Baños, Ecuador and Adventure

Baños, Ecuador: Don’t Think About It Too Much

Baños, Ecuador is place where you wake up and decide what kind of thing you are going to make yourself do that day.

A lot of the activities there are high-adrenaline: rappelling down waterfalls, jumping off bridges, rafting, swinging out over a valley. And the first thing I thought was: am I going to be able to find people to do this with me? These are not necessarily activities I want to do by myself.

As a solo traveler, Baños was easy and not easy. For group activities, there were usually other people in the group, so you weren’t technically alone. But ideally, you want to come with two or three people, or meet people at the hostel, which is what I did. I was very lucky.

A lot of the trip was basically waking up and deciding what to do that day. And a lot of those decisions were about pushing myself out of my comfort zone. I’m scared of heights, so Baños became this place where I kept choosing new experiences that forced me to deal with that fear.

The emotional strategy was mostly: don’t think about it too much.

The more I thought about what I was doing, the more scared I got. So the goal was to not overthink it, trust the setup, and just go when it was time to go.

Rappelling Down Waterfalls

Looking down the waterfall, the biggest thing in my head was: don’t slip. Don’t slip. Place your feet in the right area.

I did feel secure, though. You have a rope coming from above you and another from below you, and you’re moving down in a controlled way. But even with that, there is still the physical fact of being on wet rock, with water rushing around you, trying to keep your footing and not eat shit.

There were four waterfalls. One was around 20 meters, one was around 15 meters, there was a cute six-meter slide that we went down, and then there was this massive one that we actually jumped down.

On the fourth one, I got caught, and I had no idea what I was doing. I had to put a lot of trust in the guide. My friend didn’t have that same trust, so it was interesting seeing how much of the activity depends on being willing to hand over control.

The guides were very knowledgeable, though. And that mattered, because this was very type two fun for me. I was super scared going into it, and I did not enjoy every second while it was happening. But afterward, it felt amazing to have done it.

The best part was not exactly the beauty of it, even though it was beautiful. The best part was just continuing. Getting water in my face, trying not to slip, pushing through, and realizing that I could keep going.

Jumping Over the Valley

The bungee-style jump was also very type two fun and the most challenging thing I was able to do..

The scariest moment was right before jumping, and then immediately after jumping, during the free fall. I have this moment etched in my mind where it felt like forever. Not actually forever, but a decently long time. In the video, though, it was only a few seconds.

That’s part of what is strange about fear. Your brain stretches the moment out. Time gets weird. The fall is short, but while you are in it, it feels much longer.

Once the fall slowed and the rope caught me, I felt safe. There was some pinching from the harness, but mostly I just felt relieved that I didn’t need to do it again.

I also did a swing that wasn’t necessarily bungee, and that was probably one of the more beautiful views I’ve had. You’re looking out over this huge green valley, with the river below and clouds moving through the mountains. It’s terrifying, but it’s also hard not to notice how incredible the view is.

Rafting and the River

The river was very intense.

Compared to the rappelling and the swing, rafting felt different. The waterfall and the bungee were about height. They were about looking down and making yourself go. The river was more about being inside the movement.

You are not standing at the edge deciding whether to jump. You are already in it. The water is moving, the guide is yelling, the boat is reacting, and you just have to keep paddling.

In Baños, water is everywhere in all kinds of forms. It falls from cliffs, rushes through rivers, turns into mist, fills hot springs, and soaks you during activities that you technically chose to do voluntarily.

The Waterfall Hike

The waterfall hike was probably the most beautiful part.

The jungle around the waterfall was so dense and green that it made the whole place feel enclosed. The waterfall itself felt huge and powerful, but also calm compared with the adrenaline activities. You could just stand there and appreciate it. Enjoy the beauty surrounding you..

It was also interesting because I had never actually been caught up in a waterfall before. After the rappelling, waterfalls felt different. They were not just scenic anymore. They were physical. Loud, cold, slippery, forceful. Something you could be inside of, not just something you looked at from a distance.

Chocolate from the Bean

I also had no idea how chocolate was actually made.

I knew chocolate came from cacao, but I didn’t really understand the process until seeing it happen. You heat the beans over a fire in a pan, then take off the husks, and then grind them up. That’s what starts to become cocoa.

It was super cool because once the beans were roasted, you could really smell the chocolate coming out. It made me wonder if coffee is made in a similar way, because the smell changed so much through the roasting.

There was something satisfying about seeing chocolate in such a physical, simple form. Not as a finished bar, but as beans, husks, heat, grinding, and smell. It made the whole thing feel less abstract.

Animals Around the Edges

There were also lots of beautiful animals around, including a parrot, of course.

And there was an owl just hanging out, tucked into the leaves. These were not necessarily the main events of the trip, but they added to the feeling of Baños as this place where there was always something alive around the edges: birds, jungle, water, people moving between activities, and animals appearing in random corners.

Hot Springs at the End

Finally, there were the hot springs.

It was only three or four dollars to enter, and then you had a couple of really hot pools where you could just hang out and relax at the end of the day.

I compared the hot springs a lot to the onsens in Japan, which is probably not fair because Japanese hot springs are unbeatable. But the hot springs in Baños were still very relaxing, especially after a day of doing things that scared me.

After waterfalls, ropes, rivers, and heights, sitting in hot water felt like the correct ending.

Leaving Baños

At the end, I was glad I pushed myself.

I don’t think the point was that I suddenly became someone who loves heights. I’m still scared of them. But I did feel like I faced some fears, and that gave me a real sense of accomplishment.

Baños was less about loving adrenaline and more about repeatedly choosing not to back out. It was a place where I kept trying things before I could think too hard about them.

And that worked.

I woke up, found people, signed up, put on the harness, held the rope, listened to the guide, and went.