Carnaval 3: Learning to Fly

I wasn't sure if my first day in Baños could top my first night, but I got to fly so I think it's safe to say that it did. We took a little bus ride up to a canyon with a river at the bottom and proceeded to tempt fate by riding a small basket-like contraption across it. And then I decided to give fate another chance by riding a zipline across the canyon. Ricardo called it 'flying' and I have to admit that it really did feel like flying. At first there is a big drop in the line and I honestly did think I would die, but then it evens out a little and it's just amazing. I got to come close to death twice in 20 minutes for a mere $6. Gotta love that!

That afternoon Baños treated us to the Carnaval parade, complete with about 30 groups of dancing children. Watching children as young as 6 and 7 outdance you definitely makes a girl feel like a gringa.

Day 3 of our weekend was my real introduction to karrioka. Karrioka is a big part of Carnaval, especially for gringas. It's a similar idea to silly string, but it's a foamy kind of colored soap or something of that nature. The basic idea is to spray everyone as much as possible, especially gringas. So on day 3 we went to Rio Verde to play Carnaval, in my favorite form of transportation, the back of a truck. However, to get to Rio Verde you actually have to go through several tunnels which is a bit scarier in the back of at truck than I would have imagined. We called this part of the trip 'El Terror.' El Terror was heightened by the fact that water drips down through the tunnels which makes me really question their structural integrity...

So at Rio Verde we enjoyed a lovely walk in the natural beauty by the river, punctuated by karrioka attacks. This is called 'playing carnaval.' I wasn't quite prepared. I gave a nice little spray of karrioka to Ricardo and all of the sudden I had karrioka all over my face and in my hair. I then realized playing carnaval is not quite as innocent as it sounds. We visited the Cascada Diablo which is absolutely amazing. So amazing in fact that on the trail to the Cascada (waterfall) there is a sign that says if you don't believe in God, you're about to.

That evening we continued playing carnaval all throughout Baños. It turns out that karrioka attacks are by no means limited to people that you know personally. And that gringas seem to be the favorite target of most people. Oh well, Es Carnaval! And at the parade I was dubbed (ok, maybe I dubbed myself) La Reina de Fiestas, and after all, Carnaval is one big fiesta!

I was constantly amazed at how much people take in stride during Carnaval. Every time I karrioked someone in the face I was waiting for the anger, but people laugh and smile or karrioka me back and that's the end of it. I tried to imagine something like Carnaval happening in New York or DC and had to admit that there would be a daily Carnaval death toll due to the karrioka rage that would surely emerge.

After a beautiful weekend of karrioka, dancing, music and just general good times I have to say that it was hard to leave Baños. In our last night there we spent a few hours with the family dancing and having fashion shows and I couldn't help but feel like I am gonna need to get back to Baños soon. So... anyone up for a trip to Baños next weekend?