Baños

To recover from our days in the field, Carlos and I decided to go to Baños on Sunday. There are actually two Baños in Ecuador (or maybe more, but I only know of two), one is just a small town on the outskirts of Cuenca (which is where we went), the other is near Riobamba, sort of the gateway to the jungle. Both have natural hot springs, aka, thermal baths, thus the name "Baños".

So, in the Baños near Cuenca there are a few baths to visit, but when had gotten free passes to Pierdra de Agua, a spa so new that they haven't even finished the construction. But we didn't know that until we got there. The passes were to expire in two weeks, so we wanted to use them before it was too late.

The spa was beautiful, mainly constructed with a reddish volcanic stone. The decor was very modern, but chic as well. Not typical Ecuadorian. We were greeted when we arrived and given a tour. I was surprised by all the attention paid to us, which, again, is not very typical here in Ecuador, but I think it was because we were the only people there. I mean there were a few others walking around, but we were the only ones actually using the facilities. We were able to use the Turkish baths and the pools, because those were the only things that were open. Actually, the Turkish baths were not quite working when we arrived, but they fixed them for us.

They told us that in about 3-5 months the rest will be completed, underground pools, massages, steam boxes, outdoor showers, etc. I think that we'll be visiting again when they have completed the place.