Elder Lewis and I are enjoying our COVID recovery! Not only are we back to working full days in the mission office, we are also doing some traveling and sightseeing. Two weeks ago, we spent four days and 3 nights in Banos, Ecuador. Banos is a tourist community nestled in the Andes and a gateway to the Amazon. If anyone questions the reality of a Supreme Creator, make a trip to Banos! I'm a firm believer that "all things denote there is a God" (Alma 30:44) and Banos is a beautiful reminder of that truth.
Our Uber driver - Carlos, picked us up from our apartment at 9 AM on Wednesday, October 14. We arrived at our resort in Banos around 12:30 PM, dropped off our luggage, and made arrangements for Carlos to pick us up on Saturday for a return trip to Quito. We then asked him if he would drive us to and from one of our planned activities - La Casa del Arbol, that was 5 km from the resort. It cost us another $10, but it did give him some time to rest before he had to drive the 3.5 hours back to Quito.
After spending an hour enjoying the sites and activities at La Casa del Arbol we started walking back to the parking lot where Carlos was waiting. As we prepared to cross the road, a pick-up truck with "transporte" printed on the side pulled up to the path entrance and a young couple got out of the truck. When I saw the truck and the couple I felt impressed to ask them if they spoke English. They said that they did and then I inquired about the truck that had dropped them off.
We knew that we would need local transportation (taxi) for the next few days to take us between the resort and Banos. I thought this "transporte" pick-up might be an option. When I explained to the young couple what we were looking for, the young woman (Natalie) told us that her Dad was a taxi driver and that she would call him to see if he would provide regular taxi service for us for the next few days, and how much it would cost.
WOW! I felt like we'd witness a small miracle! Natalie's dad, Luis, agreed to provide taxi service for us and he did so at a lower price than what we would have otherwise found. On our last day, we gave him a pass-along card with information about the Church and our phone number, and then we invited him to watch for the missionaries.
Right now, there are no missionaries in Banos. They were removed last March when COVID struck. However, we found out yesterday that a companionship of sister missionaries will be reopening Banos next week. We are excited about that and we believe our connection with Luis and Natalie holds promise!
The resort - Luna Volcan is absolutely beautiful! It is nestled high (13,477 ft.) on the mountainside overlooking Banos. The buildings and gardens are charming, inviting, and romantic in a rustic French country way. We checked in at 3 PM, requested a hot chocolate exchange for the bottle of wine that was suppose to be in our room, picked up our bathrobes at the spa as suggested by the concierge, and then went to our room. Our room looked exactly like it had in the photos. No surprises there. We changed our clothes and spent an hour in the pools before dinner.
The pools included 3 hots tubs of varying temperatures, and then a larger pool that literally hung out over the mountain where you could enjoy a stunning view. The water was cool in that pool and I didn’t go all the way in like Max did, but we both thoroughly enjoyed the warmer pools.
After our time in the pools, we went back to the room and then went for dinner at the restaurant. Dinner was very good, both breakfast and dinner were included in the price of the room.
Following dinner, we did some evening exploring as the sun descended and the lights came on around the resort and the pools. It was quiet and dusky, with cooler temperatures. We also enjoyed a breathtaking view of Banos, all lit up, in the valley below.
Thursday morning after breakfast, Luis, our taxi driver, met us in the parking lot as planned. Natalie his daughter, the young woman we’d met the day before, was in the car with him. Luis thoughtfully took us to a bike shop where the owner/operator spoke English and the bikes were newer and in good condition. We rented our bikes, received a map and some great instructions, and then set off to do the Ruta de Las Cascadas -- a biking, hiking, zip-lining route that showcases a series of 6 beautiful waterfalls.
Our first stop included a zip-line, advertised as the longest zip-line in Ecuador. The first man at the zip-line wanted to charge us $15/person. We said, “No thanks,” and continued a little ways before a woman stepped out to invite us to do the zip-line. Max asked how much and she said $15. Max asked if we could do it for $10/person. She agreed and we went on an amazing flight from the top of a canyon, over the river, to the canyon floor below, approximately 1000 meters. We were picked up at the end of the zip-line and transported back to the starting point where we'd left our bikes. From there we continued biking the route.
On the biking route, we saw six waterfalls, the two most impressive ones were the last two, Diablo and Machay. We hiked down, up, and around Diablo. It was a beautiful hiking trail with heavy foliage, stone steps, bridges, and finally the waterfall. When we returned to the head of the trail, we had lunch and rested before getting back on our bikes and heading out to Machay Cascada. By then, our rear-ends were really sore and we were tired. Apparently, Diablo is the end of the route for most, but we decided to go to the finish line and see Machay.
When we arrived at Machay, a boy of about 10 years old came out to take our entrance fee of $1/person. We then started walking down a hiking trail before we came upon the stairs that led to the base of the falls. We hiked to the first lookout point, and then Max said he was too tired (leftover COVID fatigue) to go to the bottom and then climb back up. I decided to hike it on my own. It was also a beautiful trail and included hundreds of steep steps to the base of the falls.
When we finished at Machay, we rested for a bit and then asked the gatekeepers of the trailhead what was the best way to get back to Banos. We'd read online that a transport truck was stationed at Diablo to take people and their bikes back to Banos. That would mean that we'd have to bike back to Diablo. However, the locals told us to just bike to the bus stop that was 50 yards away and take the bus back. We followed their advice and sure enough, 15 minutes later the bus pulls up, loads our bikes into the cargo area, and we were off for a short, comfortable ride back to Banos. The bus was a much better option than the online suggestion of the transport truck.
When we arrived at the bike shop, we contacted our taxi drive, Luis, and he was there in a few minutes to take us back to the hotel where we had dinner and retired early. We had a wonderful and physically exhausting day! We also needed to get a good night's rest, because we were leaving early Friday morning for a trip that took us to the rainforest and jungle southeast of Puyo.
In Banos, you can descend from the height of the Andes to the jungle rather quickly. That is what makes it such an attractive tourist town. One day you can be hiking steep mountains, and the next day you find yourself tromping through a rainforest in the jungle. Friday, was our rainforest/jungle experience.
We had scheduled a jungle tour a few weeks ago. When we called the tour company Thursday evening to confirm our pick-up location, there was no response. Max contacted Viator and found out that the tour company had gone out of business during COVID. So he quickly arranged for another tour and confirmed a pick-up location.
The next morning, Luis was there to take us to our pick-up location. We were a little early, so we had the opportunity to visit with the new tour company's husband/wife managers. It was an interesting conversation. We learned how hard Banos was hit economically because of COVID. This particular company said that on a daily basis, they were taking 30+ people on the same jungle tour we were going on. Now, they were hoping to get 30 tourists a week.
We left Banos with a group of 12 other tourists and 2 tour guides. Within 1.5 hours we had arrived in the rainforest at the trailhead of Cascada Hola Vida.
After hiking to and from Cascada Hola Vida, we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant that appeared to cater to tour groups like ours. At one side of the restaurant there were some long, shallow canoes that looked old and out of use. We discussed with fellow tourists - Don and Robert, what it might be like to float down the river in one of these canoes. A little precarious to say the least.
As we were boarding the small tour bus to travel to our next stop, three Latino men dressed in shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops hopped on the bus with us. I thought they might be friends of the bus driver and tour guide and that we were just giving them a ride down the road. Well, when we arrived at the next stop, the men jump off the bus and walked away while the bus driver backed the bus into a grassy parking spot.
We de-boarded the bus, donned life jackets, and were directed down to the bank of a river where......who did we find, but the 3 amigos who'd been on the bus. They were standing at the water's edge maneuvering....you guessed it, three of those long, shallow canoes that looked as old and out of use as the ones we'd seen at lunch.
I knew that part of our tour included a short river cruise; but I had no idea that we would be floating in carved out trees where the captain of the ship had an oar in one hand to guide the canoe, and a make-shift plastic bucket in the other hand to bail out water.
Max and I settled into the belly of the narrow canoe. I was at the bow, Elder Lewis was behind me, and behind him were Don and Robert, two retired North Americans who live in Ecuador. The skipper was at the stern, no life jacket, an oar, and a bucket. At first, the water was calm, but as we continued down the river there were rocky patches where the current was swift and the canoe would rock from side-to-side with the hull bumping and scraping along.
The greatest concern I had about our canoe tipping over, besides smashing my head against one of the big rocks we were navigating around, was getting my cell phone wet! Heaven forbid! It was safely tucked into a fanny pack around my waist, but it would not have survived being immersed in water! Thankfully, all three canoes made it down the river without incident.
Following our canoe trip, we did a little spelunking in some caves, and then enjoyed a beautiful view of the valley. Several tourists enjoyed the large swing that would fly out over the valley. But, I lost my enthusiasm for the swing when members of our group (some in platform shoes) would casually walk out on a pier that had no railing. The pier overlooked a vast valley and the platform footed tourists would sit down with their legs hanging and swinging over the edge. One misstep would have been disastrous! I had to look away!
Saturday morning we enjoyed the thermal pools once more before our Uber driver, Carlos, arrived to take us back to Quito. It was an incredible week and we are looking forward to going again in 3 weeks when our daughter Natalie and her husband, Brad, come to visit.
Our time in Ecuador is quickly winding down. We have less than three months to serve. We are looking ahead and making decisions concerning our future. We are so grateful for the opportunities and experiences we've enjoyed in Ecuador. We feel blessed, and we feel that our family has also been blessed, because of our service.
We send our love to all of you!
Elder & Sister Lewis
This was a wonderful trip. So glad you got to see so many wonderful sites.
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