell drinks and snacks such as cups of fresh fruit covered with whipped cream or even fried chicken with french fries.

So, a quick three hours end at a much smaller bus station in Baños.  We had selected a hotel from Lonely Planet recommendations, and a few words to the taxi driver is all that is needed to arrive at the front door.  Because I speak some Spanish, he provided an orientation tour of the small city.  He was born and raised in the city and was very proud of it and all of Ecuador.  When I told him that we were scouting for a retirement home, he praised Baños above all areas as "bonito, tranquilo, y seguro" – beautiful, peaceful, and safe.

The garden at La Petite Auberge

We arrived a day early in Baños for our housesitting gig so that the owners could leave early the next day.  The hotel we selected was Hostal La Petite Auberge, a French-owned garden spot.  Our room was rustic, but clean and comfortable.  The view outside the wooden shutters opening on a small terrace was an exotic formal garden with mountains and the town's signature waterfall in the background – all for $20.

We used the first evening to orient ourself to downtown Baños with numerous tour offices, restaurants, and shops.  The government-run tourist office provides a detailed map.  Among our first priorities in learning a new town is to locate the mercado (the local fresh market with numerous informal eating stalls) and the supermercado (the large store for general grocery shopping).  Those were located across form each other; in addition a large regional market is held nearby on Wednesdays and Sundays.

ON TO HOUSESITTING

The next morning we called the favorite taxi driver of the owners of the house, and he drove us to what had been described as the "outskirts" of the city.  The "twenty-minute walk" was for much faster and longer legs than ours.  We were initially a little troubled by the distance, but the first rule of foreign travel is "adapt."

The gorge in Banos

Much of the walk was, in fact, spectacular, fronting a deep gorge with a rushing river at the bottom.  At one point a bridge crosses the gorge; the bridge is used for puenting – not jumping from the bridge, but swinging from a long rope like a pendulum.  Trails lead down to the river and on into the mountains.

I had heard about housesitting previously, but the idea seemed a little strange.  Some people travel widely by housesitting and produce numerous references about their reliability.  In our case, we simply took over the house for the nine days the owners were traveling elsewhere.  They didn't know us from Adam.  They were most concerned about the well-being of their terrier, Maxwell, but also wanted the house occupied to discourage break-ins.  House robbery in Latin America is a serious concern.

I initially felt a little awkward in the role, but, remember, "adapt."  Maxwell the terrier was very congenial and seemed to make the transition easier than I did. He seemed comfortable with a sudden shift in parents.  In fact, the house was comfortable and well-equipped, so eventually I shifted into living there mode.

EXPLOSIONS IN THE NIGHT – Tungurahua Awakens

Geni and I had considerable experience in Mexico with cohuetes – very loud rocket-propelled bombs – at all times of the day or night, so I didn't guess that the nearby volcano had come to life.  I heard an occasional window-rattling boom and thought nothing of it.  The next morning, we heard a more steady booming and assumed there was a distant thunderstorm.  Slowly, as the explosions became louder and more frequent, a dim bulb over our heads began to brighten – that may be the volcano.

Tungurahua, seen from Baños

We looked toward the south and there were no thunderclouds, but there was a mushroom cloud of smoke, vapor, and ash.  The house owners had mentioned the volcano and there was discussion in the guidebooks saying that Tungurahua had periodic active periods over the past several years.  On some occasions, evacuation had been ordered.  There had been some deaths, and roads had been destroyed.

So, it IS a volcano.  Jimmy Buffett came to mind, and a Bob Dylan song about the surreal destruction of "Black Diamond Bay."  But, I think there is a human defense in such situations that insists that danger is interesting and not really dangerous.  We walked down to the town.  The air on the hill at the house was only slightly dusty.  As we walked into the valley of the town it thickened.  Shopkeepers covered their stock with heavy plastic sheeting and we saw more and more people wearing face masks.

We shopped and had lunch at the Wednesday regional mercado which is held in a large tin-covered structure.  No one seemed at all alarmed, but following large explosions, a rain of small debris swept over the roof.  We cut our visit to town short and caught a taxi back to the house, and then just looked at each other.  It IS a volcano.

Maxwell, the Adorable (that's his name)

All of a sudden, it seemed that a volcano could be dangerous.  I thought about transportation being blocked, I though about lava flows.  I thought about Maxwell the terrier.  We had made a commitment to take care of the little fellow and to protect the house.  Otherwise, I would have been finagling a seat on a bus out of town.  I pictured hauling Maxwell to the next big city of Ambato and trying to explain everything to the house owners.

But I didn't.  Geni and I made our peace with fate and battened down.  The situation worsened.

More in the next episode.