Page 4 of 4 The farmer's life on the
precarious mountainside was subsistence farming at its best. His small open-air
house was a makeshift construction consisting of concrete blocks, small tree timbers,
tarps, and pieces of tin and wood. A small dog and several chickens wandered the
small fields. There was no electricity or water. He appeared lonely, peaceful and
hard working on his isolated island at least two hours by trail from town. He spoke
broken Spanish, as did we, but we got the general idea that we could reach Runtún
by going up over the ridgeline.
The scenery here is breathtaking. As we struggled to the ridgeline, we found ourselves in the middle of the clouds with moisture rising up from the valleys to form an eerie mist around us. Scattered thoughout the countryside were small shacks, many of which looked deserted, but many that had small plots of land.
Along the ridgeline, one could make
out the shadows of "tomate de arbol" (tree tomatoes) growing in the mist.
Tree tomatoes grow about 3 meters (9 feet) high with their pear shaped red vegetables
hanging from branches. These trees provide the main ingredient for aji, a type of
regional salsa served on every table in Ecuador.
On the other side of the ridgeline,
we finally came to a cobblestone road, which led downhill back towards Baños.
This time, we managed to find the town of Runtún, which was quite unspectacular
with a tiny church, a small store, and one or two houses. After about six hours
hiking in the sometimes light, often heavier rain, we arrived in Baños.
Hiking to the Waterfall and Cave in Baños, Ecuador
Trail on the west end of Baños that leads towards St. Ines waterfall
Another day, we decided to hike towards
the west end of town towards Lligua (pronounced E-GOO-AH). After crossing the stream
and up an ancient-looking stone staircase, we continued walking straight and across
the main road. There is a bridge across a narrow gorge with a large river flowing
quickly below, and a small zoo nearby. We continued past the zoo and saw the entrance
to St. Ines waterfall. The view is spectacular so we continued down the steep path
to the river.
Top of the trail
leading down the ravine to see the cave and waterfall.
The town of Baños is on the plateau to the right.
Near the bottom of the path is a large cave. The opening is over 40 feet wide and over 15 feet high. The cave narrows as you venture deeper, but 60 feet inside the ceiling is still 6 feet high. Shortly past the cave is the riverside where you can view the waterfall on the opposite side of a small bay. The falls are not very high but they are fast and powerful, carving 100 feet deep smooth, flowing fissures in the rock.
Peering out, from within the cave at St. Ines waterfall
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