Quito a Baños

I checked out of the Secret Garden in Quito and hopped the bus to Baños. Catching the bus here can be pretty hectic. There is no formality of purchasing a ticket, standing in a line at a gate to board, presenting the ticket and hopping on. Here you go to a cul-de-sac where all the buses are and listen for someone offering/yelling your destination. "Ambato, Baños!! Ambato, Ambato!!" The 3 1/2 hour ride was $3.30. Rule of thumb for Ecuador: every hour on a bus is a $1.

Baños is incredible. A small town dropped in the middle of mountains, volcanoes. The mountains look as though they're covered in moss, a smooth and consistent green, soft, even velvety. The Hostal Plantas Y Blanco has a rooftop terrace & cafe, God bless Ecuador! The view is panoramic and magnificent. You can see the cascadas at the back of the terrace, steep green mountains all around. There are a few houses atop the mountain closest to the hostal. One has floor to ceiling windows...I wonder who lives there? They must make calculated trips down the mountain. No midnight trips to the bodega on the corner. No delivery either, I bet...