This year for Thanksgiving we snagged cheap flights to Quito, Ecuador for the week and decided to knock off a few places on our bucket list including Quito, Baños and the Galapagos islands.
Flights from ATL to South America always seem to run pretty late in the evening so we planned to depart on a Friday afternoon and come back a week and a few days later on Sunday. Our Friday flight was scheduled for 6pm but once we got to the gate, they delayed us for 3 hours! Yikes!
Both feeling pretty bummed, we hung out in the Delta Sky Lounge until our new departure time came. We were supposed to land around 11pm and have a driver take us to our hotel, thankfully we were able to confirm that we would still have a ride when we landed.
Our flight was non eventful otherwise and we landed a bit after 3am with a 45 minute drive to our hotel, La Casona de La Ronda in Historic Quito. Our driver was wonderful and brought her sister along for the ride, they gave us some advice and were pleasant to chat with. I nodded off for a majority of the drive but felt ok about it as it was dark out and we couldn't see much.
We checked into our hotel and took a quick cat nap before our Tours By Locals guide was set to pick us up at 7am! Boy, were we exhausted.
I'd done some research and wanted to see Baños, Ecuador but there was no real easy way there or any popular tours so I found a website the would allow a local to pick you up and give you a tour. I was a little wary as what if transportation isn't reliable or the person isn't very engaging. However, within 30 minutes of knowing Vivian, I felt like I'd known her my whole life. She was wonderful and had even previously lived in the states so we had wonderful conversations about what it is like to live there and the similarities and contrasts of the US.
Vivian started our trip out by taking us to a beautiful estate for breakfast and a quick tour of the grounds. This estate was tucked away down a long tree lined road with horses roaming freely. It felt like out of a story book. The house had been so well preserved and housed so much history and interesting artifacts. To keep the estate in such good condition, the family allows some guests to stay as well as come to the restaurant in one of the wings. It felt like such a unique experience as it was not crowded at all and the service was amazing.
After our breakfast, we continued down the road to our destination of Baños. We passed through a variety of climates and landscapes and saw Cotopaxi on an incredibly clear day which we were told was very lucky. We made 2 quick stops along the way, one for a fruit ice cream bar and another to check out some grilled Cuy which we would call Guinea Pig... ick! (Yes Brandon has eaten it)
We continued on our drive and had nodded off a few times at this point. Vivian asked if we'd like to get woken up really quickly and we said sure? She pulled over and said follow me. We walked right up to the edge of a steep mountain where she waved hello to 2 men she knew and we stood in a large metal cage with her. They closed the door and they let us go.... the car zip lined us across the gap towards a beautiful waterfall. The wind and views woke us up and also had me a bit startled.
At this point we were awake and very close to our destination of Baños. We had a waterfall hike and a swing planned next. First up was the Devil's Cauldron waterfall hike. This is a pretty easy to moderate hike, especially on the way down. Make sure to pack a rain jacket or anorak as the mist from the waterfall up close will soak you.
So far we were really loving Ecuador and our tour guide. I'd packed a bit too warm it seemed so I was glad I had layers as it was chilly in the morning, then walking back up from the waterfall hike was very warm. We were sharing a small backpack and I was glad we had that for jackets and water.
Once back at the car, we were thankful for some A/C and water and we drove towards the Swing. You may have seen the infamous picture of a man on a swing with a volcano erupting behind him. I'd had no idea about this when we'd booked our trip but Baños promised for beautiful scenery, waterfalls, hikes and good chocolate so I was glad we got to experience this instagramable swing I started to hear and read so much about.
Once we got to the swing, the line wasn't very long and it was only $1 a person so Vivian just suggested that we tip if we felt inclined. Brandon insisted I go first and I wish I could say I am not a wuss but OMG. The swing is much safer than it would appear in photos, you're in almost a harness on the swing and the drop is substantial but you have about 10-15 feet before it drops off so you'd probably be just fine if you did fall out.
The swing operator was just a guy standing on the platform who would push you, but he will use his entire body weight once you start going so you REALLY start to swing. I was having fun and then was like NO MAS!! NO MAS!! hehe how embarrassing. Brandon went next and I think the guy was trying to throw him off the cliff he was pushing him so high and of course B loved every second of it. This is why we are a good balance.
Brandon encouraged me to get back on the swing and do it again so it wasn't something I had bad feelings over. I am glad I did as it was more enjoyable the next time knowing what I was getting into. Here is a pic of me pre freak out and then the one below is us standing next to the platform.
Once we were done, I needed a drink! Vivian told us about this beautiful restaurant and spa overlooking the town of Baños that served Canelazo which is a fruit drink with orange juice, cloves, rum and cinnamon. We were game because at this point everything she had recommended was beautiful and enjoyable.
This didn't disappoint either!
We'd been out and about all day at this point but I really only had one other stop I'd wanted to make. I'd read about Baños having some of the best chocolate and one particular shop having the best hot chocolate. I asked her if we could make a quick stop before heading back to Quito and she was excited to try out the place I'd found. She said she'd heard about it but had never been.
Aromi Cafe y Chocolate DOES have the best hot chocolate I've ever had but that is probably because they make it from pure chocolate, and they only add some cream with very little sweetener so it is referred to as sipping chocolate and does not taste much like American hot chocolate which I usually find too sweet.
Our day trip to Baños was winding down. We took a quick stroll through the shops, the town and the park and then headed back to the car to drive back to Quito for the evening. We'd stopped for food all along the way so we were thoroughly exhausted and ready to get back to our hotel from some R&R after a long night of travel and day of adventure.
Vivian was a 10/10 tour guide and if we return to Ecuador, we would seek her out to go on another one of her adventures.
