Baños

Our second (and final) stop with my mom was to the town of Baños, so named because of several spots with natural hot springs.  There is an active volcano very close by (which last erupted 11 years ago) that warms the mineral springs before they come to the surface.  The town has become a real tourist destination -- people come to soak in the springs, and to do all kinds of outdoorsy activities in the surrounding mountains and rivers.

My cute kids walking down the street in Baños

A cool painted stairway depicting the nearby waterfalls

This tourist map of Baños was up in the wall at our hotel.  As we were trying to decide what to do with our few days, I was examining it and came across...

The "Animal Prison" somehow did not sound super appealing.

The big church in Baños, on the other hand, is quite beautiful.  It is dedicated to a version of Mary who is something like "Our Lady of the Holy Waters," referring to the hot springs as a sacred place. On the walls of the inside of the church are lots of paintings of miracles that Mary has performed locally over the last few hundred years, many of them having to do with people falling into the rivers and being miraculously saved.  She also protects the town from the volcano.  The church is beautifully painted and decorated, and the exterior seems to be made totally out of volcanic lava rock.

The main sanctuary 

A shot of the intricately painted ceiling 

There is an attached convent (or monastery?) with a museum, which was closed when we were there, alas. 

 A little shrine to "Our Lady of the Rosary of Holy Water" at the side of the church

Lots of people come and light candles in some petition to her

A cool flower in the garden (shot courtesy of Emmett, our budding nature photographer)

The funnest thing we did in Baños (and probably inn 2017) was zip-lining at a place called the Puntzan Canopy.  It was insanely fun.  They start you out on small, rather tame lines -- and gradually work you up to longer and amazingly scenic lines.  It was raining the whole time and totally did not care, we were having such a good time.   Even my mom got in on the fun!