Maria from Pungalá (View on flickr)

Links:

• All our Ecuador stories in order
• All our Ecuador pictures
• Galapagos pictures
• Route notes and details, including maps and elevation profiles

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.  read more here... lee mas aquí... »

Donkeys everywhere (View on flickr)

Peru has some of the biggest mountains and deepest valleys we have encountered so far. We find it very interesting to ride the high mountains of Peru because the sierras are inhabited by indigenous people who live in the traditional ways they have maintained for centuries. Not much has changed in hundreds of years. In some areas we have been riding through there is no electricity, no running water, no paved road, lots of sheep, cows, chickens, donkeys which carry cargoes of milk, wood, heavy loads of vegetables like potatoes, corn and cabbage. The people themselves carry huge loads on their backs. The women wear the same traditional clothes they have for ages including special hats which identify the area they come from. Around Cajamarca the women wear short skirts with ballooning petticoats, tall, wide-brimmed hand-woven hats made of fine strands of straw. They all have wraps and ponchos to either keep warm or carry a load. They're even shorter than me. From the distance they sometimes remind me of the profile of Halloween witch The women in Northern Peru can be seen herding donkeys loaded with metal containers of milk, babies on their backs and walking along a high mountain road while spinning wool on a stick, preparing the wool for knitting or weaving. The women always have busy hands. Always. Where we are right now the women knit afghans of multiple colors, ponchos, and sweaters. If they don't have a baby on their backs they're carrying a load of firewood, twigs, or huge bunches of herbs and greens.  read more here... lee mas aquí... »

Several of you bike touring people have asked us about bike maintenance and the problems we've had, so we decided to put together a log.

July 2006: Cassiar Highway. Broken spoke and wobbly wheel on Randy's drive side of rear wheel. We broke the Hyper-Cracker tool (that takes the cassette off) in a hailstorm trying to use it. Took us 300 miles to get to a place with a tool to take it off, but we made it.

September 2006: New tires in Victoria, BC.

October 2006: California: Spoke nipple broke through rim on Randy's rear wheel. Got a new wheel built, hoping for the best.

January 2007: New bottom bracket for Randy's bike. New drive train, cables, housing, tires (Continental TravelContact), touring handlebars, many other things before starting out. We also had to buy a replacement set of Old Man Mountain racks for Randy's bike because the 5000 miles of the trip so far had created big abrasions in the (aluminum) racks. Old Man Mountain gave us the new racks at cost.

February 2007: Randy's new rear wheel (from California) failed in Tucson. It was a fancy downhill rim, too. We'll never use another Mavic rim of any type for bike touring.

April 2007: Randy gave up on the fancy Brooks saddle (never did get comfortable) and got a new one, Terry touring saddle that seems to be OK.

May 2007: New chains and cassettes on Oaxaca, Mexico.

January 2008: New chains in Guatemala.

January 2008: Nancy's seatpost clamp failed in Honduras.  read more here... lee mas aquí... »

Frank Lewis (View on flickr)

Dad - Abbott Fay at park near Grand Junction (View on flickr)

We just got back to Peru from a whirlwind trip back to the US. It was great, and exhausting. First, we had to take a 10-hour bus down to the coast from Cajamarca, then an 8-hour bus from Trujillo to the capital of Peru, Lima. Then we flew for ages to Boston, and we arrived in time for the main event that timed our trip: The 80th birthday celebration of Nancy's dad, Frank Lewis. We went to her brother Dan's cabin in New Hampshire and had a delightful celebration.

Then we flew to Denver and got to see Randy's kids, Elisheba and Mark, and drove to Grand Junction, Colorado to see Randy's parents. We got to walk with them and see their new home at the Atrium living center in Grand Junction - they have a beautiful cottage, complete with even more space than they had before, a garage, and a meal a day at the nice facility next door. Very good setup.

Then we drove back to Denver and had a get-together with friends which was an absolute delight. Several friends came to say hello, and even one set of bike tourists we'd never met, Nick and Dave, two impressive young men who are about to set off from Denver on their way to Panama. Thanks to all of you who came and who couldn't for your friendship!  read more here... lee mas aquí... »