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It rained a lot overnight and it is still raining as we set off on day 2 of the Avenue of Volcanoes, though sadly we are not very optimistic about seeing much in the way of volcanoes today. The early part of the day was very much the tourist trail as we headed further south stopping for brief walkabouts at Latacunga and Salcedo before passing through Ambato and taking the road to Banos. We didn't stop at Banos on the way in, but went straight through and towards what is known as the Avenue of Waterfalls. Along the route there are a number of falls to be seen. As soon as we leave Banos, the road becomes a dirt track.
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There are a couple of tunnels to negotiate on the road, OK by car, but I wouldn't want to ride a mountain bike without lights through one - as some people had to do!.
Salto Agoyan is now dependent on the flow from the dammed river Pastaza. When the sluices are closed there is no Agoyan to shout about. When they are open you get the above. After Bridalveil we had a brief cable car ride across the valley and back again on a less than safe looking vehicle.
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After that exciting excursion it was on to Rio Verde by-passing a tunnel under construction and taking the old road instead, we have a trek down a 400ft vertical descent, then across a rope bridge to view the Devils Cauldron waterfall.
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As well as the falls there were some fantastic rock formations - basalt columns distorted by the land mass uplifting. Anyway, generally fatigued after all that exertion we wend our way back to Banos for lunch and a short walk around town, including a visit to the Banos baths which is also a hot spring pool. Here there is another waterfall cascading down the rock.
Banos Banos
Time is getting on and there is a an viewpoint location that can give a view to Tungurahua. This volcano is currently (2003) active and it is not unknown for it still to chuck up a occasional cloud of ash. As we stop above the town of Banos at where the volcano should be a wisp of cloud blows away and reveals bits of the summit steaming away. We watch for ages before heading off on our way again. Stopping further down the road as more of the wall of the volcano is revealed.
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We have to go back through Ambato because the direct road to Riobamba is closed because that is where Tungurahua through her ash clouds.
As we head towards Riobamba we can see Cotopaxi out of cloud in the distance and to put the icing on the cake we are then greeted by the sight of Chimborazo mostly out of cloud - it's late in the day and the light isn't perfect but the highest mountain in the world, measured from the centre of the earth, is showing off.
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We view the mountain from two locations - fantastic. One of these locations (above left) was at Urbina Station, on the old line from Quito to Guayaquil. Urbina is the highest station on that railway being at 3640m (11841ft) - Chimborazo is 6310m high.
What a day today has been - the objective of this part of the holiday was to view those three volcanoes - Success. The final objective, now, is to travel down the Devil's Nose by train - for that we need tickets and so we head off into Riobamba and the train station to buy them, before going to our hotel for the night - Llegue a la Andaluza. Another traditional Hacienda - the main building has log fires in the grates and burning log fumes throughout the rest of the building. The rooms are centrally heated and that water comes out the shower at the temperature you want and, better still, stays at that temperature for the duration of the wash.
Sadly, Val is not at her best, so she skips dinner and goes straight to bed to be ready for tomorrow
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