Our Road Trip - Part 3 - Second Day in Banos

Dear Family and Friends,

Since the our hotel of choice was fully booked, Chuck and I had to find another place to stay for the next two nights we were in Banos. We chose the hotel that we stayed in on our previous trip there two years ago - The Hotel Santa Clara. This hotel was perfect for us because they had a secure place to park Puff-Puff.



Although the Hotel Santa Clara includes breakfast with the room charge, we chose to walk a couple of blocks back to the La Posada del Arte for their delicious breakfast.

Chuck chatted up the owners and learned of a bicycle route they like that goes into the mountains surrounding Banos. If you do this tour on a clear day you can see the volcano Tungurahua. The road is mostly dirt and/or rock but it was well maintained and safe to drive.
Our second day in Banos was a perfect day to take this tour in Puff-Puff.

As we climbed out of Banos up the mountainside we were able to see both Banos and the volcano.


Here is another view looking from Banos to the east (away from the volcano). Such a beautiful valley.


The higher we went the further we could see. We were even able to see the top of Chimborazo, the beautiful mountain we saw driving to Banos.


It was interesting to see the hot houses the farmers had built. I thought all hot houses were for roses, since that is a major export from Ecuador, but these contained tomatoes.


Since the volcano Tungurahua is still active, every year or so it starts spouting and the villages and towns surrounding it have to be evacuated. We saw many signs indicating which direction to go if the volcano starts acting up.


Here is a (school bus?, taxi?) taking a load of kids up the mountain side after school. They were so cute because they knew I was trying to photograph them. Luckily the driver was driving real slow because, as you can see, the kids were hanging off the side of the truck bed.


It was a fun day of exploring.

Hasta la próxima vez, (Until next time)

Nancy