Banos, Ecuador

It looks as though we have our first Ecua tradition.  For the 2nd year in a row now, we have traveled to the adventure capital of Ecuador, Banos, for the Thanksgiving break.  Last year we went mountain biking, hiking, crossed rivers on suspension bridges and cable carts and repelled down waterfalls.  This year we went white water rafting and then followed that up with a 30 mile mountain bike trip the next day.  Check it out:    

This is the only photo I have to show you from our rafting trip.  There was no such thing as calm water between rapids to rest, or to take photos.  After going up and over large exposed boulders and going into class 4 rapids sideways, the only reason we didn't loose anyone overboard was due to quick hands grabbing the feet of other rafters on their way out.   

Here is a shot of the Tungurahua Volcano that looks over Banos.  Last year this volcano erupted the day after we left Banos.

Not only does Banos have excellent adventures, the city is a great place to come back and rest.  Most of the city is made up of small one way streets, great resturaunts, coffee shops and colorful markets.

A photo looking down into the city of Banos as we were climbing up on our mountain bikes.  2 1/2 hours of climbing  and 2 hours of descending, took us through beautiful farmland and gave us a chance to see Ecuadorian life in the mountains.

Previous lava flows set the course for many of the rivers around the volcano.

This is the first Fly-Fisherman I've come across in Ecuador.  It looked like he had rigged up some raw bamboo and fishing line for his rod.  He would simply toss his fly up river, watch it float down until it took all his line and then do it over.  We watched for about 5 minutes but he didn't catch anything.  

And the series continues.........One Jackass looking at another!