Banos: it’s one of those towns that’s toted as an action-adventure, extreme sports place… We really dug Banos, but the extremo part was a bit flaccid. They have a rope jump off a gigantic bridge, but based on the size of the jump compared to the bridge, I imagine the bridge was a bit embarrassed. So sad. Had Chip been with us I think I might have been motivated enough to go show them how things are done! We did do a little climbing while we were there. Nothing to write home about, but fun to get back out on the rock. It had been a while. We parked next to a nice hostel, made some friends up on the balcony overlooking the town and the church, visited the famous hot springs, and consumed many a cerveza while enjoying the beautiful steep hills and numerous waterfalls cascading down them.
The infamous tick list. We all have them, some are more grandiose than others. Our friend Chris back in Denver has one of the best around – just ask him sometime over beers. Somewhere on ours was “visit” the Amazon Jungle. It just seemed silly to be so near something so gigantic and well known but not pay it a visit. Thing is, we’ve been to the jungle… like, a lot. From the moment we descended into Palenque back in Mexico, we were never far from (or not completely emerged in) those hot, sticky jungles. Enjoying the mountains as much as we have been, we opted for a day trip. We know, barely a scratching of the proverbial surface – but a trip to the Amazon nonetheless. So with that, we jumped on a bus and after a couple of hours we found ourselves in the rain forest. And rain it did…
What would follow was a one day, all you can cram in, blow gun shooting, face painting, indigenous boat riding, tree swinging, waterfall swimming, Amazonian extravaganza… and did I mention rain?
Soggy and thoroughly pleased with our outing we returned to Banos for a day before motoring off to Cuenca with an additional passenger, our new friend Ted from England who has one of the funniest tattoos I’ve seen in a while healing on his arm right now.
It doesn’t get much better than that folks. The following days were nothing but hilarity and good times. The drive down was gorgeous as was the city we all pedaled around on classic loaner bikes from the Mallki Hostal – a great place to stay if you’re ever in town – don’t miss Mojito night and Jenga!
After saying adios to Ted we drove to a little town called Paute to check out the rock climbing we heard they hosted. It did not disappoint! After bit of clumsy circling around town we finally homed in on the correct road, located the very in-obvious trail, and found a good spot for the van. On the second day we were hiking up the steep hill to the rock when Niccole, out of nowhere, executes what can only be described as a rain dance. A RAIN DANCE on the way to go rock climbing!!! I’m not sure what happened in the Amazon, but she’s just different now.
No sooner than we arrived at the crag and got our harnesses on, it started raining. I immediately did my best impression of her dance but substituted the word “sun” for “rain.” It took, after about a half hour, and we ended up spending three days climbing there until our tips were completely shredded from the sharp rock. Awesome climbing, best we’ve seen since Colombia!
We planned to drive straight to Vilcabamba, lay over for a night, then hit one of the most remote and mysterious border crossings of the trip… Plans, oh yeah, those things. First, as we were driving through Loja, the front left brake deteriorated into that metal on metal sound we have come to loathe. We wasted no time, pulled into the first decent mechanica we saw, and got after it. One thing led to another and the next thing you know the Craggin’ Wagon was 6 cab rides, 3 parts stores, 2 auto shops, and 1 overnight stay camped/locked in the actual mechanic’s place deep! The end result though is that we have a new disc, functioning front brakes, a sturdy new exhaust pipe, and the famous Andean tope scraper is no more!
Second, we got to Vilcabamba. Imagine a resort, the kind that you would pay top dollar for in The States, but at shoestring backpacker prices. Stunning views, epic pool, and full service spa! A nice respite from the stresses of van rehabilitation entirely in Espanol.
Will we gun it down one of the most questionable roads yet only to end up in one of the remotest parts of Peru? Even we can’t say at the time. Stay tuned for more Craggin’ Wagon shenanigans and what will certainly be a good frontiera story one way or another…
Again, a great report! And what spectacular face painting. That was very cool, especially with the full costume. And I loved the pink bike, Nicolle.