Did I mention how much I love the sound of a rooster crowing in the morning? Well, there’s a rooster in Baños that is not like other roosters who at least wait until the crack of dawn. This rooster in Baños crows ALL DAMN NIGHT! He was all the talk at breakfast this morning.
Despite the rooster waking me up several times throughout the night, THIS! was the view from my bed this morning…it speaks for itself. How could anyone possibly wake up grouchy with this view?!
On my way out to the bus after breakfast, I was able to catch a glimpse of the outside of our hotel, Alisamay. The exterior is so pretty with all the little balconies.
This morning we hiked down to the Pailon del Diablo, which translates to the Devil’s Cauldron, a breathtaking 263′ waterfall. It was a 20 minute steep hike down underneath a lush canopy of giant ferns and a multitude of other greenery. Though it was a leisurely picturesque stroll all the way down, I was preoccupied with the nightmarish thoughts of having to hike back up. Unfortunately, this kept me from thoroughly enjoying the trek down.
Although it nearly killed me and required a 30 minute head start in front of the college students I’m with, it was totally worth the constant heavy breathing and dangerously rapid heart rate. Thankfully, I had a motivational coach by my side every step of the way, encouraging me to my next milestone. Thank you for just the right balance of force and grace, Mike.
Once we all caught our breath from the hike back from the Devil’s Cauldron, we took the students zip lining. They all went in pairs toward this beautiful waterfall while I captured them all on GoPro video.
From there, we drove up the mountain a little further for the famous Swing on the Edge of the World. For $1 you can swing for as long as you like. Since swinging makes me nauseous, I video recorded everyone else and Mike bought me an ice cream instead.
Our dinner was prepared by Leito Hacienda, a hotel that sits very high up in the Andes. Once an old horse ranch, their grounds are now beautiful with gardens and fruit trees.
This final photo is overlooking the city of Baños. It’s a small town nestled in the Andes Mountains and one of our favorite stops
The Uptight Traveler 