A Peaceful Day in Baños, Ecuador – Hot Springs and the Scent of Chocolate in the Cool, Moist Air of the Andes

🌿 Baños Day 3 – The Scent of the Andes, Sweet Earth, and Quiet Closure

🕔 05:00–07:00 | Morning Air in Bed, 9°C – A Quiet Start

Unlike the warmth inside the cozy blanket, the air brushing against my face and pushing into my lungs was cold and fresh.
On the window frame, dewdrops clung like tiny pearls of frost, countless mirrors hanging the whole world upside down, wrapping it up,
as if even the chilly air added a layer of transparency.
Outside the window of Hotel Sangay, everything was veiled in a moist mist, soaked in dew.

🕖 07:00–09:00 | Brunch at Café Ricooo Pan – Warm Bread and Tropical Fruit

After stepping out of the hotel and walking for about three minutes, I reached the entrance of Café Ricooo Pan.
There, the life force of freshly baked wheat with corn butter seemed to erupt and stir the entire street like a fragrant explosion.
The nutty aroma of the golden, buttery corn bread, fresh from the oven, rose like trembling mirages in the morning sunlight,
wrapping around my face like a blooming rose.

Papaya salad made with crushed herbs, scrambled bacon eggs, passion fruit juice with grapefruit—
their vibrant scents and colors, full of the writhing pulse of living energy, sent a shiver through my entire body.

Bathed in sunlight, I felt as if I myself had become a single blooming herb flower, fully alive.

🌿 Baños Day 3 – Orchids, Birds, and Chocolate

🕘 09:00–11:00 | Orquideario EcoZoo – Orchids in the Mist

The air was damp, as if a fine mist sprayer were constantly at work—moist, cool, yet warmly embracing.

Orquideario EcoZoo, located about a 10-minute walk from the café, stood quietly nestled along the street.

From orchids small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, to countless unnamed plants and trees of every shape and kind,
the entire space was surrounded—
as if a whole slice of jungle had been scooped up with a giant shovel and set down here to breathe.
It was life itself.

Tiny birds, said to beat their wings dozens of times per second, darted and fluttered in every direction, circling the air.

🕚 11:00–13:00 | Aromi Chocolatería Artesanal – The Breath of Andean Chocolate

As I walked into the center of Baños, I saw the Aromi chocolate shop—
even though it hadn't yet opened, the scent of cacao floated down the street,
spreading gently through the air like a lotus blossom.

Just as I bit into one of the richest, deepest-flavored truffles,
the earthy aroma and butter blended together and melted across my mouth like snow.
The deep and slightly bitter finish left a lingering trace.

A mature woman with soft, moist wrinkles around her eyes and a radiant smile responded,
“All of the chocolate in our shop is made from organically grown cacao cultivated right here in local farms. The quality is excellent.”

Maybe that’s why—
it felt like the scent of the earth itself was alive and moving inside the chocolate.

🕐 13:00–15:00 | Lunch at La Casa del Abuelo – The Harmony of Quinoa and Trout

The breeze was gentle, flowing as lightly as the cool, fresh air itself.
Seated on a quiet terrace, dishes arrived in sequence:
smoked trout, quinoa soup, and lime ginger tea.

The trout was grilled to a perfect crisp—crackling and fresh—
while the ginger tea tingled my mouth with the sharp freshness of lemon,
cutting through it all with a brightness more tender than the warmth of sunlight.

The quinoa soup was cool, serene, and as leisurely as the calm rays of sunlight.
Outside the window, the ridges of the Andes swayed gently,
riding the green-glinting wind like waves on a mountain sea.

🕒 15:00–17:00 | Mercado Artesanal – A Day That Remains in Fragrance

Right in the center of town stood a small Mercado Artesanal shop.
The store was filled with a dizzying delicacy—
every piece so clearly handmade, from hand-embroidered bags and wooden bracelets
to handkerchiefs stitched with intricate floral patterns.

Rosemary, rose, tea tree—handmade soaps crafted with all kinds of herbs
were neatly arranged, each one charming in its own way.

I chose a transparent, light-green tea tree soap.
Though tea tree was the main ingredient, it had been blended with various herbs,
so it carried a scent of rose and mint as well.

Today, I wanted to fill my entire day with this fragrance.

🕔 17:00–19:00 | El Refugio Thermal Spa – Stillness in the Final Hot Spring

I visited the outdoor El Refugio Thermal Spa to feel the final blaze of today’s sunlight across my whole body.
In stark contrast to the chilly, crisp air, the temperature of the thermal water was 38°C.

The blazing sunset, wrapping around the Andes mountains, spared nothing—
even the ripples atop the hot spring water were no exception.
The deep red rays of sunlight, glowing crimson, spread across the surface,
and the waves that rose and shimmered gently seemed to exhale life itself,
carrying the warmth of the day as they quietly undulated.

🕖 19:00–21:00 | Dinner at Casa Hood – A Familiar Table

I made my way back to Casa Hood, which had left a strong impression on the first day of my trip.
At the far end by the window, I sat at a cozy table gently lit by soft lighting.
There, a glass filled with chilled apple soda—its surface bubbling with countless tiny air pockets—
sat next to a colorful vegetable curry, its green, yellow, and orange tones beautifully vivid.

It was a flavor steeped in familiarity.
The quiet night in Baños offered comfort through that very sense of the familiar.

🕘 21:00–23:00 | From the Hotel Balcony – Watching the City Fade into Darkness

I returned to Hotel Sangay and sat on the balcony.
The moist air and the refreshing waterfall sound that seemed to pierce through the chest remained constant.
In the distance, the densely packed city lights began to turn off, one by one.
I sat there for a long while, blankly staring out.

Knowing that tonight was the final night,
I couldn’t help the wave of emotion that welled up from the sense of longing.

After a slow shower, I sipped mint tea
and sat beside the gently swaying chiffon curtains.
Above the city bathed in darkness,
the half-moon and countless stars filled the sky as clearly
as the cool breeze that softly danced through.

I took a deep breath in—
and as I exhaled,
my heart, too, filled with that same crisp moonlight and stars,
shining quietly, densely within.