Instead there was a slight mix up with the bus and after making a few decisions on-the-fly I ended up in Baños. A town centred around adventure tourism, it is small and generally unexciting place but it had a few options for nearby treks and plenty of waterfalls.
I spent the first day hiking up the ranges surrounding the town, but the weather turned bad and after ascending to the vantage point I was unable to see the Tungurahua volcano (the town is built on its foothills) and got very wet for my efforts. Still, the views to the town itself were uninterrupted affording me a great birds-eye view.
The following day I rented a mountain bike and started a 25km ride (mostly downhill) following the 'Rio Pastaza' and stopping at the many waterfalls. I made it back to town before more rain set in, spending the rest of the afternoon eating delicious cane sugar taffy and relaxing in my hotel room.
More photos here
