The Baños in Baños

In Baños they tell it like it is.

No wasted words.

The name of the town is Baños. Baths. That´s what makes it famous. That´s why tourists come here. Actually the town was founded by the Spanish as a good base between the high Andes and the Amazon jungle just to the east. Good for ministering to the people in the lowlands without having to live there.

Agua Santa, the Virgin of Baños, is also an example of no wasted words. Water Saint.

There are about a half dozen hot mineral baths all over town. People come here to bathe for health reasons and perhaps for religious reasons as well. The most popular bath is called Thermas de la Virgen. Daniel and I have been there twice. We went in the evening on our first day here, before the Easter holiday hoards arrived. That was nice. It was crowded, but not mobbed.

A couple days ago we thought we could get up early and get there around 5:30 before the sun comes up at 6, to beat the crowds. Well, talk about mobbed! We couldn´t believe it. It was SRO at 6 in the morning.