Hostels, Banos and the sweet sweet life

On Thursday we came to Banos, a little town about 170k SSE of Quito, known for its thermal waters and relaxed atmosphere.  Banos is at the foot of Vulcan(o) Tungurahua, the source of its healing thermal waters and some excitement when in 1999 it came to life (after 80 years) and acted like it was ready to blow.  It didn’t, but caused the town to be evacuated for months, and set back the town’s economy greatly.  Anyway, the volcano's still considered active, although quiet, the town has recovered and is a delightful place drawing international and Ecuadorian tourists.

We were at a little hostel in the city our first two nights, the only Americans there.  We enjoyed the city's thermal and cold baths with lots of Ecuadorians, rented a dune buggy to very noisily zip around the city's outskirts, had a massage, ate well, saw a beautiful cementario, watched a local soccer game, hung out, and became very frustrated with the hostel's terrible internet.  That hostel's "laundromat" had an amazing feature I'd never seen, though -- an automatic rinse cycle -- see below -- a little lever that forced water to sprinkle out of a grid at the upper end of the washing stone.  Hard to see, but very cool.

The waterfall that fills the cool thermal baths and showers below.

The thermal baths, filled from underneath.  

And the rinsing station for swimsuits just outside the baths.  

The dune buggy.  We had to wear helmets.

Yesterday we moved to our current hostel, about 2k out of town.  It’s new, built by very aware and committed folks from NZ and AU, to internal (not governmental) standards about eco-sustainability and responsibility.  It's lovely, comfortable, magical.

From our balcony (photo right), I just watched a little blue tanager bathe in a palm leaf, full of water from a little rainstorm this morning.  The birds are fantastic, as always, and the river's constant burbling is delightful. It’s a little hostel, not so many guests.  Breakfast of homemade bread, their organic farm-grown tomatoes and avocados, fresh orange and pineapple juice, coffee, tea.  Soon we’ll go over to the nearby thermal banos (baths), return to an in house massage, read for a bit then walk into town for dinner and some local music.  Sweet, sweet life. 

This is only our 5^th hostel on this trip (we keep returning, to the same one in Quito, so can only count it once).  I check them out prior, and decide based on the usual standards --mine being, in order of importance, safety, cleanliness, character, ratings, etc., and ensuite, a luxury – and we’ve done well although at times the plumbing’s been an issue, or cleanliness – luck of the draw by room.  But all have offered the same delights in the other guests:  friendly, open, adventurous folks, happy to be sharing an interesting experience, not so many from USA, and few our age. First night in Banos we met a writer for the Rough Guides.  Last night we ate here, and shared dinner with a Belgian woman whose son and husband are in the Galapagos.  She doesn’t like boats, so came to Banos.  Discussion of religion, governments, education, occupations, philosophy.  Happily her English was good enough to discuss conceptual stuff.  Steve's Spanish is improving, mine seems to advance in small fits and spurts.

I've rambled.  If you have thoughts as to what might be interesting, please say so.  More on birds?  Foods?  Oddities?  Ceme(n)teries?  More/fewer words?  More/fewer photos?  The comments are unmoderated, btw.

NEW:  Accounting section:  4 hour bus trip Quito to Banos, $4.10pp; first hostel, $7pp, no breakfast; this hostel $20pp with breakfast; dunebuggy $10/hour; 60 min massage $25/pp; baths $2pp; dinner at hostel $6.50pp; big beers $1.25; full lunch (chicken, rice, soup, juice, vege, dessert) $2.50pp. 

 On Wednesday night in Quito we decided to eat at a restaurant recommended by Lonely Planet as having good, reasonably priced real Ecuadorian specialties.  Nancy got the goat and I ordered the cuy (guinea pig).  Being a little circumspect about eating a guinea pig, I ordered the smallest serving; a wise decision as it turned out.

 Above, my order, as served, with the cuy on the bottom left hand corner of the plate.  The meat was extremely tough, dry, and loaded with tiny little bones.

Above, the serving of goat, which I (more than Nancy) found pretty tasty, certainly better than the nasty cuy.

 

The remains of the cuy, a pile of very tiny bones.

While in Banos on Friday, we saw cuy being prepared for a street restaurant.  Stopping to take pictures, we ran into a couple of other foreigners who spoke English also taking pictures of the grilling cuy.  They said they had eaten cuy there the night before and found it delicious.  So, I guess I will have to try it again - perhaps the lower cost version closer to the Ecuadorian streets, so to speak, will taste better.

Cuy background - On a day tour we took outside of Quito about a week ago, we saw a typical rural Ecuadorian extended family home where they raised guinea pigs primarily for sale but also for their consumption.  Pictured above, the guinea pigs were allowed to roam the floor of their home, the family slept on platforms several feet above the floor.

Otavalo's cementario and other doorways

While in Otavalo, the market town, we walked out a bit and found a huge cemetery. It was a Sunday evening, and not very crowded, but there were folks cleaning, patching the concrete on crypts, hanging out.

Just to the left of the entrance, a frescoe on the wall.

The crypts were about 2X2, mostly secured behind metal facings/grates with locks.  Many had fresh flowers inside.  There were several flowers shops just outside the entrance.  

Hard to see from this poor photo, but several graves have multiple crosses on them, families sharing a resting place.  

This one has a live rosebush ringing the gravesite.

View up the hillside into the graves of the more common folk.

We walked a different route back to our hostel and found this coffin shop open for business.  Note the doors on either side -- this was so typical of Otavalo, beautiful, individually designed, distinct, impenetrable doors.  The doors from the main church are below.

Doorways on a random building on the walk from the main square to our hostel.  

  

Quito Central Public Library and books

Although it was in the Old Town (tourist) area, it wasn't easy to find . . . most people including police hadn't heard of it or didn't know where it was.  It turned out to be in a cultural center near the presidential palace.  And while it called itself the public library, it didn't feel very public at all, nor did it seem to be embraced or even utilized by regular folks, except in the kids area.  It was grande, in parts: 

Entryway, looking into a special limited-access room.

Beautiful courtyard, with collection rooms off the corridors.

Old -- not rare old, just old -- books, which do not circulate.  Each collection room open to the public had a guard posted at the doorway.

Elegant staircase leading up to the children's area.  Photos show no people because hardly any were about.  The guards and personnel spoke very little English, worse than most places, a bit of a surprise.  

Ahh, the Children's Area!   In the Children's area, there was stuff going on, kids engaged, books available that were mostly age appropriate, posters, a good energy and vibe.  The librarian's stink eye kept me from taking photos of any activities, so just shelves are here, but there was laughter, focus, absorbed thought, engaged children on the other side of the room.

The Obamas, Selma Hayak, an Ecuadorian soccer dude all in Read posters.  Nice.

The cultural center had an art exhibit just outside the library, including this inclusive poster.  Also nice to see.  

I hope I've missed something about public libraries in Quito.  

This bookstore, Mister Books, in a mall, was very well stocked, with mostly Spanish, but some English books.  Stephanie Meyer offerings, below.