Ecuador

We crossed into Ecuador today

rfay — Sun, 25 May 2008 22:48:39 +0000

We crossed into Ecuador today! Our 10th country. 11,000 miles (17,700 km) into the ride. It's high, cold, mountainous.

In the last few days we've been riding up to and above 10,000 feet in elevation and it's been so cloudy or foggy that we can't see much at all of the beautiful scenery above us. We can usually see valleys below, but can't see even the sides of the great volcanoes.

We crossed the Equator!

rfay — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 01:55:16 +0000

We crossed the equator on May 29, almost 2 years after we crossed the Arctic Circle on June 14, 2006! The amazing thing is, take a look at our clothing... I think we were colder at the equator (near 9000 feet of elevation) than we were at the Arctic Circle!

There was a fine monument alongside the rode with an incredibly intricate sundial showing the day of the year as well as the time of day. It was all for nought on such a cold, cloudy, rainy day though.

Stop Thief, Stop!

rfay — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 02:11:23 +0000

We had a funny experience yesterday on the way home from a fine afternoon wandering around the old city of Quito. We were on the excellent and cheap, but crowded, trolleybus. Whenever you're in a crowded bus anywhere in the world, especially standing, you need to take care of your possessions, and we were keeping a close eye out. Nancy spotted a young fellow in a brown baseball cap eyeing her as she put her camera away in her bag, and kept an eye on him. In fact, she was giving him the evil eye and he was also making eye contact in return. They understood each other completely.

As we stood there he snaked his way through the crowd, moving closer and closer to us and Nancy thought he was evaluating me as well. About the time Nancy was reiterating her warning to me to watch my pockets, we heard a lady call out "Thief - there's a thief here." Then another woman yelled "The one in the brown cap!" And the first one said "He's after the tourist lady!" (Nancy).

Then came the incredible part. Somebody yelled again, "The one with the brown cap". And they all started beating him with umbrellas and fists and forcing him to the front of the bus. The bus driver asked what was going on and stopped the bus and delivered the apparent theif right into the hands of a waiting policeman.

It was quite amazing. Nothing happened at all. We didn't get robbed or even come close, and I don't think he would have been successful with us. But to see all those people taking care of us (and brutalizing the accused thief) was pretty impressive.

The ride south from Quito

nancy — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:28:22 +0000

We rode out of Quito heading south on Sunday morning to miss the busy traffic. But we did not succeed in missing the polluted buses that blew thick black exhaust straight into our taxed lungs. We had just been at sea level for 10 days and the re-aclimation back to 10,000 feet was taking me a few days. Chest pains, shortness of breath, and rapid heart rate was not helped by the pollution emitted by almost all vehicles that passed us as we climbed to higher elevations. The city landscape was replaced with green pastures, cows, llamas, sheeps and small pueblos with amazing markets. I started to breathe a little better but about 20 miles outside of Quito, I called it quits for the day and we stayed overnight in Machachi. I spent the afternoon roaming around the markets where I bought a pair of high socks made of wool and looked at the traditional felt hats which ranged according to quality from $10-$50 and wool ponchos for about $15. Randy who can't tolerate shopping for a whole 5 minutes headed to the internet.

The next day we rode the Pan-American highway for about 20 miles and then found a back road that headed south through much quieter, farmlands. This road is what I like about bike touring. No traffic, no painted line, fresh air and rural folks who waved at us as we pedal past their adobe homes. It felt good to be on the bike again and feeling much better.

The first family we met was an indigenous family running a by-hand rooftile manufacturing operation. We had a great time with them, seeing how they work the clay with a cow and then form the tiles by hand. They get about 2 cents for every tile, and can make about 500 in a day. Thus the whole family working together might be able to gross $10/day. They don't have their own oven to fire the tiles, so have to turn them over to someone else.

We found our way to indigenous village called Pujilí. As we entered the outskirts of the town, a friendly old guy on a bike, who may have been hitting the bottle, caught up with us and escorted us into town. He was a delightful friendly fellow. He brought us to the only place to stay in town which is called the Casa Campesina, and is really a place for poor people who come to the market and have no place to sleep to spend one night but they take in anyone who needs a place to stay for absolutely nothing. The place is a whole complex with 8 or so different building. It is painted beautifully white and is supported by folks from Italy. It turns out there are Casas Campesinas in many towns, provided by the local Catholic church. We stayed in a dormitory room which sleeps 4 but had the room to ourselves. We slept on hand woven mats on bunkbeds with no mattresses but did have wooden slats. Three very old and poor women slept in the next room. The room smelled like people who have lived on a farm for a real long time and have not showered in ages. They where very cute in thier traditional Ecuadorian ponchos and hats. In the early morning they joined us for coffee before we all had to leave by 7:00 am. As a parting gesture we gave them 50 cents which they kissed and thanked God for the gift.

We took the back road to Salcedo which was a terrible ride because for 30 kilometers it was paved with rocks the size of softballs. All nicely lined up every 5 inches or so. Randy ate something bad yesterday so he was pretty sick. We managed to get to town after a spine splitting ride down to Salcedo. We found a nice hotel next to the center plaza. Randy is currently resting and recovering from this not so optimal day. I am amazed how strong he is, even when he feels sick as a dog, he rides strong without complaining.

Our Trip to the Galápagos Islands

nancy — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:35:13 +0000

Note: You can see all the pictures of the Galápagos trip here.

Having cycled all this way, we decided since we were kind of in the neighborhood, we should visit the Galapagos Islands, which are part of Ecuador and 600 miles west of the Ecuadorian coast. We made the reservation for an 8 day tour of the Galapagos through the Happy Gringo travel agency in Quito, which had been recommended by another cyclist. Not knowing exactly when we would get there we communicated through email for a few days prior to our arrival in Ecuador. I was very impressed with their quick and thorough responses to our thousand questions.

When we finally got everything arranged, we had reservations on a 100-year-old twin-masted ship called the Sulidae (built in Denmark at the turn of the 20th century). They call it the pirate ship because of its age, style, and because it's painted black as night. Seeing the ship for the first time, I knew we would have a unique experience.

We flew out of Quito and arrived at the San Cristóbal airport where we met most of other passengers we would share this experience with. Right off, I knew we would all have a great time together. They seemed like similar folks with similar interest and all choosing to do a similar medium cost adventure. There was a couple from Canada, a couple from Australia, a mother and two adult children from Denmark, a newly in-love couple from Germany, and Ken, a masters student who reminded me of a National Geographic photographer.

When we boarded the ship after the group briefing we were shown to our cabins. We did seem to get the smallest of the cabins and the smelliest. But luckily we did not bring much luggage, and our three small panniers just fit under the bottom bunk. I got the top bunk with a hatchway that opened so I could sleep cooler at night. We figured out what the smell was from the small bathroom that was part of our cabin and it was basically the combination of mildew, sea, and the nature of the beast. All week it would a challenge to manage, especially during times we experienced rougher seas. We did not plan on spending much time there other than sleeping so we just coped with it. We had the small room and more toward the front of the boat where we felt more of the rise and fall of the ship during the times when we where sailing (always at night). The people in the back of the boat had larger spaces, but the sound of the pumps and the motor were going all night long.

The purpose of the trip was to see the wonders of the Galapagos Islands and we did that! During the 8-day trip we saw an extensive part of the Galapagos Island and had no time to sit and relax. We were on the go the whole tour from 8:00 in the morning to 8:00 at night. We brought along books we had imagined we would need to pass the time but hardly read a chapter the whole trip.

The crew sailed the boat at night and we arrived at a new place before the morning meal. After the morning meal would would take the panga, the (very) small motor boat to either an island to hike or a new place to snorkel or swim with the sea lions or motor around seeing the wonders.

The first day we walked a nature trail on San Cristóbal Island and learned about the delicate environment that is home to much life that only can be found in this area. Actual the amazing thing about the Galapagos is that the animals, birds and many plants have adapted to each particular island.

During the next 8 days we would take many nature walks, guided by Raúl, the well informed park ranger/guide who was born in the area. In English, he educated us about the magic of the islands. I never tired of seeing black marine iguanas (they swim and dive, deep!) sunning on the black lava rocks, the restful sea lions lazing on the beach and or admiring the 500-pound giant tortoises munching on grass. Living up to 175 years, one old tortoise we meet was supposedly born during the time Charles Darwin did his research at the Galapagos Islands.

In 1835 Charles Darwin studied and noted the similarities and differences of the flora and fauna and finally concluded that the species, in order to survive, would gradually alter based on environmental conditions. After 20 years of research he published the "The Origin of the Species by Natural Selection" in 1859.

What I enjoyed most was the snorkeling and swimming. Randy and I rented wetsuits and snorkeling gear so during the hours in the water we were comfortable and enjoyed the feast of underwater life. The most entertaining was swimming with the friendly and curious sea lions. They would swim right up to our masks and just about kiss the glass before swimming around in a circle and returning. One group of sea lions actual absconded with the anchor of our small motorboat and hung it up in some rocks. Randy had the most fun diving down into the deep water and being surrounded with many these wonderful creatures. Together they would twist and dive and resurface for a breath of air and descend once again for another frolic in the sea.

Once Randy paying to much attention to his new friends and was swimming upside down near the bottom and clobbered his head on a massive rock. Laughing he came up for a breath holding his head and continued on with his play.

In total, we visited 4 islands: San Cristóbal Santa Cruz, Floreana, Isabella. We saw the famous blue-footed boobies, the lava finches, magnificent frigatebird, swam with Galapagos penguins, marine Iguanas, land Iguanas, Darwin finches. Galapagos hawks, and doves. pelicans, and Sally Lightfoot crabs. We visited several reserves and research centers,

We rode some very old and tired horses up to the second largest crater in the world on the Fernandina island. But the day was foggy and rainy so we did not see the crater. Three of the 16 horses fell during our trip including mine. My horses footing was shaky at best. It tripped forward onto its front two legs and forward I followed. I gripped on to the neck which softened my landing and I just rolled down and up on to my feet. I was a little bruised for a week or so but nothing major. One family who are experts on horses refused to ride the horses because they felt they where underfed and not fit to have riders and perhaps this is why 3 riders went down.

We did get a beautiful view of Volcan Chico with newish lava flows. The old flows have turned red from the release of iron and the massive pitch-black flows from the 1968 eruption lie over the older oxidized under-base creating a surrealistic moonscape.

Another adventure we went on was by fishing boats. Because of the safety factor, the expedition went out on two boats which each had two 250HP engines. During the one hour trip to the lava tubes where we were going to snorkel the boats pounded through the open water.

The boat slammed so many times, I imagine I am 1 inch shorter (if that is possible) after the spine crushing expedition. Once we got close to the cove the real adventure started. In order to get to the cove we had to find a way to shore through the 3 -5 foot surf waves. After scouting for a route through the surf for 30 minutes and many tries the fishermen finally succeeded by revving up the two powerful outboard motors and raced the surf into the quieter waters of the cove.

Our driver put a handle of one motor between his legs, up into his crotch and the other motor he directed with his left hand. Once into the coves we swam with sharks, giant tortoises, Galapagos penguins, school of tuna and tons of other colorful fish. The collapsed lava tubes provide an enchanting cove of lava arches, brackish water just right to support giant swimming turtles and intermingled mangrove trees. I have never seen a more magical place.

The boat ride out of the caves was even more treacherous than the ride in. Our boat almost got creamed by the other boat on one failed attempt. The boat we rode in made it out after a half a dozen tries, but the other boat made it safely out of the crashing waves only after 30 minutes of trying and failing. The trick is to wait until there is a perfectly quiet set of waves. I did admire the fishermen's patience, skill and experience.

One of the best parts of our trip was the wonderful food cooked by Carolina. Every meal she made was great, including homemade deserts. She cooked these fine meals in a space no bigger then 4' x 6'. How she created all those masterpieces in such a small space aboard a rocking ship, I will never know but I will remember her tortas, chocolate mouse, Carmel cheesecake and the shrimp bisque. Three fine meals a day were served up to twelve of us hunger explorers.

The ship sailed at night for 6 to 10 hours most nights in order to reach another island. It was rougher then we had anticipated but all but one night we got some sleep, well most of the time. The last night was the roughest.

I had to close my hatch above my bed because of the waves crashed on to the deck and into my air hole. That night I do not want to experience again. I felt real bad for the new passenger we picked up for the last night of our trip and it was the beginning of her trip. She was sicker then a dog. I wonder how she survived.
The whole trip was wonderful: the crew, the places we visited, and the folks we shared this incredible week with. It is amazing that a small bunch of strangers for all over the world can become such good friends in a short period of time. It must be the magic of the place.

If you are thinking of going to the Galapagos Islands, arranging a trip on a ship is a way to see more of the area. Go on a ship with 12 passengers which makes the experience very interment, faster to embark and easier on the delicate resources. Large ships with many passengers is taxing on a delicate environment and may be prohibited in the future. Pay more then you think you can for a quality boat. Go on the biggest boat you can find to make the sailing smoother, but not more people. Take sea sickness pills before you need them.

Go during the ocean's quiet time (not that we know when that is...). The high season costs more and is during July and August but it may also be the high season for the wind and the waves. No mater, just do it and you will come away with many wonderful memories of a place of incredible beauty.

Down into the Amazon basin and back up to Cuenca

nancy — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 03:44:43 +0000

We have surfaced again and now are in Cuenca, Ecuador. After riding the Pan-American highway south from Quito for a hundred kilometers or so we decided to go to Baños to soak in the hot springs. Well, we liked that route much better than the Pan-Am, we continued down to the eastern Amazon region of Ecuador on the edge of the jungle and followed the roads south. Most of the time the roads were brand new and magnificent and other times dirt and pretty bad but the jungle lowlands were enchanting with wild bird sounds all around, exotic flowers, low traffic. The rain would would come and go most of the day and most times we found somewhere to sleep in a town. Actually the fanciest hotel we have slept in on our whole trip was in the delightful little town of Sucúa. It was our 3rd wedding anniversary and we felt we had found the honeymoon suite for $16 and just in time because we were like drowned rats arriving there in a big rainstorm.

A good part of the first part of the trip was around huge volcanos. We stopped in Baños for some hilly walks, soaking in hot springs and a visit to the local zoo. We then dropped down to the jungle on the way to Pugo. The road from Baños to Puyo was a mountain biker's dream come true. Though there were 7 tunnels along this road, the cyclists were diverted around on dirt roads and through wonderful forest.

At one spot the road is washed out so we had to carry our bikes through a running creek that had fallen trees and brush. All part of the adventure. After about 6 hours of riding we dropped down to the Amazon lowlands where we would ride for the next 3 days. The forest is being deforested at an alarming rate. We saw so much wood being cut for lumber and stacked along the road side, I believe it was the only business in this region. It was sad to hear the chain saws and see the results of the swift destruction of the lowlands of eastern Ecuador. The jungle was being raped and no reconstruction was seen anywhere. This has been going on for some time throughout the Amazon region, of course, but it's not pretty to see it firsthand.

As we rode we would hear strange and wonderful bird calls, see exotic fluna and rode in awe of this remote place. The new aspalt finally ended on the first day and aspalt did not appear again for another day. We bumped along the dirt and stonelined road through areas that have not seen the likes of us. The people where quite and reserved and most just watched us in silence as we made our way past. The people live in simple homes, some with thatched roof huts and other with concrete blocks. Some how they carve a living in this area by living off the land.

In contrast to the flat roads of the lowland of the Amazon which got down as low as 500 meters of elevation (about 1800 feet), the trip up to Cuenca (elevation 2500 meters or about 8000 feet) was difficult and stunning. We rode through a part of the Sangay National Park which is protected and has amazing beauty of towering mountains and cascades after cascades that seem to fall thousands of meters straight out of the sky.

One morning of camping at the humble home of Manuel and Maria and their six kids, we awoke to the most stunning vista of the blue-ish green massive mountain of the Sangay Park, valleys with running rivers and distance clouds resting in the far valleys.

During our early morning ride, we descended into those clouds and then continued below them in just 5 minutes. We lost 500 meters which we knew we would have to earn those meters back because we we need to climb up to Ecuador's finest city.

It seemed we would climb for two hours only to descend back down to the elevation we started at. This happened over and over for two days. After going down to the Paute river one more time, I finally said enough and we hitched a ride for 15 kilometers and up 700 meter higher to San Pedro, where we had a great lunch and a long talk with the owner about our trip.

Fully fed, we continued on, passing by the huge new hydro-electric project that is being built on the Paute river. The current dam lasted 33 years and is now obsolete because of the amount of deforestation and erosion in this area has silted up the reservoir and the project can't produce efficiently any more.
As we climbed slowly up the the highlands, we seemed to ride slower and slower as it got colder and colder and the dogs got meaner and meaner. We would only ride 25 miles a day on this section because of the rain and cold.

2630255970After riding 18,000 kilometers, we finally encountered a real big bad dog. Climbing slowly up a hill, a two large dogs came after me and one got me. It bit me in the upper thigh. How the dog could get his mouth open that wide, I do not know but I do know it hurt. After getting a safe distance from that beast, we examined the area discovering the bite broke the skin just a tiny bit. We went back to the house and had a talk with the owner to find out if the dog had his shots and it turned out that he did and it was current. He had two dogs and he knew which one was the bad one. Continuing on with our ride this stretch of the road had many, many dogs that would run out and chase us. It was scary trying to control the bike with mad dogs chasing us and traffic going by. I added a stick to the back of my bike and now make sure my water bottle is full so I can spray attacking dogs. Randy would ride with me and chase the dog with his bike if the dog would not back down. One dog got kicked in the face and I hope he thinks twice about chasing a bike again.

We finally arrived in Cuenca a week after we left the Pan-America Highway a week ago which was my fault because I looked at a map and wondered where that red road would take us. It took us to the lowlands and back to the highlands through very rural country and through areas populated by the amazon indigenous homelands and through an amazing Ecuadorian National Park and back up to the agricultural highlands. We meet a lot of nice people who shared a part of the lives with us and extended complete strangers hospitality and friendship. Thank-you new amigos!

Ecuador Route: May 29 to July 13, 2008

rfay — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 00:31:56 +0000

We wrote quite a bit about the route and reasons for taking it here. Encourage you to take a look.

Ride	date	miles/km	Elev ft/mt
Ipiales, Colombia to Tulcán, Ecuador	2008-05-25	17/27	1679/518
Tulcán to Ambuquí, Ecuador	2008-05-26	54/87	3015/931
Ambuquí to Otavalo, Ecuador	2008-05-27	39/63	3943/1217
Otavalo to Cayambe	2008-05-28	20/32	2070/639
Cayambe to Quito, Ecuador	2008-05-29	51/82	4258/1314
Quito to Machachi	2008-06-15	27/44	1827/564
Machachi to Pujilí, Ecuador	2008-06-16	42/68	2326/718
Baños to Puyo	2008-06-21	40/65	1443/445
Puyo to Pastaza River	2008-06-22	43/69	1742/538
Pastaza River to Macas, Ecuador	2008-06-23	38/61	2595/801
Macas to Sucua	2008-06-24	15/24	488/151
Sucúa to Méndez	2008-06-25	33/53	728/225
Méndez to KM 37 from Méndez	2008-06-26	23/37	5754/1776
KM37 past Mendéz to Palmas, Ecuador	2008-06-27	40/65	6200/1914
Palmas to Paute, Ecuador	2008-06-28	25/40	2238/691
Paute to Cuenca, Ecuador	2008-06-29	25/40	1492/460
Cuenca to Oña, Ecuador	2008-07-03	61/98	5918/1827
Oña, Ecuador to Saraguro, Ecuador	2008-07-04	23/37	3579/1105
Saraguro to Loja, Ecuador	2008-07-05	38/61	2818/870
Loja to Vilcabamba	2008-07-07	30/48	2578/796
Vilcabamba to High Camp in Podocampus National Park above Valladolid	2008-07-10	29/47	6049/1867
High Camp to Palanda by bike then Zumba by bus	2008-07-11	50/81	5500/1698
Zumba, Ecuador to Namballe, Peru	2008-07-12	21/34	2490/769

Cuenca to the Peru Border

nancy — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 15:43:21 +0000

The ride from Cuenca to the Peru border was one of the best and most beautiful (and hardest) rides so far on this trip. We rode on quiet roads, some paved but most dirt. The landscape was gorgeous and the views amazing. We rode through small indigenous villages where the women wore colorful traditional dresses, jewelry, and felt hats. The traffic was almost non-existent as soon as we left Cuenca. It picked up a little as we rode in and out of Loja. In Loja by chance we met Chaski, a Peruvian man who is walking the Inca trail, learning about the traditional ways people grow potatoes. He is an educator and he is connecting the indigenous people of South America together. We had met him in the far north of Ecuador and got to have dinner with him again.

The next day we rode to Saraguro, a pleasant village with proud and friendly people. The people seem to have a nice life, a sense of community and continue with the traditional Ecuadoran Indigenous life style. Many of the indigenous villages we had passed through seemed reserved and hardship seems to weigh on their shoulders. This village was strikingly different. It was a much happier place. The people more open and had smiles to share. We wanted to stay for the Sunday market but Vilcabamba was calling us.

Vilcabamba is a village of a few thousand people which has a reputation of being a wonderfully healthy place to live. The people supposedly live a long time there due to the magical properties of the water and the climate. I knew if we went there and spent a few days we would also benefit from the magical place. I wonder if by just visiting the place we can also extend our lives, living happily and healthy to 110. Stay tuned for another 60 years and you can find out.

We stayed at the Hotel Izhcayluma, 2 kilometers south of town. The place was so relaxing with hammocks outside our room and views of the Podocarpus National Park and priced right for our budget. Randy and I played ping-pong for hours, and shot some pool and played chess. I entered a ping-pong tournament where the winner was supposed to jump in the pool naked. Luckily I was knocked out of the competition the second game I played, but I did lose to the eventual winner. On the second day there we hiked for 5 hours, leaving from the hostal, passing through the outskirts villages of Vilcabamba, and up then along a path that followed a knife-sharp ridge. You could look down to the left, viewing one valley 1000 feet below and the view to the right was the town of Vilcabamba more then a 1000 feet below. The ridge wound it way down to a dry river bed which we followed for another hour. The next day we hiked in the Rumi Wilco Reserve. This nature reserve was created by an Argentinian couple, Alicia and Orlando Falco, in an effort to reverse the environmental degradation caused by slash-and-burn agriculture. Randy hiked up to the higher parts of the reserve getting himself in and out of trouble while I found a hammock to have a nap. I ended the day with a well-deserved one-hour massage.

After three nights of pampering, we hopped back on the bikes and slowly rode to the Peru border. Again the steep climbs caused us to get off our bikes and push up the steep parts. The nice pavement ended after just 20 kilometers (for the next week) and the real work started. We climbed up over the continental divide somewhere in the Podocarpus National Park. The road was muddy because of the amount of rain that falls in this cloud forest. We had several stream crossings. Randy rode through them, but I changed into my sandals and walked across. Sometimes we could see foggy vistas, but sometimes the clouds limited us to views of the mossy vegetation we rode by. Tiny flowers sprung out of the cliff-hanging moss and orchids thrived in this perfect environment. We topped the climb at 2772 meters thinking we were about to descend 1000 meters into Valladolid. It was cold and windy. I dressed in all the warm clothes I had and rode hard to stay warm. We did descend just a bit, and it got a hair warmer, but it started to rain harder too.

The ride was enchanting and we lost track of time in this misty wonderland as dark descended around us. Not a house or a finca was anywhere to be found. We considered setting up the tent along the graded banks of the road but we knew that camping 5 feet from the road was not optimal so we continued our search. When we crested the next climb we found a flat marshy spot under some electric wires, a safe distance from the road. As quickly as we could we set up the tent and dove in. The rain which was to this point gentle had changed its characteristic and hit us hard. We dragged all of our panniers into the vestibule of our tent and settled in for the night. Unfortunately we dragged our wet selves into a dry tent and contaminated our dry sanctuary. With wetness everywhere we did manage to sleep most of the night.

We did twice hear trucks stopping at the crest of hill and getting out. We held our breaths and listened as we heard the doors open and men´s voices appearing outside the cabs, talking and laughing. They hung around their trucks for a short while before driving away. Our little flat plateau must of been the only place to have a pit stop to relieve their bladder from the pounding of the rough, dirt, muddy road. A few cars more drove by and beeped at us. After having dinner of cold granola, we feel asleep and dreamed we would not wake up drowned rats. When we woke up in the morning the rain continued as we packed up. It seemed warmer in the morning as we put on our damp clothes. We rode on to the small town of Palanda.

We had planned on spending the night there. As I went looking for hotel, I found a bus to Zumba instead. I did not want to climb the 5000-foot (1500 meter) climb to Zumba on the wet, dirt, slippery muddy, steep, cold, treacherous road. We took the one o´clock bus to Zumba. We stuck the bikes and our gear under the bus in the large luggage storage area. The views were tremendous and I was glad to be in a nice dry, warm bus.

We checked into a hotel in Zumba that had a covered roof top and a washing basin. We washed the mud of all off our gear and hung it overnight to dry. The next day we set out for the Peru border. Again the climb was tough, and I walked a fair number of places that just took too much energy to ride. At the top of the biggest climb we crossed through the second military checkpoint in the area. Randy talked with the officer in charge, Hector, about our trip. He had so many questions and was truly interested in our experience. The two younger soldiers just looked on with amazement. We found out that all men in Ecuador are obligated to serve for one year. Or they can pay $40 to be exempt from service. These soldiers were stationed here for 24 hours and then had 24 hours off. They wrote down our passport information and wished us well as we climbed the last hill of Ecuador. I walked half of it.

The last few miles was downhill to the river and to the new bridge at the La Balsa, the border crossing. The last section was downhill and so steep, I could not ride it. Randy rode my bike as I walked. A fitting end to the steep hills of Ecuador.

Riding into Peru at La Balsa

nancy — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 18:40:05 +0000

We are now in Peru. Another country! This is the 11th country we have entered with our bikes. With something like 11,800 miles (19,000 kilometers) we crossed the Ecuador border into Peru at La Balsa. This was the quietest and most rural border crossing we have done to date. As the immigration officer stamped our paperwork, a chicken roamed the room pecking at crumbs, a herd of cows passed out front and the money changers sat on the bridge enjoying beer on this late Saturday. No one came up to us asking if we wanted to change our money from dollars (which they use in Ecuador) to Soles (Peru's currency). That was a first.

From the border we started off following a river and actually had a flat road for 7 kilometers. Yes flat. We heard that Peru is flatter then Ecuador but we could not believe it. Of course, we found out otherwise in the morning, as the road rose above the village of Namballe. The people were so friendly on our ride from Namballe to San Ignacio! We feel like rock stars once again. Everyone waves and beeps and everyone says hello and "welcome to Peru". We even got filmed by a couple passing by on motorcycles. He explained it is for marketing material promoting tourism in the town of San Ignacio. Along the route a young boy ran after us with two papayas in his hands to give us as a present. His name was Carlos and he had no shoes but he had a wonderful smile to go with his kindness. We have found the people much more outgoing and less intimidated than the reserved folks of the highlands of Ecuador. We like it when people think we are special. We make more contacts and find out more about the people we see along the way.

The roads so far are dirt and very rough, no smooth grading like in Ecuador. However, our first road was more gentle in slope - we were able to ride all of it, with no pushing. All the culverts seemed to have been washed away or never existed. As a result we find ourselves riding through huge mud holes. One spot seemed about 50 feet long and the whole width of the road and no way around, so we were forced to ride through it. The coffee-colored mud was consistency of thick yogurt. In some places it may have been 6 inches thick. I know I could not see where I was steering. I just rode blindly, holding tight to my handle bar. I just hoped I would not slip and fall into the slop. The final section offered two deep ponds of mud. Randy told me the left hole was the better one and I should ride through it. At last, I did not have the courage or the skill to maneuver through it. I dismounted my steed and waded through the mud and around the ponds, adding to the collections of mud I had been accumulating all day. When I got to the other side, I looked back and saw I had an audience watching us with our fully loaded bikes making our way through the river of mud. I wonder if they had made bets if we would make it through or wipe out.

We stopped for lunch on top of a hill and watched the local Sunday afternoon football games. People came from all over dressed in their Sunday best for the afternoon festivities. As I we sat down on top of the hill to prepare lunch the papaya slipped out of my grip and rolled down the embankment, and came to rest against a parked motorcycle. Everyone waited to see my reaction. I started laughing seeing the fruit down near the foot ball field. Everyone else joined me laughing. I climbed down the embankment and retrieved it. It still tasted wonderful and just a little bit smashed. We had it with peanut butter on our bread - a great combination. I fed the peel to the chickens, the dogs and the donkey who seemed to enjoy it the best.

That day we rode only 44 kilometers (about 28 miles) and climbed 4300 feet (1300 meters). I was tired because of the technical riding, the bad surface and many muddy areas. I slipped off my bike just once and ended up upside down with my bike. Yes, my bike ended upside down resting on its handlebars and seat with me lying next to it on my back, laughing away. Randy wanted to take a picture of me but he thought it would be better to make sure I was OK. I did appreciate his kindness and consideration but I was really fine and was again amused at the silliness of the situation.

We where concerned at the end of the day we would not make it to our destination and started to look for camping spots. It turned out we had a great downhill stretch and made it before dark to San Ignacio. After looking at 3 hotels, we found a room in a house for $8. The owners seemed to have a party until 3am so we did not rest well and moved to the Hotel Dorado the next day where we paid $10 for a night, which seems normal so far. Meals (all basically the same) cost between $1 and $1.50. Breakfast looks like lunch and like dinner: Rice with chicken with yuca.

Tomorrow we will follow the river south for a day or two. We had been told the road is flat and paved. We since found out it is not paved, but more dirt like before. This is ok and I can live with this. But I do hope it is not as steep as some of the roads we've ridden recently. I really want to ride some more flat before we have to climb the giants of the Peruvian Andes. I hope it is flat, I hope it is, I hope….

Ecuador Wrapup

rfay — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 19:46:33 +0000

Links:

Ecuador turned out to be a very pleasant, tranquil country. With the exception of Quito, which has problems like any other large city, we felt completely comfortable and safe everywhere in the country. In fact, we felt that Ecuador was as safe as our previous most-comfortable country, Nicaragua. (Nicaragua would have to exclude its capital, Managua, as well, but we didn't go there.)

Ecuador is incredibly well-organized for tourism and gringos. There are tours and language schools and even a fair number of people who speak some English. They use the US dollar for currency. There is a whole section of Quito (Gringolandia) devoted to nice restaurants and stores of every type catering to gringos. We were able to get some nice sports equipment (warm clothes and such) that you would not have found in most places we have been. It's a very easy place to be.

However, as was the case in Costa Rica, we enjoyed Ecuador less than many countries we've visited, because the people seemed more reserved, and it was probably just because they are a bit fatigued with all the tourists. People didn't call out to us as we rode by, or honk greetings to us as much, or come up to us on the street to talk, or really even look up at us as we rode by. In other countries we're happy to be the center of attention, feeling like "rock stars" everywhere, and we were a bit peeved at the Ecuadoreans for denying us that attention :-)

Of course the Galapagos Islands are an amazing wildlife and natural experience, and one of the most amazing things Ecuador has to offer. But it was like another world, and of course doesn't seem like it was even Ecuador.

Some numbers:

Miles we rode: 763
Time in Ecuador: about 6 weeks (including a trip to the Galapagos)
2 rides on trucks for big hills: 15 miles (25 km).
1 bus ride: 30 miles (50km)
Total mileage for the trip at the Peru border: 11768
Mileage remaining to Ushuaia: 6000-8000. We're hoping for the lower estimate.
Time we expect to spend in Peru: 3 months

Prices:

Standard "set meal" for breakfast, lunch, or dinner: $1.25 to $2.00, with two courses, a soup and a place of rice with chicken or beef.
Hotel, per person: $5-10
Bus in the city: $0.25
Taxi: $1-3
Gas: $1.50/gallon (the cheapest we've seen anywhere. Ecuador is a big oil producer and seems to be subsidizing internal consumption.)
Internet: $0.70-$1.00/hour

One little thing we really liked about the way they do coffee: It's often served as just hot milk, with some instant coffee to add to it. It's tasty!

And from the perspective of Peru, it's surprising how many commercial goods were available everywhere. It seemed that basic services were available in many places too, at least along the highways. In Ecuador we never used an outhouse/latrine at a restaurant as we have in Central America and Peru.

Also from the perspective of northern Peru, Ecuador was very cold and wet, and the riding was quite difficult. We pushed our bikes more in Ecuador than we have in any other country, even on the PanAmerican highway. We think the highway standards must be different in Ecuador, because those roads are really steep.