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Wednesday November 13, 2013
We left Cuenca in Orlando’s lovely Camry and headed off through the Andes to our ultimate destination today of Banos-Ambato
and the volcano Tungurahua. The trip
north is spectacular with awesome sights along the highway, and our stop in
Alausi for lunch and to see the Devil’s Nose train station had a few unexpected
side benefits.
Alausi was having a parade of marching bands to celebrate
their Independence Day and special guests were a bevy of beauty queens who were
very sweet and allowed photos to be taken with them.
On arrival in Banos we immediately tried to check out any
views of the recently erupting Tungurahua volcano but they said it might clear
up around 4pm so we got a few shots of one very brave lady bungee jumping off
the very high bridge. Then we took a few
shots of the town, the waterfalls, and the hot springs before returning to try to get a
view of Tungurahua from the Antennas mountain opposite.
Tungurahua has developed a small pattern for activity
and unfortunately our timing sucked again.
We were at least hoping to get a nice summit view but a huge cloud
decided to staple itself to the peak in spite of the high winds at this
altitude. Regardless, we are not unhappy with the photos we did manage in between cloud banks sliding by.
Hope you enjoy the photos. That was the day's excitement, Cheers, Al
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| Off we go in Orlando's comfy Camry |
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| Climbing high in the Andes |
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| A beautiful day and spectacular vistas |
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| Mountains make you feel infinitesimal |
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| Tall mountains and deep valleys |
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| A house with a view |
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| Taken at high speed |
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| Most of the mountains here are of soft substance |
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| Towns perched along the way |
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| Different ecosystems at different levels |
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| This burro said Hi |
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| To me, this is a WOW shot. |
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| I liked the similarity in the shapes |
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| Climbing and climbing |
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| Spectacular peaks and valleys |
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| St Peter dominates the valley town of Alausi |
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| Only an old version of the Devil's Nose train was near the station |
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| St Peter guards it from above |
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| I told you, no train... |
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| We happened on their Independence Day celebrations |
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| A bevy of beauty queens in attendance |
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| About 11 of them! |
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| They were very comfortable with the cameras |
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| Lunch break for the girls |
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| A tourist taking advantage (gal next to me studied in Toronto) |
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| Orlando kindly took the photos |
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| There was a professional photog there too selling instant prints |
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| I couldn't ignore the second table, could I? |
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| Thank you girls for a lovely afternoon |
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| The parade had umpteen marching bands from all over |
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| I was amazed at how well they played with great timing |
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| The indigenous folk are very colourful |
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| Three different colours here |
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| Kids of all ages participated |
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| More indigenous in the crowd |
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| This was a real large group backed by a larger band |
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| Lots of precision marching |
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| They entertained the crowd |
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| Their band had many sections |
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| More of this group |
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| and more yet.... |
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| It is amazing how the kids stay in there |
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| That same band again |
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| Sign for the oldest church in Ecuador (1534) |
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| Maurice at the oldest church in the country |
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| It is amazing that it is still standing |
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| The altar is behind security grating |
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| Farming right to the summits |
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| Love those green patches of farmland |
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| Statue at the entrance to Pelileo? |
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| And another statue beside it |
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| Overlooking Banos-Amato, part way up Antenna mountain |
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| The waterfall is next to the main hot springs/spa |
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| The town borders a huge ravine waterway |
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| The main part of Banos |
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| The ravine had several waterfalls feeding the river below |
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| This is a very deep ravine |
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| The river will make its way to the Pacific |
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| It appears to have a very good flow |
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| Another view of the ravine waterfalls |
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| A very odd place with a view of Tungurahua |
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| Brave gal going to bungee jump |
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| And she leans into her drop |
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| And down she goes |
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| Screaming with initial fright |
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| The way it is set up, she swings rather than drops |
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| Now she can enjoy her special view |
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| and she can squirm into different positions |
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| Swung out to the other side |
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| Swinging back again |
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| Enjoying her moment |
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| This is a great view |
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| The Spa waterfall |
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| Some fowl nearby |
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| Spa waterfall 2 |
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| Spa waterfall 3 |
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| Spa waterfall 4 |
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| Spa waterfall 5 |
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| Spa waterfall 6 |
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| Gorgeous plant life |
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| Outdoor painted grotto |
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| Spa waterfall 7 |
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| Spa waterfall 8 |
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| Spa waterfall 9 |
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| Maurice getting his shots too |
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| Spa waterfall 10 |
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| There are several pools at this hot springs/spa |
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| Spa waterfall 11 |
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| Our hostal was a couple of blocks behind this main church |
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| Hmmmm, $5 for a meal of Viagra??? |
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| The currently active Tungurahua volcano with a cloud cap |
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| A nice man had a small cafe on the Antenna mountain with a great view |
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| The winds kept bring clouds quickly up from the valley |
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| Maurice and myself with Tungurahua in the background |
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| Maurice and I with Banos-Ambato in the background |
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| Even with the high winds, that summit cloud did not budge |
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| Other clouds zipped by, above and below |
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| It still was a lovely view |
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| We kept hoping that cloud would move, but no.... |
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| Photo off of TV showing Tungurahua erupting |
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| Map of the area |
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| People still farm the hillside because of the rich soil. |
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| I am patiently waiting but darkness is coming |
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| This was as good as it was going to get |
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| What a view this fellow has |
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| I sure could wake up to this every morning! |
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| The palm outside our hostal is brightly lit |
