I have been in Baños for the past week taking Spanish lessons. No, not baño as in "bathroom," Baños as in Baños de Agua Santa, a small town in Ecuador seated in the middle of the mountains. It's a really safe town, and I walk around so much that it's quite possible some of the vendors and shop owners have begun to recognize me a little bit.
My typical day here goes more or less like this:
8am: breakfast of fruit, bread from a local panadería (basically bakery) with jam, fresh juice, and coffee. My host family always offers to make eggs, but I’m always too full for anything more.
8:30-12pm: Sometimes after breakfast I go hiking or walk around town, sometimes chill or finish my Spanish homework from the day before, and sometimes I fall back asleep. I could take class in the morning, but the mornings are usually more temperate so I prefer having the good weather to walk around. There are tons of short little trails that take just a half hour or an hour to climb to the top and get a nice view of Baños.
12-1pm: I'm definitely in town by this time, figuring out where to eat for lunch. I made friends with a woman named Patricia who sells juices and batidos, which are fruit shakes with milk, so sometimes I go talk to her. My favorite batido flavor so far is babaco.
2-6pm: Spanish class! A man from Florida named Doug who is in my same homestay also has class in the afternoon. We have a break during class where we drink tea or coffee and we usually eat a snack like chifles too. Chifles are plantain chips, and we always have very fresh ones. My teacher made me eat the last one once, which means I'm going to get married this year. The next day, I tried to make Doug eat the last one, but he doesn't want to get married again, so I ended up eating the last chifle and I suppose I'll have to get married twice this year! Hm.
7:30pm: Dinner with the host family. We talk about things such as how the fruit is really good here, the higher education system in the US, and of course the weather and what we might do the next day. The food is always so good! Then I do my homework, listen to some music, and eventually fall asleep, usually to the sound of barking dogs. There are a TON of dogs here.
My typical day here goes more or less like this:
8am: breakfast of fruit, bread from a local panadería (basically bakery) with jam, fresh juice, and coffee. My host family always offers to make eggs, but I’m always too full for anything more.
8:30-12pm: Sometimes after breakfast I go hiking or walk around town, sometimes chill or finish my Spanish homework from the day before, and sometimes I fall back asleep. I could take class in the morning, but the mornings are usually more temperate so I prefer having the good weather to walk around. There are tons of short little trails that take just a half hour or an hour to climb to the top and get a nice view of Baños.
12-1pm: I'm definitely in town by this time, figuring out where to eat for lunch. I made friends with a woman named Patricia who sells juices and batidos, which are fruit shakes with milk, so sometimes I go talk to her. My favorite batido flavor so far is babaco.
2-6pm: Spanish class! A man from Florida named Doug who is in my same homestay also has class in the afternoon. We have a break during class where we drink tea or coffee and we usually eat a snack like chifles too. Chifles are plantain chips, and we always have very fresh ones. My teacher made me eat the last one once, which means I'm going to get married this year. The next day, I tried to make Doug eat the last one, but he doesn't want to get married again, so I ended up eating the last chifle and I suppose I'll have to get married twice this year! Hm.
7:30pm: Dinner with the host family. We talk about things such as how the fruit is really good here, the higher education system in the US, and of course the weather and what we might do the next day. The food is always so good! Then I do my homework, listen to some music, and eventually fall asleep, usually to the sound of barking dogs. There are a TON of dogs here.
Today was a bit different because it’s Saturday and I don't have class on the weekend. I wanted to hike up to la casa del árbol, which is a pretty cool little house with a swing that, on a cloudless day, has a view of Tungurahua Volcano. I think a clear enough day is very rare this time of year, though. After a couple hours, I knew I was really close and I asked three other travelers how much farther. They told me about twenty or so minutes, but they were actually going down to a different, much larger swing. Very curious, I decided to join them, thinking I would probably still check out la casa del árbol afterwards.
The swing was called El Vuelo del Cóndor. I’m kind of afraid of heights, but in the Czech Republic I had done a two person swing at a ropes course that slowly drags you way up into the air before dropping you, so I knew I'd ultimately be OK. Just as in CR, I ended up having lots of fun!
I ended up not going to la casa del árbol at all, and we hitched a ride back down the mountain to Baños in the back of a truck. What a day!
I ended up not going to la casa del árbol at all, and we hitched a ride back down the mountain to Baños in the back of a truck. What a day!
Songs I've been listening to: White Privilege II by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis