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Monday, November 24, 2003

The baños in Baños

Baños is famous for its baños - baths -, thermal-powered hot springs. The setting is stunning, surrounded by near-vertical cliffs on two sides with a waterfall spilling down next door. The baths themselves are, sadly, pretty ugly, enclosed in a monstruous concrete edifice, painted garish yellow and blue. There are three pools, a super-hot one (practically boiling!, just about tolerable), a mixed one (somewhat cooler, more like a bath) and an icy cold one (unspeakably horrible, nearly killed me!). Pay your dollar and you can spend as long as you want in all three.

They're said to have curative powers (of course), and Katherine did seem a bit more glowing when we emerged, so maybe they do have some effect!

The stitches are out of Katherine's cut in her chin, she's got shiny new glasses, teeth are all fixed, and she's looking less scaborous every day, so at some point soon we're going to moving on.

The next stop on the Gringo Trail running southwards in Riobamba. Ecuador used to have a giant rail network, an engineering marvel apparently, but El Niño floods put paid to that, and only tiny sections remain operational. Most now serve tourists, not locals. One such section is the Devil's Nose, a series of switchbacks that let the train descend a very steep gradient. The train leaves three times a week from Riobamba, goes a couple of hours south, down the hill, then turns round and comes back. You can sit on the roof (jury's still out as to whether or not Katherine will be allowed), and it is said to be much fun. From there we'll bus to Cuenca, Ecuador's third city, and its intellectual centre... So that's the plan - when we set off is another matter, but we'll let you know when we get there!

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