All the guide books state that Bano de la Aqua is 4 hours driving from Quito and 4 hours from Cuenca.  We figured that made it a nice stop-over on the way back from Cotacachi (two hours North of Quito).  We found yesterday that it took over 8 hours from Cotacachi to Bano, which means Bano is really more like 6 hours South of Quito.  Last night we were talking with Marsha (the owner of our hotel — La Posada del Arte), when she said it would take 8 hours to reach Cuenca, and that the guide books all lie…  and she was right…

We woke this morning to the sound of birds calling and the waterfall across the street.  We also heard some drums further in the distance.  When I asked Marsha about it, she told us that this was the week they were celebrating the Canonization of Banos.  It started yesterday with a “fun parade” (we came into town too late to catch it) and will end in one week with a “civic parade” on December 16 (our anniversary!).

La Posada del Arte is a great location, with a waterfall across the street, and an excellent restaurant

The marching band was practicing for next week’s parade

Evelyn decided to get her first massage in Ecuador, and what an experience at the Yerba Buena Spa located next to our hote! Evelyn combined a therapeutic massage with their Yerba Buena herb special. After a deep Swedish massage using warm oils and a menthol finishing oil, she was beaten with an Ortiga herbal plant, which felt like millions of tiny burning daggers, then wrapped with an icy cold towel, which made her entire body painfully itchy (like poison ivy). They assured her that afterwards,  this massage would increase circulation, and she would be cured of arthritis, cancer, insomnia, stress, and any other diseases.

We then walked to the bus station.  Though it only took two buses this time, the total duration was over 8 hours again.  Considering it will take us 10 hours to get from Guayaquil to San Francisco next month, that bus ride seemed awfully long…