Aguas Blancas (Ecuador)

Agua Blanca is easily got to by bus from Puerto Lopez so it seemed like it was worth a visit. The bus dropped me on the road, but there was still 3 km to walk in the blazing sun...I was grateful to the attendant who offered me a ride on his motorbike to get there and accepted willingly!

I was alone and you need a group to start the visit. Two Americans, a father and his archaeologist daughter, arrived so we could begin. The exploration of the site begins with a visit to the little archaeological museum. Then we went through the forest where there were lots of birds. The really interesting part of the visit are the archaeological digs - as they only began 35 years ago there is still a lot to discover about the mateña culture (from the 7th to the 16th century).

The walk ends with a dip in a pool of sulphurous water, which you plunge into covered in mud. It stinks, but apparently it is excellent for the skin so I tried it!