On the road . September 2009 . Ecuador and Peru
Internet Cafe, Cuenca,
Ecuador, 12-09-09
Arriba, arriba y vamos... [Up, up and
away]
Quito to Cuenca (6 cycle days; 1 rest days; 463km;7747m)
Quito to Latacunga (93km; 1138m)
Latacunga to Mucha (69km; 1244m)
Mucha to Guamote (85km; 1301m)
Guamote to Chunchi (80km; 1342m)
Chunchi to Tambo (60km; 1611m)
Tambo to Cuenca (76km; 1111m)
Quitting Quito
Even if it was an easy city to cycle into, Quito doesn't
really impress me at all. It is bubbling over with that
strange breed of budget tourists who somehow have enough
cash to buy a beer at almost 3 times the local price
and spend $20 on a pizza. Everything in the immediate
vicinity of El Mariscal caters towards entertaining
and ripping them off. This includes the opportunist
thief, as our cycle companion Karsten finds out the
night before we have planned to quit Quito.
After way too many beers - the boy
has difficulty knowing when you should say "no
more" - he is lightened of his camera, money and
mobile phone...
Tip of the month: What to do with the old Therm-a-rest matress?
We love our Therm-a-rest mattresses, but we have had problems with
de-lamination deeming them useless for sleeping
on. But if you are into recycling, then
here's a little tip... they make great insulation
or padded bags.
Out of the last mattress,
I designed a computer bag protector and
a bike travel bag that not only fits snuggly
on top of my back Ortlieb pannier, but is
reasonably insulating too. The latter also
doubles as a day pack and stuffed with a
couple of clothes makes a great pillow.
The fabric itself squashes up really small;
is easily cleanable; and if it gets wet,
it dries in a flash. So the possibilities
are limitless... water bottle bag, hard
drive protector, iPod holder...
Quito (Ecuador) - San Ignacio (Peru)
Kilometres: 928 kilometres and 690 metres
Riding days: 15 (short) days
Alti meters: a staggering 18,212 metres !
Weather: more rain than we wanted / needed
Best accommodation: Hostal Latino in Cuenca;
centre of town, cheap (US$14), fantastic
room, extremely friendly owner and staff.
Special thanks to:
Karsten for keeping us company over the
last four weeks. See you in Santiago and have
a great trip ! • The welder in Loja for removing a broken
bolt at no cost.
Breakdowns:
03: flat tyre (Son)
09: flat tyre (Son)
21: flat tyre (Son) due to a large piece of glass
21: exchange € 4 Cheng Shin tyre after 8325 km !
26: eyelet to hold rack up breaks once again Ali)
