Another way to handle the Andes climbs. While we never attempted this skill, it sure would have come in handy.
Yes...we are on the right road..."Colombia via Panam"...we've been on the Panamerican Hwy most of our way in South America.
The scale of the terrain is beyond pictures, but this one is close to doing it justice. We were rewarded on this curvy, steep road with a magnificent waterfall that crashed even further down, below the road.
Our last town in Colombia, I became street entertainment while Eric made a quick stop into a bike shop. While we were stopped, Alvaro, a Colombian who has traveled all over the world and now runs an English school, asked us if we'd like to help him practice his conversational English and stay in a spare room at his school....
Alvaro and his family has us over for lunch and wonderful conversation. We learned of a young man from Oregon, who Alvaro met 1 week ago, who worked in Mexico on a farm, was given a donkey for his time, which he proceeded to ride through Central America and is heading south! Unfortunately, we never crossed paths on the road.
We welcomed in the Ecuadorian mountains by breaking the two lowest gears on our rear cog. This turned many of our steep climbs into walks. Currently waiting for the new parts to clear customs in Ecuador.
We dropped elevation into a desert area of Ecuador where the population is mostly of African descent. We met these ladies on the road gathering mangoes and they showed us to a hostel. They celebrate 4 days of Carnival which coinsides with Mardi Gras in Brazil. In Ecuador the celebration is not about beads and parades, but done by dousing any passerby with water (squirt gun or bucket) and shaving cream, loud music plays, hundreds of people play in rivers, and dance in the streets.
A little Carnival fun...
Not understanding the idea of Carnival, the first time we got a face full of foam, we were left confused and frustrated, as the bus zoomed by and a little boy smirked with his hit. After the festivities were explained, the second time it happened, Eric went chasing after the culprit, this time to steal his bucket and return the favor. We were glad when Carnival was over and we could stop looking up towards the roof tops, anticipating having to dodge the next bucket of water crashing down...looking left, right, forward and back is enough to worry about!
A Warmshower stay in Ibarra, Ecuador. Here with our host family in front of their house. We had a wonderful time. I got to help the ladies cook in the kitchen and we got a tour of their huge backyard garden. They are a family of teachers and students and have a thirst for learning, so we had some English and Spanish tutoring.
One of their friends, 78 year old Jesus, came over one morning to collect sugarcane (pictured) and avocados from their garden. She had the most warm and caring spirit and a beautiful smile...and a hard worker! I'd love to know all those eyes have seen and arthritic joints endured.
Our host father, cutting the skin off the sugarcane for a sweet treat to gnaw on. Don't ask about the Panda bear in the background....I don't know....
I dragged Eric to one of the most well known markets in South America, in Otavalo, Ecuador. It was a playground for me...hand woven goods of all kinds, beautiful colors, and friendly merchants. I bought a few scarves, hammock, and blanket made of alpaca wool....
...and this picture painted with fruit juice extracts. Such a talented artist...it was hard to choose!
Eric noticed a loaded bike parked at a restaurant, so we turned around to meet......Anders, from Norway, started in Buenos Aires, Argentina and has been moving north, on a similar path we will take south. So, we swapped stories and information for about an hour, then pedaled our separate ways.
We have reached equatorial equilibrium...the center of the world. Crossing the equator seems like a milestone. Nearly half way on our route. Presumably at this point we are travelling faster while standing on land than we've ever travelled before.....25,000 mile circumference, 24 hrs over 1,000 mph, where as Mankato we are travelling at maybe 600 mph. Ah, too much time on the bike to think!Some myths and facts:
- We do weigh less than at the poles, .3% due to the centripital (centrifugal) force...again another point of discussion.
- The toilet water does not swirl in the opposite direction,
- There is less wind in the doldrums, the intensity of the sun heating the earth causes the warm air to rise instead of blow.
We love hostel roof tops. This one had views over the church square, Quito and the surrounding mountains.
A patch of grass in the shade near a supermarket......don't know if it gets any better!
Quito warmshower hosts Adrian and Aisling. We were overwhelmed by this English couple's hospitality. They allowed us to stay while waiting for parts to ship from the states and took us around Quito. We were peckish and fancied a nibble as we sat down to eat!
This Skype's for you. Our long rest in Quito was a great time to reconnect with family.
Eric getting a lesson in re-lacing a wheel from our host Adrian. Hopefully this addresses our broken spoke issues.We hope to continue rolling south in the next few days, and continue to be excited about what is around the next curve in the road!
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