Day 58: Baños

Saturday, May 25th, 2019.

Todays plan:

“Mountainbike treasure hunt Baños

Today you will explore the amazing surroundings of Banos by going on a scavenger hunt by mountain bike. The hunt includes questions and tasks, leading you on a route along amazing waterfalls.

Please make your own way to the office of Alexander tours (Luís A. Martínez and 12 de Noviembre) for your bikes at 09:00 hrs. The treasure hunt details are in the envelopes you received from our representitive in Quito.

Canopy Bridge Experience: 14:00 hrs.

A zip-lining experience is also included this day, after having completed the hunt. Together with a walk over a picturesque Tibetan bridge to go rock climbing over the pristine river before being transferred back to Banos.”

The hotel is fully booked by Ecuadorians because of public holiday. They party in the night, come home lately and very noisy. Anyway, I slept good. The breakfast is to order, everything you order they try to deliver, if you donot order, you get less.

I take my stuff and go to Alexander tours.

There I get a mountain bike, I check the breaks, it will do, And a map, where to go. It is quite easy, go to the main road and then just downhill. We are not the only bikers, it seems to be one of the favorite tourist MustDo’s, to drive down the waterfall alley.

At the waterfalls on private territory I have to pay a dollar, lock the bike (Alexander gave me a steel chain with the smallest lock ever) and hike a bit.

Road is super full, there is no bike lane, bus drivers and truck drivers realize only objects bigger than a motorbike. I am not. If I try to go more left, there is a concrete channel. So, only thing is look left to the waterfalls, ignore right. I can’t miss any waterfall. Everywhere where 50 tourists are, is a waterfall. Time by time a party bus takes over …

I stop by every waterfall. At most of them there is either ziplining or other action staff. Last is the Pailon del Diablo. Due to the holiday it is very full and everywhere is food. I am happy that the security staff is very strict about the limits.

1,2,3,…50

At the bottom of the bike tour we take a truck for 5 USD, he puts the bikes in and drives us to Alexander where we return the bikes. Very organized.

We go to mercado central for some food.

I go for the encepollada (something like a soup). Locals join us.

Then I go home in my beautiful room with the durable remote control and change for the ziplining.

At Alexander they are waiting for me, squeeze me in a Hyundai minivan 10 others and drive me to the ziplining. There I gear up and off we go …

Really nice jungle and waterfall views, the climbing up is through the forest. Lots of mosquitos and I forgot my DEET. The ziplining itself was longer, deeper, faster in Costa Rica.

The I go with the girls (actually only girls do ziplining, if there is a boy he has to follow a girl it seems) for a chocolate milkshake. What I hot was not what I expected. Girls stuff …