el domingo de resurreccion

After a lunch that was much better than a sandwich, our guide led us on a jungle tour.

bird nests

bunny ear fern

water reservoir that collects ants. they taste like lemon and stave off thirst

mud facial

ants carrying leaves that are cultivated into mushrooms for their food

walking tree - can move several cm per year

fan palms used in roofs

termites. taste like mint

termite mounds can be burned for fuel

rubbed all over the body, termites ward off insects

river spider hunts minnows

It is said that Virgin Mary was seen bathing in a waterfall in this town. Look closely.

Next we went to meet a Quechan tribe. I'm not too keen on this facade of insight into native life, but our guide explained their current existence depended heavily on tourism.
They were ready for us.

It had been a nice long tour. Thank goodness the tribe was not naked, but I was disappointed that there were no alligators.
It was Easter in Banos and time to head back to Cuenca again.
I had time for a jog up the side of Tungurahua, the active volcano adjacent to Banos, which is named for its thermal springs.
But first, I had to go to church.

Church was busy. Semana Santa is one of the busiest weeks of the year, and people travel from all over to worship here.

This was at 7am

Shortly after viewing this showdown, I was attacked by a loose dog across the street in a park.
I saw the owner walking him yesterday, and now he was standing some distance away with a leash in his hands as I jogged by. I could see that he was calling to the dog, who wasn't acquiescing, but I didn't expect him to take a swipe at my left thigh and nearly tear a hole in my shorts.
After trying to kick the dog I yelled for his owner to get his dog, in english, and still fuming, fumbled  in spanish for the first thing that came to mind - mantenga...control..su perro - maintain control your dog. Perfect.
It didn't work, but he didn't make a second pass, and it was a pretty good cardio warm up. Thankfully, no skin was broken, so I took my bad attitude up the hill.

Besides, just looking at this guy cheered me up.

This is the most I saw of the volcano, although our guide said he saw sparks last night, and there had been an eruption in December. It was comforting to see the giant green arrows painted on the streets pointing in the direction of evacuation. They all seem to simply point away from the volcano, which sounds reasonable.
The city was evacuated in 1999 for a couple of weeks. Locals said that when they returned most of their houses had been looted and they blame the government and the police for the looting.

Hot springs.

Apparently it was animal encounter day. You would have laughed to watch how gingerly I skirted behind these two.

Stretching taffy, for which the town is also well known.

cuy

look like little pigs?

guinea pigs!

chainsaw carving contest

The others were heading back on a different route, so I headed off to the station on my own, determined that  my route was shorter.
Twenty minutes later, four of the five climbed aboard the same bus and we were off to Riobamba. J3 had stayed to get some spa treatment and was following later on.

The next bus for Cuenca was full. We had a two and a half hour layover. I thought there must be another way,  but there was only one company operating out of this small terminal, so I stepped out to ask around.
The girls were already frustrated because one of their host families advised them not to ride on this company's bus, and they wanted to go another route, so when I returned they had vanished. I tried to haggle for a spot on the last bus, but it was the end of a holiday week and it wasn't working. I decided to try another company on the other side of town, and when I stepped out of the cab the girls were walking out of a restaurant right in front of me.
As a group, they were fairly discriminating in the cleanliness department, so despite the shabby looks of the place, I followed suit and dove into a plate of something greasy.

After a prolonged wait for our late bus, we were relieved when it finally pulled up, with J3 sitting in the front seat! This bus was arriving from Ambato, the same distance from Banos as Riobamba, but in the other direction, so she had been on the bus for four hours already, which made us feel better about our wait.
The bus was packed, however, and our seats were full. Fortunately the companies here sell specific seats, so after some discussion we jammed in. I was sitting next to a mother and her son, who was basically sitting on my lap. Five hours, here we come again Cuenca.