Baños Day 2

Saturday, September 13th, 2008

Forenote: Pictures will be added later due to internet that is holding on by a mere thread of hope itself.

Baños Day 2:
The alarm goes off. The thermal baths open at 4:30 in the morning and apparently it gets crowded soon, especially on a Saturday. Given that school in many non-South American parts has started and the tourist rush has eased, we still think it wise to wake up early. Wise it was, too. The pool is already a happening when we arrive. There are a bunch of thermal baths – or pools, each a different temperature. There’s a cold pool, a warm pool, and a blazing hot pool. The only differences between these baths and baths anywhere else that I’ve been to is that they are fed by the waterfall that is rushing down maybe 30 vertical meters of rock immediately beside the hottest of the baths. The top of the fall marks the rim of the hills that surround the town of Baños.

We take a few pictures. Maybe this is an excuse to get back into the baths. We’ve been here for over an hour!

We’re exhausted and nap. Rather, I’m exhausted and I nap. Alisa goes off for walks, coffee, and pictures: some of the markets; some of the church; some of the hostel, which we leave when I wake to revisit the church. We read (en español) tales of how people were saved from remarkable incidents by their last-minute shows of faith. Content with some more activity and sightseeing for the day, we return to the hostel roof and take a few pictures from there since the view is expansive and inviting. The nice thing about the views of this city seems to me to be that they all are close enough to see where things are and what’s happening yet far enough away to end up giving you a better sense for the layout and mini-grandeur of the city.

I’m starting to not feel well and cannot remain long outside of the hostel for fear of needing the privacy and the facilities thereof. We sit in a pieu in the church before leaving and walking more. There are a bunch of trips like this around town. Finally, we make a run for it to dinner. Luckily my tummy (shouldn’t it be called stummy?) is patient enough for a romanticesque dinner. We each get a soup that we desire and share lasagna. It would have been nicer if things arrived sooner. However, Alisa noticed something about a lot of restaurants in Baños: the people working there often have to leave the restaurant to go to the market for certain ingredients, of course readily available, and locally-farmed. Plus, as long as (ala) my stummy is OK, I’m happy to fill the time with laughs and bubbling conversation.

This marks the end of the day for us.