When nature calls, go to Los Baños

So when we last left off, I was in an internet cafe in Riobamaba. Since then, I have seen more boobies than you will in your entire life (Galapagos joke).

Four days before I set foot in Galapagos, I traveled to the mountain city of Baños. It´s on the western side of the country, on the road to the jungle. The city is known for outdoors activities and the active volcano a few kilometers from the city that shoot lava into the air every half hour.

A baños joke would be too easy here

Our guidebook said that the best time to view the erupting volcano in Baños is in the night, when you can clearly see the lava bursting in the air. We arrived in town at 10 p.m., too late to take a nightly shuttle up the top of a mountain to view the volcano. We arrived at an Israeli-owned hostel (While checking in, I spoke three different languages), and one of the guests told us that it was cloudy and probably not worth it to see the volcano. But Ari and I though for a second: How many times in our life will we be able to see a volcano erupt?

So we went to a hostel down the street to inquire about other locations to see the eruptions. The hostel employee told us that there was a mountain opposite the volcano where you could hire a taxi to take you to the top to view. The opposite mountain is actually higher than the volcano so you can look down on it. We arranged a ride and headed to the top of the mountain.

Two minutes into the ride, we learned that our driver was also city councilman for Baños, who also owns the hostel we went to ask information. Here is a brief rundown about our driver, Fernando. He has been in office for two years and doesn´t seek any higher position. The biggest problem facing the city is the volcano (an eruption in 1999 forced the town to be evacuated for three months). The volcano can be a boon for tourism but poses a threat to the community.

At the top of the mountain (a new personal high for altitude), we witnessed lava spewing out of the mountain. We were lucky because the mountain wasn´t completely covered by clouds and the fact that we were standing at such a high altitude above the clouds allowed us to see more than we would in the town. A volcano sounds like really loud thunder and someone who gargles really loudly. We stayed at the top for about an hour watching and listening for anything from the volcano (if it only goes off every half hour, you have just a few opportunities to see or hear it). While we are watching the volcano that stands over Baños, Fernando decides to step aside and go to the baño next to his truck.

The next morning, we wake up at 4:45 to see the volcano again (Fernando said that a reliable time to see the volcano is around 5 a.m.). In the morning, we heard a really big boom but didn´t see anything because of the clouds.

Superman of Santa Agua

Given the interesting location of Baños, under a volcano, the people of the town have developed some very interesting traditions and religious practices about who protects the village from the volcano. Legend has it that the Virgin of Santa Agua protects the town from the volcano. In the town church, there is a museum tribute to the virgin (and a gift shop where you can by Virgin of Santa Agua gifts for friends and family).

The people also believe that she protects the buses that travel into and out of the city. There are models of buses in the museum that fell off the cliffs and into the gorges below but nobody was hurt in these accidents. The people credit her with preventing harm. I couldn´t help but think the creators of Superman knew of these tales before making the movie, or maybe the Virgin of Santa Agua is Superman?

If Dr. Quinn were Ecaudorian, she would live in the jungle

First off, a Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman reference. When is the last time you even thought about that show? Now onto its relevance to my trip.

From Baños, Ari and I took a bus to Puyo - a town in the middle of the jungle that has a nice trail that gives a good representation of Amazon plants and native culture (a taste of the Amazon, if you will). A guide will lead on the trail, explaining the medicinal value of plants that grow in the area and a bit about the local culture. Our guide, Maxi Maxi, is from the Shuar tribe (most famous for shrinking heads).

She showed us the different plants that grow along the trail and what ailments they would cure. She would eat them, tell us their utility, and then ask us to try some of them. She offered us some plants that would cure sinus problems, diarrhea, constipation, prostate issues, and a host of other problems. She would ask us to eat or snort the plants, even though we didn´t experience any of the problems.
(I have some personal rules about what I put in my body and how things get into my body. Aside from oxygen, nothing goes through my nose)

We have trophies, and they have heads

One thing the Shuar tribe is most famous for is the practice of shrinking heads. If a person were sleeping with your wife, you are allowed to kill that person. Then, as a sign of your dominance, you follow a tradition custom and preserve the head as a trophy. They would also shrink heads from wars, but this is something I learned at a museum later. In fact, in sixth grade, I did a website with my friend about the Shuar tribe and the practice of shrinking heads. I haven´t really thought about the whole shrunken head thing since.

I have some shrunken head photos but I didn´t know if you would be grossed out or not. So I chose not to include them.

Well, this internet cafe closes in five minutes. So the eight hours I need to catch up on all the stories and the bit of time I need to upload photos will have to wait.

Things to look forward to in future e-mails: boobies, boobies, boobies. I also ran into another erupting volcano. I swam with some sea lions, penguins, and sharks. The Mystery, Alaska of the tropics. Oh, they are closing. I have to send this before they shut down the computer.