A Weekend in Baños, Part 4: Swinging with Monkeys

As we headed into Puyo, you could see that the topography was changing. It was much more lush and green as the vegetation became thick and lively. We passed by small towns and little tiendas all along the road, giving off the good smell of the tantalizing street meat. At Fundación Los Monos Selva y Vida, it felt a bit like entering Jurassic Park.

The 6 of us were a bit apprehensive at first. No one wanted to touch the monkeys and get Ebola. But as we saw the workers playing with them and they assured us they were tranquilo, we moved in closer. First we saw spider monkeys playing with a dog and fighting over a palm tree branch. Then some of the monkeys were wrestling with each other. We were warned that they would steal anything you had, so all we brought with us was our cameras.

Some of the monkeys didn´t want to play much, but others were swinging from ropes and jumping onto people. Some monkeys napped in the fetal position while a few others made a small girl cry hysterically as they jumped on her. We were shown different types of monkeys, then a couple of turtles and an ant eater, before we were lead over to the monkey swing.

A huge rope had been fastened to some trees, and you could swing, through the jungle, with a monkey on the swing with you. At first no one wanted to, but eventually we all took the opportunity to swing with them. The monkeys liked the women better though, and didn´t really want to ride with me. But as I swung back and forth I reached out for one, and he tried to grab on but didn´t make it.

After the swing, a couple of monkeys started to jump onto my head and shoulders, as they played games around us. It was an incredible way to end the trip, and as we left, it was clear that it was a great experience.

Back at the hostel, we rested up and showered and headed out for a final dinner. The town was active again, but we just wanted to have a little wine and hang out in the hostel before another big travel day.

I´d run out of money by the next day and had to start borrowing for everything, even just to get home. All told I spent over $80, but it was a great weekend that was definitely worth the experience. For the hostel, we only spent about $24 on two nights, two breakfasts, and some beers. The mountain bike excursion was $22 and we got to play with monkeys in the end. And getting to and from Ambato was about $8 each way. So all told, it was a pretty reasonable trip with some great results.

Coming back into Cuenca with thick fog and rain falling consistently, it was gray and tiring, but a definite relief to be back. It's feeling more and more like a home, and it was nice to get out of the "tourist" role and back into the "living here for a while" role. Back home, it's time to get back to the teaching.

Above: A monkey on my back, monkey's fighting a dog for a palm tree branch, a monkey with a stick

A Weekend in Baños, Part 2: Getting Aquainted with the Town

After the lunch we walked around a bit and met up with more of the volunteers that were in town for the weekend. It was getting late and we were in no rush, so we didn't bother to find anything in particular to do. We walked over to the waterfall and had a good view of the town, which is very small, and then walked back towards the center. The town is known for its natural baths, hence the name Baños, but we never wound up going in them. They didn't look that appealing after going to Papallacta, which had much nicer baths.

Window shopping and getting a feel of the city, we decided on mountain biking the following day. Going with Exodotours, we worked out a deal for $22 to rent bikes and trek half of the 61 km to a town at the edge of the Amazon Rain Forest called Puyo. From the last waterfall on the route we would be taken in a truck to Puyo, where lunch was included, and check out an animal reserve with monkeys. It was a good deal, and we would have a guy following us to make sure nothing went wrong. If we'd just wanted to rent the bikes it would be $5 for the day, but we went for the higher end deal. Leaving at 9:30 a.m. from Baños, we would return from Puyo at 5 p.m.

For the rest of the afternoon we strolled and had a few beers, and after a good dinner, we were too tired from the long day to do anything else. Because it was a holiday weekend, the town was electric and ready for a party, but we couldn't take part.

The town of Baños felt very safe, even though there were tons of tourists around. The economy of the town depends on tourism, so safety is important there. Though I wouldn't want to spend an extended period of time in a touristy town, it was a nice break from what we've been doing over the last month. I felt like I could actually take out my camera and leave it around my neck, and though I had reservations at first, I realized that I'm blond and no matter what, people will know I'm a tourist from a mile away.

It´s a funny town because it almost feels like Disney Land. Everywhere you go are tourists off to do extreme sports or some kind of excursion. The town is sort of like the equivalent to Interlaken, Switzerland, where tons of backpackers head each year to do extreme sports like skydiving, canyoning, and paragliding. Literally all day long people drive by in ATVs, motorcycles, or go carts that they use to tour the surrounding areas, and since the roads are so narrow, it feels like you´re actually walking across a track meant for them. The motors roar all day, but it doesn´t ruin the tranquility of the town. At night in Baños, the church is lit up with purple lights, and actually looks like the magical palace in Orlando.

In the morning we woke up early and had a great breakfast on the rooftop of the hostel. I got two pancakes with sugar cane syrup, but it kept reminding me of a rum I tried in Grenada that was made of sugar cane, and after one pancake I was too full to continue. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and it was heating up quickly, and I realized that I hadn't brought any sunblock. A big mistake.

A friend had told me it was cold there and it totally slipped my mind. I had to mooch some sunblock off of the others, but it didn't do, and by the end of the day my arms and knees were pinkish-red. You'd think I'd know better by now, living on the equator, but I'm still an idiot about it.

The tour agency was right across the street from the hostel, so we moasied over around 9:30 to pick up our bikes and get started. After very quick test runs down the street to make sure they actually worked, we put on our stupid-looking helmets, which probably wouldn´t actually help in an accident, and headed out.

Read more in Part 3...

Above: The start of the bike ride, The view from the rooftop restaurant at the hostel, A man eying some tantalizing street meat,