On Wednesday Criss and I went to Baños in the Tungurahua Province of Ecuador. Baños is a bit of a tourist hot spot, as it is home to beautiful waterfalls and adventure sports and activities. We saw some nice birds and scenery on the way, and stopped to take photos with Los Pajaros (the birds).
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| Blue and yellow Tanager |
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| On the old road to Baños |
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| Cinereous Conebill, Baños |
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| Los Pajaros (The birds), Baños |
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| Los Pajaros, Baños |
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| Cascada Cabellera de la Virgin, or Hair of the Virgin waterfall, Baños |
One of the main attractions in Baños for me was something that's been on my bucket list for a while, "The Swing at the End of the World". So we headed for La Casa del Arbol, a spot high up in the mountains, and visited "the Treehouse" and the famous swing. It was actually a bit safer than I thought, as there is a "safety belt", a piece of rope that you clip across the front of you once you're in the swing. The swing goes high up over the edge of a cliff, and when you are in the air you can't see any land close under you. It was an amazing feeling! Criss even decided to have a go, even though up until arriving there she had been adamant that she didn't want to.
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| La Casa del Arbol, Baños |
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| Criss in La Casa del Arbol, Baños |
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| The Swing at the End of the World, Baños |
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| The Swing at the End of the World, Baños |
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| The Swing at the End of the World, Baños |
That night, we went for a wander around Baños, and sampled Sanduche, an alcoholic drink made from 1 part fermented sugar cane juice mixed with 2 parts fresh sugar can juice, with a touch of lemon juice. We bought a 1 litre bottle for about US$2.50. The taste was alright and the alcohol was very effective. We took our bottle of Sanduche and went on a chiva, an open sided tour bus, up to Bellavista, a lookout point with a large illuminated cross and excellent views over the city lights. After that we went to a "disco-tech" club and danced with some locals.
The following day we were feeling a bit under the weather, but still managed to go for a bit of a hike to Pailon del Diablo, Devil's Pan, a huge, thundering waterfall near Baños. I saw quite a few nice birds in there, including an Andean Motmot, Slate-throated Whitestart, Yellow-throated Bush-tanager, and Golden Tanager. Unfortunately the low light levels and thick foliage didn't allow any great photos, except of perhaps the best bird - the iconic Andean Cock-of-the-Rock. We saw a pair of female birds on our way back up from the waterfall.
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| Pailon del Diablo |
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| Pailon del Diablo |
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| Pailon del Diablo |
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| Andean Cock-of-the-Rock (female), Pailon del Diablo |
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