South America Blog (In Order)
Feel free to email send us a note with any questions or comments.
New Photos (Colombia and Ecuador) and the Maps are Updated
We got our photos of Colombia all updated, and also the maps and elevation profiles of our route through Colombia are now there.
You can see the pictures:
- Second half of Colombia (or as a slideshow.)
- Ecuador (or as a slideshow.)
The maps and elevation profiles (including an overview of the route) are here.
Donde Estamos: Quito, Ecuador! Junio de 2008
¡Saludos a todos nuestros amigos que hablan español! Ya estamos en Quito, Ecuador después de un recorrido montañoso desde Medellín, Colombia.
Al contrario de todo lo que ustedes han oído sobre Colombia, hemos conocido nada mas que buena gente. Y no tuvimos problemas con la delincuencia ni narcotraficantes ni la guerrilla. Nos quedamos también en las casa de cuatro familias muy agradables que abren sus casas a ciclistas. Nunca olvidaremos la amistad y el cariño de esta gente. (Gracias a Jon y Ivo en Manizales, Gonzalo y toda la familia en Armenia, Miller y su familia en Cali, y a Santiago y su familia en Popayán. Ustedes nos dieron una experiencia increíble en Colombia.)
De Medellín pasamos a Manizales (que queda muy alto) y Armenia, Cali, y Popayán. De Popayán tomamos un bus para visitar al sitio arqueológico de San Agustín. Allí vivían desde 2000 A.C. hasta 700 D.C. una cultura increíble, y su esculturas nos hizo recordar la escultura de los Olmec del este de México.
Antes de Popayán habíamos experimentado montañas y grandes cuestas, pero de Popayán h la frontera con Ecuador fueron increíbles subidas y vistas, valles, y barrancos enormes. En un solo día tuvimos que subir hasta 3000 metros o más, bajar a 900 metros, y empezar a subir de nuevo. Pero el paisaje fue de lo mas bonito que hemos visto en nuestro viaje. (En todo nuestro recorrido desde Canadá decíamos que todo era práctica para las Andes, y ya que estamos aquí reconocemos que decíamos la verdad! read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Nuestro libro sobre Las Mujeres de Puente de Amistad en Guatemala
Hemos terminado la traducción a español de nuestro libro que trata de las increibles mujeres de Puente de Amistad, quienes conocimos trabajando en Guatemala en Junio y Julio del año pasado. Esas mujeres fueron tan impresionante y admirable. Por eso escribimos el libro, pero nunca tuvimos bastante tiempo para traducir a español y revisarlo. ¡Y las mujeres del libro nunca lo han visto! Pero en Quito pasamos casi una semana estudiando en el Cristóbal Colon Spanish School, y Randy tomó como su objetivo la traducción y revisión del este libro.
Usted puede leer el libro en forma PDF aquí. También es posible comprar una copia imprimida (a nuestro costo, sin ganancia) aquí en blurb.com. (Desfortunadamente no ofrecen pedidos a muchos paises, pero si a México y Argentina.)
The ride south from Quito
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. read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Our Trip to the Galápagos Islands
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. read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Down into the Amazon basin and back up to Cuenca
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. read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Ecuador route notes for touring cyclists, including map and GPS info
Some notes about routes in Ecuador that are probably only interesting for people planning to tour here:
- Our Route, Trip Log, Notes, and GPS Tracks: Our complete maps and notes are now up..
- Maps: We carried the ITMB Ecuador Map. Although I hate the ITMB maps, this one worked. In addition, we bought the excellent book of strip maps published by the Instituto Geografico Militar, which is available in good bookstores in Ecuador, like Libri Mundi in Gringolandia in Quito and at other sites. There is also a general tourist map available in tourist offices. Its biggest benefit is the extensive charge of distances between cities.
- GPS Maps: We were unable to find any GPS maps at that time to download into our Garmin GPS, but since GPSTravelMaps.com has come into existence. If you know of others, please send us a note or leave a comment here.
- We came in from the north, at Tulcan, which is where most cyclists coming from the north would get to. By the time we got to Ibarra, the traffic started to get irritating on the Pan-Am.
Cuenca to the Peru Border
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. read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Riding into Peru at La Balsa
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. read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Ecuador Wrapup
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... »
Up the Utcubamba River Valley to the land of the Chachas
From San Ignacio we descended rapidly into a completely different kind of country - rice paddies everywhere. Neither of us had ever seen the cultivation of rice before, so we were amazed to see the effort required to work with the plants at the various parts of their life cycle. It was beautiful, too, but like we had left the high mountains and landed in a south-east Asian area!
After about 50 kilometers of dirt (formerly paved, but long since decayed) we hit beautiful new pavement for the first time in days. And it was downhill, too. But we soon turned off for a shortcut that we read about in Peter Berechree's incredible blog of his Andes-by-bike adventure. We took a dirt-road turnoff to the town of Bellavista and found our way to the banks of the Rio Marañon, a major river headed to the Amazon. Hoping that we'd gotten to the right place, we waved and yelled to a fellow cleaning his boat on the other side, he eventually came for us. We loaded the bikes up a 2x4 ramp and crossed over in a jiffy, then road a few miles to catch the highway again. We got a pleasant little diversion from the highway and probably eliminated 50 kilometers from our route. read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Saludos desde el Perú
Saludos a todos nuestros amigos que hablan el castellano! Cruzamos la frontera del Ecuador al Perú el sábado y quisimos mandar una nota. Estamos bién y continuando al sur.
Teníamos muchas experiencias buenas en Ecuador, incluso un viaje a las Islas Galápagos y mas de 1200 kilómetros de viaje por bicicleta. Estaba bién duro todo. Las cuestas son verdaderas cuestas, muy pendientes, y tuvimos varios dias de camino de tierra. Pero, como siempre, serán los días mas duros que vamos a recordar más, con toda esa belleza. Las vistas fueron astombrosas y esperamos que nuestras fotos muestren bién lo que veíamos pasando por estas montañas.
Entramos al Ecuador desde Colombia en Tulcán y de pronto experimentamos un nivel mucho mas bajo de tensión sobre la seguridad. Aunque Colombia está seguro y no tuvimos ningún problema allí, siempre nos dábamos cuenta de su historia y la situación actual. (Esperamos que ustedes oyeron las noticias que 15 de los rehenes mas importantes de las FARC ya están libres!) Ecuador estaba tranquilo y seguro en casi todas partes. Al menos de Quito (una ciudad grande, con los problemas de grandes ciudades) no pensamos ni poquito en asuntos de seguridad - todo fue tranquilo.
Viajando hacia Quito (y mas tarde saliendo de Quito) la Panamericana tenía demasiado tráfico y se hizo molestante. read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Mountains and People: Perceptions of Northern Peru
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... »
The Potato Truck Ride from Leymebamba to Celendín in Northern Peru
OK, I must confess we took a ride in a truck full of freshly-picked potatoes. The 100-mile ride took 10 hours through some very high mountains of northern Peru and down though hot valleys and back up to the heavens.
We have decided (or is it that I have decided?) that occasionally it does make sense to take alternative transportation through some areas which seem too difficult for biking with our load. The route we have taken through northern Peru has taken us through very beautiful, amazing landscapes. And amazing elevation climbs, descents and ascents. In one area from Leymebamba to Celendin, after reading another cyclist's blog through this area, I was intimidated and decided I would rather take a bus then climb up to 3600 meters (12,000 feet), descend to 900 meters (3000 feet) and then climb back up to 3100 meters on a dirt road, along cliffs that drop thousands of feet with only a slice of road carved on the face of the mountain. read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Bike Maintenance Log
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... »
Una pequeña viaje hacia casa para ver a nuestra familia
Acabamos de llegar a Perú venidos de una estorbada viaje a Estados Unidos. Fue excelente y exhaustiva. Primero, tuvimos que enfrentar 10 horas de autobús para la cuesta de la Cajamarca, entonces más 8 horas de autobús de Trujillo a la capital de Perú, Lima. Entonces volamos por mucho tiempo hacia Boston, y llegamos a tiempo para el evento principal que apretaba nuestro viaje: el cumpleaños de 80 años del padre de Nancy, Frank Lewis. Fuimos para la cabaña del hermano de Nancy, Dan, en New Hampshire y vivimos una conmemoración deliciosa.
Entonces volamos hacia Denver para ver los hijos de Randy, Elisheba y Mark, y dirigimos hasta Grand Junction, Colorado, para ver los padres de Randy. Caminamos con ellos a vemos su nuevo lar en el retiro de edad Atrium, en Grand Junction – ellos tienen una linda cabaña, completa, incluso con más espacio del que tenían antes, garaje, y el confort de hacer las comidas en el propio retiro. Instalaciones muy buenas.
Entonces dirigimos de vuelta a Denver y tuvimos un encuentro con amigos que fue un encanto absoluto. Varios amigos vinieron a vernos, incluso un grupo de ciclistas viajeros que no conocíamos, Nick y Dave, dos impresionantes jóvenes que están para partir de Denver en el camino de Panamá. ¡Gracias a todos qué vinieron y también a los qué no pudieron venir por su amistad! read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Lucho y la Casa de Ciclistas en Trujillo, Peru
Cuando bajamos de las montañas de Perú para la costa, nos quedamos en la legendaria Casa de Ciclistas en Trujillo, Perú. Lucho Ramirez empezó ofrecer su modesta casa para ciclistas viajeros ya en 1984, y él está a un paso de completar la marca de mil huéspedes. ¡Mil grupos de ciclistas firmaron su diario y se quedaron allá a lo largo de 25 años! ¡Un ciclista se quedó un año! Muchos se quedaron por bien más tiempo del que esperaban, frecuentemente por una semana o más. Es un encanto hojear las páginas del diario y ver ciclistas famosos que nosotros conocemos u oímos decir que pasaron por aquí. Nuestros amigos Dick y Els, de Holanda, firmaron el libro cerca de 5 años atrás. Nuestro amigo Andrew lo firmó hay solamente un mes y poco. Nuestros amigos Pat y Cat también pasaron por aquí cerca de 3 años atrás.
Muchos de ustedes nos preguntaron si estábamos intentando quebrar alguno récord o cosa parecida, y la respuesta es no, vamos realmente bien despacio, y muchas y muchas personas fueron más lejos. Aunque ni todos los ciclistas que pararon en la casa de Lucho estuviesen haciendo viajes grandes como nuestra, muchos estaban haciendo muy mayores. Un compañero, Hans Stuecke, ¡ha pedaleado por 46 años! read more here... lee mas aquí... »
A quick trip home to see our family
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... »
Lucho and the Casa de Ciclistas in Trujillo, Peru
When we came down from the mountains of Peru to the coast we stayed at the fabled Casa de Ciclistas (House of Cyclists) in Trujillo, Peru. Lucho Ramirez started offering his simple house to passing touring cyclists clear back in 1984, and is on the edge of crossing the one thousand mark. One thousand groups of cyclists have signed his journal and stayed there over almost 25 years! One cyclist stayed a year! Many stay far longer than they expect to, often for a week or more. It's a delight to browse through the journals and see famous cyclists that we've either met or heard of who passed this way. Our friends Dick and Els, from Holland, signed the book about 5 years ago. Our friend Andrew signed it just a month or so ago. Our friends Pat and Cat also passed through about 3 years ago.
Many of you have asked us if we're setting some kind of a record or something, and the answer is no, we're really slow, and lots and lots of people have gone farther. Although not all the cyclists who have stopped at Lucho's house were doing rides as big as ours, many were doing rides much bigger. One fellow, Hans Stuecke, has been cycling for 46 years!
Anyway, Lucho provides a tremendously friendly place for cyclists stop, recharge, get their equipment worked on, and generally have a wonderful memory. We left our bikes safely there for our trip home, and came back to find them waiting for us. read more here... lee mas aquí... »
Cyclists before us at the Casa de Ciclistas
People often ask us "Has anyone ever done this before?" or "Are you setting a new Guinness Record?". The answer, of course, is an authoritative NO! We know this, of course, but stopping at the Casa de Ciclistas in Trujillo and looking through the logs makes us really feel humble. We were the 998th entry over 24 years. Plenty of people have been through here! There are slow people and fast, many rides as long as ours, but many much longer. Here are a few links and a few details about some of the folks who have signed their names in the logs at Trujillo.
- Hans Stuecke
- Hans has been bike touring for 46 years, and has visited at least 193 countries. He really HAS set a Guinness record. I don't think we're going to touch his record anytime soon!
- Dominic Gill
- Dominic started his ride about the same time as we did, and we actually met him for a few moments in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory. But Dominic just finished riding a tandem (most of the time by himself, alone) with gear for himself and a guest, all the way from Alaska to Patagonia. His gear weight was incredible, but his idea was "Take a Seat". He invited anybody who wanted to to come along for a ride for as long as they wanted. He had incredible experiences.