Bus to Banos from Quito Ecuador – Easter
What does it mean?
‘Banos’ – means ‘bath’ in Spanish. So this town will have several natural thermal baths we can enjoy, we hope.
Bus to Banos
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- ©Exploramum and Explorason –
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- traditional Ecuador buildings
Leaving Quito once more, we manage to get front seats on the bus to Banos (which we always try to do for Explorason gets badly travel sick).
Slow Traffic
©Exploramum and Explorason – stuck in a traffic jam on the bus to Banos
While on the road, we pass some fabulous countryside structures and vegetation. The tickets on a bus in Ecuador are $1 per hour – it is meant to be 3.5 hours – so $7 for the 2 of us is not bad on a bus to Banos!
©Exploramum and Explorason – the traffic is long and slow as we sit on the bus to Banos
Banos Hotel
©Exploramum and Explorason – We can only find basic accommodation as it is Easter
Exploring Banos town
©Exploramum and Explorason – Banos town square
We only have two days here in Banos, so after we settle in, we wander around in town. My son’s favorite place is this platform – only stairs one side – so not a bridge.
©Exploramum and Explorason – Explorason loves to climb in the local park
Underneath the locals congregate and sit around the park chatting. It has a nice feeling.
Guinea Pigs
©Exploramum and Explorason – anyone wants to eat a guinea pig?
We pass guinea pigs getting cooked in the street. One hour later they are all gone – except a few legs.
Sugar Cane
©Exploramum and Explorason – Sugar Cane stalls
Sugar cane is grown widely in this area, so sugar cane juice, sticks, and candies are sold in the street stalls. There are way more stalls than customers, we notice.
Banos Toffee
©Exploramum and Explorason – toffee shop
Homemade toffee is also a favorite and can be bought everywhere. Free samples of this and sugarcane sticks are passed out as we walk along. We try some and learn a little about the process – this is world schooling.
Thermal Baths and Hygiene
©Exploramum and Explorason – the thermal bath lacked hygiene
We head back to the hotel and grab our swimming clothes and walk to the thermal baths. Everything seems in walking distance here. We are armed with nearly all we need. I, however, had not brought sunscreen or a hat as previously all thermal baths were indoors.
Unfortunately, we didn’t last long due to some massive hygiene issues.
- I watched a guy soap up all over. Face, hair, bum, and privates! Then dive in.
- I watched a kid with a bloody dripping nose hop in and out the pool.
- Mould grew freely on the water-slide.
- I spotted dog poo next to me on the seat.
That was it when I saw the bloody nose – I called Explorason and we changed back to our normal attire and left feeling rather deflated.
There are four thermal pools in town, so might try another one another time – hopefully, it is cleaner.
Feedback and Comments by Readers
©Exploramum and Explorason – Thermal bath at Banos
- Have you ever been anywhere where hygiene was an issue?
- What happened?
- What did you do?
- Tell us in the comments below, as we’d love to know.
