Bigger, Higher, Steeper

Things have improved enormously since our last blog, we both feel better (almost normal!),are back on the bikes and quickly gaining strength as we continue through the Andes.

On our way out of Colombia we stopped in Las Lajas, a notable pilgrimage site with a spectacular church built on a bridge over the river. It was a Saturday and the place was chaos, little did we know that it was a religious festival and were turned away over and again from hotels…eventually ending up in a single room in an old nunnery. Sam took the floor and after an uncomfortable night on the hardest imaginable bed I was not sure who drew the short straw! It was a strange place.

We loved Colombia and were sad to leave…we stopped for breakfast between the borders and had one last taste of the Colombian spirit as we watched Nairo blitz a stage of the Vuelta de España with a large enthusiastic group of money changers. Then we were off into Ecuador and immediately greeted by spectacular mountains and smooth roads.

However, Ecuadorian roads seem to either be beautifully smooth tarmac, rough dirt or cobbled. That dreaded word has come back to haunt us and the dreaded cobbles are back in full force…usually up hill and for miles on end.

We stayed in a spectacular spot above Otavalo but having battled on the afore mentioned nightmare surface to get there we felt obliged to stay for four days to make the most of it and delay the bumpy return ride. This relaxed attitude was also due to the fact that we have changed our schedule…we no longer have the goal of getting to Peru but plan to spend the remainder of our time in Ecuador rather than rush through a country that appears to have a lot to offer. This has had a profound effect on my mindset and i feel incredibly relaxed and unhurried. Shall we stay another couple of days in this amazing place…why not?!

We did eventually leave, bumped down the hill and continued south towards the Equator, stopping to camp the night with a local man called Valentin who was incredibly kind and hospitable in a very understated way, he made a fire, cooked eggs and brewed fresh mint tea for us. Over and above what you expect from a campsite host.

A short distance south from Valentin’s we met the Equator and crossed from the Northern to Southern Hemisphere in the blink of an eye. We stopped to take the obligatory pictures before continuing to the outskirts of Quito where there is a renowned casa de ciclista. Santiago and Anna Lucia have been recieving cyclists into their home for over twenty years and we immediately felt at home as we set up our tent in ‘the bunker’ as so many cyclists had done before us. This was not only a free place to stay but they offered advice, lent us a backpack and allowed us to leave extra luggage we wouldn’t need before returning to Quito in a few weeks time. We took the bus into Quito but after so much beautiful rural countryside it felt like just a big, smelly and rather uninteresting city – we are not city folk!

Camping seems abundant in Ecuador and we have been able to use our tent every night since arriving in this beautiful country. We left the smog and headed out into the countryside once more, immediately feeling calmer as the people and buildings lessened…I even openly accepted the rough uphill cobbled road to arrive at a quiet and free campsite at the entrance to Pasachoa National Park.

A stint on the busy Panamericana made us realise that we may prefer cobbles to traffic and we headed off again, uphill and bumping around but with an acceptance that it would be tough but worth it…and it was! At one stage a cobble jumped out at me and sent me crashing to the ground…it then started raining, turning these slick stones into the ultimate slip hazard. We spent as much time pushing as we did riding but as dusk began to fall the weather cleared and we saw the clouds below us and the mountains and volcanoes all around, basked in a spectacular dusky light. At 3600m we were breathless…but not just from the altitude and the exertion.

So far Ecuador has been awe inspiringly beautiful while simultaneously challenging physically and mentally. This is what we dreamed of when planning to cycle in the Andes. More of the same please!