Baños, Ecuador - Days 3 & 4
Wednesday, February 2
Wednesdays are a full work day for Andi and a day to catch up on schoolwork for Tory and Aden. Andi spent the morning downstairs on conference calls in the living room while the kids and I stayed in the master bedroom. Studying on the bed wasn’t the best place to keep Tory and Aden focused, but it worked alright. I had them do a lot of reading aloud to one another.
At lunchtime, the four of us walked to the same parrillelo (BBQ) restaurant down the street that we ate at yesterday for lunch. The service was great, the food delicious and the pricing can’t be beat. We were served by the same woman who, yesterday, smiled kindly through our genuine attempt to order in Spanish. Today, she greeted our table and rattled off something in Spanish that we couldn’t understand. Andi and I responded with puzzled looks, so she wrote “almuerzo” on her notepad. “Si!” We responded. We were here for lunch and expected her to return with menus.
Only, we came to realize “almuerzo” means lunch special in Ecuador. The waitress returned to our table shortly with four bowls of soup. Aden was so bummed! He wanted to order the breaded shrimp plate he ate yesterday and loved. He’s not a big fan of soup generally, and really doesn’t like that it’s commonly served as a first-course in Ecuador.
Andi, Tory and I didn’t mind the lunch special though. It was served with a hearty bowl of soup which was delicious, followed by a piece of grilled chicken, rice, beans, salad and custard for dessert — all for $2.50 each.
Now that I know what “almuerzo” means, I’d order that meal every single day! And most Ecuadorians do, the restaurant was filled with people on their lunch breaks, parents and school children, and others having lunch.
Andi walked back to the airbnb to jump back on calls while Tory, Aden and I paid the bill. Then, we returned the house as well. Tory and I played cards together and then we all had some time to relax while Andi finished work.
Andi finished work at 5:30pm and then the four of us walked over to a hotel & spa located next door to our airbnb. Andi scoped out the place yesterday and was surprised to find pools & cabanas, tennis court and game room, a restaurant, and a spa there open to the public. Since today was a shortened activity day for us we thought this would be a fun and easy activity for the evening. Andi booked massages for he and I at 6:00pm and 7:00pm. I went first while he swam with Tory and Aden. Then when I finished, we switched.
My massage was excellent, complete with hot stones for $40. It cost $5 for kids and $8 for adults to use the pools. Andi said the swimming experience was an interesting one. There were several cold and hot pools. Guests are required to wear swimming caps and robes which were provided by the hotel/spa. Tory and Aden looked so cute walking around in their white ropes!
Rainy season temperatures in Baños are around 50-60 degrees during the day and 30-40 in the evenings. However, it doesn’t feel that cold when the sun is out because of elevation and Ecuador being so close to the sun. The air temperature got a little too cold for swimming after the sun went down though, and Tory and Aden were ready to go back to the airbnb. I walked back with them while Andi finished his massage.
Thursday, February 3
Thursday morning, Tory, Aden and I did school again while Andi was on a few conference calls. Then, around 11:00am, Andi arranged for a taxi to take us to lunch at Cafe del Cielo restaurant and to the nearby La Casa del Arbol in Baños.
Lunch at Cafe del Cielo was really nice. The restaurant is located in the Luna Volcano hotel with sweeping views of Turgurahua Volcano and the city of Baños below. We were seated next to a floor-to-ceiling window with a gorgeous view & ordered sandwiches and fresh juice for our meals. I love how accommodating the service staff in Ecuador has been — Aden doesn’t like sandwiches, so we asked if his sandwich could be deconstructed on a plate with the pork and bread separate. “Sure, no problem” the waiter responded.
After lunch, we continued up the mountain to La Casa del Arbol. Instagram made this place famous when visitors began sharing pictures of their “swing at the end of the world.” The swing takes you over the edge of the mountain with a beautiful view of the valley below & Turgurahua Volcano. However, this swing has nothing on the one we did in the Amazon Rainforest last week! We were expecting a massive, thrill-seeking swing like Mirador Incachuris, but this wasn’t that at all. This swing was smaller and more peaceful, hanging from the base of a treehouse.
There are other smaller swings and a zip line at La Casa del Arbol as well. We spent a couple hours there playing on the swings, the zip line and relaxing in the grass. It felt like the perfect spring day & all the gardens there were absolutely gorgeous. In my opinion, the flowers were really the star of the whole place.
We’ve noticed how quickly the weather changes here in Ecuador — one minute it is raining, the next minute it’s windy, the next minute the sun is shining. The locals joke that they experience every season every day. During our visit to La Casa del Arbol, the weather was warm and sunny. I could have stayed there all day relaxing in the sunshine.
Since it wasn’t far from the “swing at the end of the world,” we decided to take the kids to the Baños’ Animal Park next. This was basically a petting zoo with birds, rabbits, horses, llamas, deer and lions + a playground area. Tory and Aden loved feeding all the animals carrots and greens. Sure, it wasn’t the most adventurous activity we could have picked in Baños, but it was such a gorgeous day outside that it felt good to walk around outside. Plus, Tory and Aden were really enjoying themselves.
At the end of the petting zoo were several “selfie spots” where people lined up to take pictures of themselves. This must be a popular thing to do in Ecuador (thanks, I”m sure to social media) because there are Baños statues and designated picture spots all over Ecuadorian cities.
It was so windy on top of the moon platform, it was almost dangerous. Remember how I said the weather changes rapidly in Ecuador? It was sunny and warm on the other side of the Animal Park. The moon statue was secured to a platform and surrounded by a railing so there was no real danger, but the wind must have been blowing at least 30-miles per hour. We quickly took a picture because Tory and Aden really wanted to & then moved on.
Around 4:00pm, we asked our taxi driver to take us back to our airbnb. This has proven to be such a weird time of day for us because we’re all ready to be done sightseeing, but it’s too early to go to dinner. We don’t have a car, so we really can’t go back out to get dinner later unless we want to call another taxi. It seems silly to take a taxi back to the house though, only to take another taxi back out again.
We decided to go back to the airbnb, then later Andi walked to our favorite parrillelo (bbq) again to grab dinner to-go. This time, the restaurant only had a limited menu (presumably because they were getting ready to close soon). Andi brought home soup, bbq chicken wings, shrimp, rice, and roasted vegetables. He and I ate that for dinner while I made Tory and Aden noodles and strawberries at home.
Everything about this airbnb has been fantastic except for all the noise at night. The owner is super friendly and has had lots of helpful suggestions for restaurants and things to do in Baños + the house is spacious and clean. The only negative is that Andi and I dread going to sleep here! Dogs bark all night long and the neighborhood roosters crow constantly. It seems like the walls are paper-thin and don't block any of the outside noise. We’ve enjoyed our time in Baños this week, but we’re ready to move on from here. Tomorrow is our last day to explore the area.
