Baños

I left Quito for Baños this morning. I got to the bus station at 10:25am & managed to get onto a 10:30 bus. It took about 4 hours, & the only slightly dodgy moment was when we were driving down a dual-carriage way with a concrete median strip down the middle. The road ahead was closed due to roadworks & the bus was too long to make a sharp turn up a steep hill to follow the detour the cars were taking. The driver then proceded to back down this major road until he came to a break in the concrete, & then drove on the wrong side of the road for a couple of km until the roadworks were over!

Baños is lovely, it's a small town surrounded on all sides by lush green hills. It's really nice & quiet after the hustle & bustle of Quito. It's a popular holiday destination for Ecuadorians who come for the hot springs & fresh mountain air... I spent this afternoon wandering around the town, & managed to book myself onto a 3 day/2 night jungle trip leaving tomorrow morning! I'm very excited about it. I have to go back to the tour operator in a couple of hours time to try on gumboots for size! I'll have 2 more nights in Baños after I get back from my trip. I might be tempted to do one of the night tours where they take you up to view the volcano erupting. Judging by some of the photos plastered all over town, it can be quite spectacular!

Adios until I get back from the jungle!!!