Ecuador: Mama Tungurahua and Baños

Tunguarhua at sunset

After Saraswati we decided to take some time to relax before our next journey so where else would we go but back to Baños! What a time to be here! First of all, the nearby volcano Tunguragua was active and the weekend held the local fiesta de la virgen so there were fireworks, parades, and live music going on day and night.

Procession for la Virgen

Fireworks over the Basilica

Beautiful Rainbow 

We took an amazing hike on Saturday in which we walked up above the town to the statue of the Virgen, and then stopped at the Cafe del Cielo before climbing up through farmland  to a great view of the volcano so we could eat our shrimp and rice. We heard and felt the volcano exploding and then watched the huge column of smoke climb out of the top of the mountain. After taking tons of photos and being in awe for some time we hitched on the back of a tow truck down the hill at sunset. All in all it was a great day and awesome experience. We tried to get up to a viewpoint to see the lava at night over the next few days but is was always cloudy (boo!).

Ryan and the view from la Virgen

Anne and the view of Banos

Just after we heard a rumbling from Tungurahua