One of the Best Photographs of Tungurahua.

This poster is one of the best pictures that I have seen of Tungurahua. It shows how Baños is situated in relation to the peak and the Bascun Canyon that protects the main part of the city. 

Alex would love to sell you this poster...

Alex, my friend, who has taken most of the pictures you see here on my blog shows a poster that is for sale here in his store. You can have one of these beautriful posters delivered to your home, in any country in the Americas, via certified "Snail Mail" for only $10.00. If you have visited Baños in the past and did not get a good picture of the volcano, now is your chance. 

Tungurahua, a beautiful backdrop for the high school. 

This picture was taken from the school by Alex on the 25th of October, 2004. 

October...Fiesta of the Virgin.

October is a great month to visit Baños. The month long fiesta in honor of the Virgin of the Holy Waters is a community-wide event. Each of the more than 30 neighborhoods, plus businesses and organizations sign up at the Basilica for their day with one of the statues of the Virgin. As far as I can tell there are at least four. Depending on the plan that is organized by a neighborhood, the residents hire a band, some with 20 or more musicians, that arrives in the morning and starts playing on the street corner. At the appointed hour the band leads the residents of that neighborhood in a procession to the Basilica. There are many flowers and each person has a least one rose. When they reach the Basilica the band plays in front of the church while the group enters to pick up their Virgin for the day. The procession returns to the neighborhood where they have a special place prepared and depending on the budget they may even have a mass preformed by the priest.

At some point, either in the afternoon or evening they parade once more to the Basilica where the Virgin is returned, under a shower of rose petals, to her rightful home and the group returns home for a fiesta with dancing, a little drinking and lots of rockets.


Most of the groups carry the Virgin, however use decorated trucks or trailers. One "Barrios Las Palmas" built a float that was fit for the "Rose Parade" in Pasadena, California. This is serious business and shows the competition between some neighborhoods.  



This scene is repeated every day of October and culminates on the 31st with special events planed for the whole town. I happen to live just two blocks from the church so there are parades and music two or more times a day. Small rockets are set off at all times of the day and night and once you get used to the explosions you can sleep right through them. I do not know the significance of rockets but many are set off by the Fathers at the church. I did find out that you can buy the rockets in the small town of Pelileo which is $0.40 away by bus.

By the way Pelileo is also known as the “Jeans” capital of Ecuador. This seems to be a cottage industry, where besides the small factories many are made in the homes. You can find almost any label. For example, Levi’s 550 will cost you nine or ten dollars at any of the many shops on the cities main street. Some of my friends here in Baños say that they are not the real thing, but the pair I bought look and feel like Levi’s, and that is good enough for me.

Galapagos Islands in 2005

I have not visited there yet but I plan to do so early in 2005. Now is the time to do my homework and plan my trip. I will be posting my planned itinerary hear so if any of you have some suggestions please comment. My first question is when is the best month to travel?

Why PayPal.

When a few friends asked me if I could send something that they saw on this blog or perhaps had contemplated buying on a previous trip and passed it up, I was glad to do it, but I had to find an easy way to get the payment to me. Then I happened on PayPal, a company owned by Ebay, and that was the answer to my dilemma They really make it easy to transfer money. It is secure, fast and affordable.

That is why I am now doing a little e-commerce. And yes, I am making a couple dollars myself. Not much but at least enough to pay for my trouble. I am finding that I am doing things here in Baños, that in other countries, I could not be bothered with. Here, if I make two dollars, that will buy groceries for two days. It is wonderful to live in an area where greed in business is almost non-existent. Maybe as I learn more I will change my mind...we’ll have to see.

So that is the reason for the “Buy Now” buttons that you will see if I find something of good value that can be mailed easily.

Baños Fiesta...Begins Friday December 9th.

This Eight day celebration culminates on December 16th, the official birth date of Baños. During these two weeks, there are parades, street dances, fireworks, lots of music, the selection of the queen and her coronation. and of courses a fair amount of drinking All of the events are planned by the Mayor´s office and at the present time there is not a program of events. There is a tradition to see if they can pull the melcocha (the taffy that you see being stretched in the doorways of many shops), longer than the year before. Last year it was 54 meters. That is more than half the length of a football field. A good time to visit if you enjoy taking part in local fiestas. You are all invited.

If you plan to be here during these days it would be wise to make your reservation soon. Depending on your day of arrival in Baños depends on weather you need a reservation or not. Unless it is a holiday, arrivals on Sunday through Thursday are generally no problem. Which ever is your favorite hotel or hostal is probably available. Just show up and you have a room. If you arrival is on Friday or Saturday it could be a different story.

Baños is a tourist town that receives a lot of national visitors on the weekends. Rooms are taken by Friday afternoon and you may save a lot of walking around looking for a room if you have a reservation. If you need help, click here.

Another Glorias Day

It is a beautiful day here in Baños and leave us all enjoy it.
It rained a little before sunrise, had breakfast watching the sun shinning brightly on the mountains across the Pastaza, walked to the market around 10:30 AM in a light drizzle with gusty winds, as a cloud had settled low on the city, and had lunch under a bright sunny sky. As one tourist remarked...”I have seen four seasons in a few hours.” That’s the way it is here....I still stand by my remark that the rainy season was over...but God still does the watering every other day...more or less. Have to keep those mountains green.

So You Want to Live Here...

What a beautiful day in Baños. Sunny and warm, and it is too bad that you are all not here to enjoy it.

There have been many questions about the procedures for obtaining a visa to live permanently here in Ecuador. The requirements are few and the procedures are simple, at least when you compare them with a lot of other countries. There are six types of visas easily obtainable that will apply to almost any situation. The two most popular are the visa for a retired person 10-I and the 10-II for the person that wants to invest in property.

There are many lawyers who make a good living helping foreigners obtain these visas, when you can easily do it yourself. You do need one letter drawn up by a lawyer and that will cost around $30.00. The rest of the process is easy.

In conjunction with a local attorney we have put together a package of all of the necessary forms and procedures to make the immigration process painless. Since all of the forms must be presented in Spanish we have given the instructions in English with easy to follow examples making it easy to follow even if you have no knowledge of Spanish. This package is available for only $20.00, which includes the certified mail charge. The estimated time for delivery is two weeks. If you are interested just click on the buy button. Satisfaction is guaranteed by me..

Our Bicycle Trip to Pailòn del Diablo.

The journey of 40 kilometers starts here. Today I was asked by my friend Alex, (the English teacher and my personal cameraman), if I would like to take a bicycle trip along the Avenue of the Waterfalls to the most spectacular of all....Pailòn del Diablo...in English "The devils frying pan". I jumped at the chance even though it has been more than 10 years since I had been on a bicycle. It seems that his advanced English class, that consists of just three students, had planned an outing where they were going to be my English speaking guides, and explain what we were seeing during the trip. On the way we will pass several waterfalls that are visible from the highway, but will stop only long enough to take a few pictures. We departed about two in the afternoon so we did not have a lot of time.
 

The Aguyán Dam

The Agoyán Dam across the Pastaza River is the source of electric power for the area. 

Aguyán Falls

Beautiful view of Aguyán Falls, taken from the highway. Since the water flow from the Aguyán Dam is now controlled the water flow down the Pastaza River is greatly diminished. 

View From the Bridge

View of the Pialon de Diablo from the bridge. Out of the picture at the bottom the the Verde River merges with the Pastaza which comes out of a canyon to the left of this picture. 

My Three Guides

Alex`s three English students, Cristian, Veronica and Edwin. This is a fun part of their studies. One of the purposes of this trip is for them to act as tour guides for me. Their assignment is for each to explain different aspects of the trip to me in English. 

La Puerta al Cielo....The Door to Heavens.

A reader asks...Why do they call this area the Puerta al Cielo? There are two versions that I know of and they both sound plausible. The first...Several years ago when this was the only road to Baños, and since Baños is almost like being in heaven...this was the gateway. The second....A few years ago this road was not as wide as it is today. There were many accidents with many buses, cars and motorcycles going over the edge. Today there are very few cars on this road but the 4-wheeler ATV´s are very popular and their drivers tend to go too fast. Sad to say, a few still use this door to the promised land. 

Manto de la Novia.

There are two ways to get to the Manto de La Novia waterfall. The cable car and the foot-bridge, and since people live across the river, these are very important modes of travel. The cable car can transport seven passengers at a time and the cost is $1.00 each. It is operational from 8 am until 5 pm every day. If you come late you have to take the bridge.  

The Bridge in Relation with the Falls

The Foot-Bridge Across the Pastaza River.

Veronica´s Turn to explain about the Manto de la Novia.

One of the New Tunnels Under Construction.

There are now four or five tunnels completed which makes the trip to Puyo much safer. This tunnel is still under construction so we will take the old road to the right. 

San Jorge Falls.

Verde River

Edwin explains about the Verde River. Where it started and where it is going. 

A Point of No Return.

The Verde River entering the cave. Anyone who accidently fell into the river at this spot would end up in the Pailõn del Diablo. 

El Boca del Diablo. The Mouth of the Devil.

The Verde River drops through this opening creating the Pailon del Diablo waterfalls. There is no inkling here as to what we will see on the other side. 

We Are Headed There.

Here you can see the bridge where you can view the complete Pailòn del Diablo. Below the bridge is were the Pastaza and Verde Rivers merge. The palapa to the right is a private restaurant and the entrance to the upper section of the falls. Most of the land is private around the falls and the owner here has built a good trail and look-out about midway to the top of the falls. The entrance fee is $0.50 per person.. 

The Upper Section Where the Verde River Exits the Boca del Diablo.

From this vantage point you can see and feel the force of the upper portion of the falls. This is where your $0.50 takes you.  

Increadable

As the water from the Verde River drops into the Pailòn, you can feel the power. The spray ascends up at least 60 meters to where we are.. 

Just Adds to the Beauty.

From the Middle of this Bridge You See the Whole Thing.

Veronica and Irwin on the bridge that overlooks the amazing Pialòn del Dieblo.