Friday Apr 27/12 update
I was awake at 3am and just got up at 4 and got busy
cleaning up loose ends.
Bella was off to the dentist for a cleaning then to play
bridge today at Bettye’s so I stole Chris and we were off to the spa town of Banos, a western suburb of Cuenca,
to check out the sights and the hot
springs.
Bella’s dentist appointment did not go as planned. Apparently they sent all their teeth
cleaning equipment to the coastal area because of the flooding there (don’t ask
us why, it must make sense to someone..), so she got a free examination
instead, and a new appointment for next Wednesday.
Chris and I met at Feria Libre and hopped the #27, which I
had never ridden before, and we got to admire yet another part of southwest Cuenca that we had never
seen and came into Banos from the side at the top of the mountain and got off
at their lovely blue church. This church
has 7 round domes and is quite pretty.
The last time Bella and I were there it was occupied for a funeral so we
did not get a chance to look inside.
Today the outer doors were open and I managed to get a nice shot of the
great interior through a space at the edge of the inner doors. This church is very impressive!
Chris and I then began a very long walk down the hill
looking for the spas. A town office
suggested the Piedra De Agua was the best one and we found it almost right
away. They had the neatest pathway with
all sorts of tools embedded in with the rocks, from rakes to power drills. Once we arrived at the upper gate we were
then told to go to the restaurant for admission and instructions. We had a quick look around first and Chris
commented on the brown colour of the water in the main pool. His remark was overheard by one of the staff
so the manager came over to explain that they change the water 3 times a week
and they were just in the process of changing the water for the weekend
traffic. There was only one Ecuadorian
couple and 3 Quebecers in the whole place.
Bella had told me she had read that the price was around $5 so we were a
trifle shocked to see they wanted $10 to sit in the dirty pool or $30 to
include the Spa (steam rooms, mud packs, 2 more pools) and $40 more if you
wanted a full massage, etc. It was a
nice place but neither of us wanted to pay that kind of money to sit in a dirty
pool.
So we continued our descent and found a local food place for
lunch. Chris bought lunch and it was
quite good, especially with a light Club beer by its side. 2 tables away there was a couple with a young
boy in a high chair who was backlit by the bright sun outside so I got some
cute silhouettes.
Then we went to the next spa, the Hosteria Duran, which was
a really beautiful spot. The 2 pools we
saw looked like ordinary chlorinated swimming pools, pale green and blue so
maybe their spas were hidden in another building. Their prices were 20% less. This place looked like a little resort with 2
water slides. There were also a lot of
hummingbirds cruising the flowers in this area, and that is always a treat.
Then we veered east to try to locate a home we had seen on
the Internet for sale, “a touch of the southwest” I think it was, 3 stories, big
kitchen, huge yard backing onto a mountainside, with a separate bodega
building, for $92,000. I still wanted to
check it out, even though we would never buy it, but we never found it.
We did find one of the lawnmowers tethered in a yard and in
need of a change of scenery because she had already eaten her circle of food.
I don’t know why I love palm trees so much, maybe it is
because they mean retirement and relaxation to those of us from the northern
climes. Near their College at the bottom
of the mountain they have this avenue lined with palms that is like a magnet to
me. Where is my hammock when I need it?
We jumped on the #11 for the return trip and I was shocked
that the entrance to Banos was only about 4 blocks from the west end SuperStock
and Coral stores. Heck, it was walking
distance to our destination of Feria Libre. I knew the trip was short last time on the #11
going out but hadn’t noticed the proximity.
We still had time to kill until 5 pm so we wandered around
Feria Libre, then MegaHierro across the street where we picked up a few items. Then Chris wanted to surprise Bettye with a
few kitchen items so we walked up to the Sukasa store. We located a $17 oven thermometer that Bella
had been hunting for, for months, so we got to surprise her too.
We still had another hour to kill so we stopped in at the BQ
Sports Bar on Ordonez Lasso and it was like stepping back home. Other than the Ecuadorian staff you could
easily have been in Miami or Calgary.
They even had 2 Labatts beer neon signs.
We arrived at Chris’ apartment as close to 5pm as we could
so we wouldn’t interrupt the girls’ all-day bridge game. Chris even got to play a couple of hands.
Then Bettye and Chris were taking us out for supper and the
girls had made reservations at the California Kitchen for their Filet Mignon
special. Oh boy, was that ever a great
and welcome meal after the miles of walking, and the dessert and entertainment
topped it off nicely.
I didn’t even get through half of my pictures and I
collapsed in bed at 9:30. The trouble
with that is I woke up at midnight and finally got up at 1am to complete the
photos and this blog.
Enjoy the pics.
That was today’s excitement. Hugs to all.
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| 120427 Chris Petersen |
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| 120427 Banos Church |
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| 120427 Banos Church with 7 round domes |
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| 120427 Banos Church + town building |
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| 120427 Gorgeous Banos Church interior |
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| 120427 Circle of food exhausted |
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| 120427 Hosteria Duran first set of buildings with pool+slides |
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| 120427 Hosteria Duran 2nd set of buildings with pool in centre |
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| 120427 Hosteria Duran hummer |
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| 120427 I wanna hammock! NOW! |
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| 120427 Impressive Piedra De Agua entrance |
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| 120427 Piedra De Agua walkway with embedded tools |
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| 120427 Piedra De Agua heart fountain |
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| 120427 $10 to sit in here at Piedra De Agua
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| 120427 Make your own caption.... |
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| 120427 Kid silhouette 1 |
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| 120427 Kid silhouette 2 |
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| 120427 Make your own caption again |
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| 120427 Clock tower clocks never work! |
