Maybe it´s stockholm syndrome, but...

I´m trapped in Baños. Which is fine with me, really. I have some sort of flu, which thankfully isn´t High Altitude Pulmonary Edema, when the pressure on your lungs inflates them with fluid (an American chap I met in Cuenca found himself swimming in his own succulent juices while in Peru, gag) as i´m only at 1820m above sea level. There is a woman at the market who makes fresh bean ´menestras´ for me everyday, despite the fact it´s a costal specialty (i still have trouble with such regional culinary divides coming from ram whatever in the one pot land), there is a gorgeous spice shop with wasabi powder and crystallised ginger, the papers have cleo style quizzes and features on second life and of course, as the name suggests, there is an abundance of thermal baths. Heavenly.

I managed to take this photo on the way in. More rain has sent further igneous boulders tumbling onto what remains of the highway, and it´s now totally impassable, even on foot. I haven´t seen a highway in such a state since one almost buried Lois in Superman I. Thankfully their volcanic home remains relatively dormant.

If you look closely at the person in blue on the very left, you can see that they´re standing pretty much on the prime meridian, that jaggedy out bit. Further to the left of this photo a great river rages.