Today I treated myself to a little bit of outdoor adventure sports: canyoning! I had done it once before, and then as well as today it was really great fun. Canyoning basically consists of walking down a canyon, which usually has a small river flowing in it. It being a canyon, the walk is not a leisurely stroll, but involves a bit of abseiling, jumping into ponds and sliding on natural slides - in short, all kinds of fun stuff! And the best part is that all the fun is taking place in an almost untouched, breathtaking natural environment. I really should do this more often!
The canyon today involved mostly abseiling - in, above, and next to gorgeous waterfalls. This is the first one:
One of the next ones was a beautifully curved waterfall that went about twenty meters straight down. Amazing!
At the end, there was a nice natural slide to put a perfect finishing touch to the adventure. Plus, the view up the canyon was amazing, too :-)
In the afternoon, I hiked up to the Bellavista viewpoint. On the way, someone had constructed a drain out of a plant that looked very much like rhubarb. A cheap solution with readily available and biodegradable materials - quite ingenious!
After about 45 minutes I arrived at the top and found this splendid view of Baños:
In the evening, I went to relax in the thermal baths. The water was scorching hot, but in alteration with the ice-cold pool right next to the hot one I found it very relaxing.
On the way back, I passed by the Basilica again which was nicely lit up for the night:
The canyon today involved mostly abseiling - in, above, and next to gorgeous waterfalls. This is the first one:
One of the next ones was a beautifully curved waterfall that went about twenty meters straight down. Amazing!
At the end, there was a nice natural slide to put a perfect finishing touch to the adventure. Plus, the view up the canyon was amazing, too :-)
In the afternoon, I hiked up to the Bellavista viewpoint. On the way, someone had constructed a drain out of a plant that looked very much like rhubarb. A cheap solution with readily available and biodegradable materials - quite ingenious!
After about 45 minutes I arrived at the top and found this splendid view of Baños:
In the evening, I went to relax in the thermal baths. The water was scorching hot, but in alteration with the ice-cold pool right next to the hot one I found it very relaxing.
On the way back, I passed by the Basilica again which was nicely lit up for the night:
