lightcycle
Nomad
Sounds like a lot of work. We'll just stick with the blog for now.
Haha! We kept the lids on the whole time this time round. Fashionable or no!
[YEAR 7!] Quit our jobs, sold our home, gone riding...
- Thread starter lightcycle
- Start date
Sounds like a lot of work. We'll just stick with the blog for now.
Haha! We kept the lids on the whole time this time round. Fashionable or no!
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/150.html on March 20th, 2014
We're headed south to the border town of Ipiales. Yes, this means we are finally leaving Colombia! I can't believe we've spent over 5 months in this country! Such a beautiful part of the world, despite the bad reputation it has in the media.
Green velour-covered mountains on the way south
Our route for the day is straight down the Pan American Highway as it winds through the Atriz Valley of the Andes highlands. It'll take us the entire day to travel the 350kms from Popayan, but it's a smooth and flowing ride interrupted only by a couple of construction sites and the city of Pasto.
Stopping to peer down into the Atriz Valley - very picturesque!
Sometimes it's easier to go through the mountain than around it
Camera's flash illuminates all the tiny particle of dust in the tunnel
My selfie got photobombed while stopped at a traffic light in Pasto
Riding into Ipiales
We're hitting the wall a little bit with travel fatigue. Although it's exciting to be entering a new country, I think we need to put our kickstands down for a couple of weeks or more, so we're going to be on the lookout for a nice place to do so. Hopefully somewhere where there's no rain...
It's still raining everyday here BTW. I'm debating not mentioning it on the blog anymore. I'll just tell you when it doesn't rain...
Damn birds. I'm trying to take a picture here!
"Need a light, Neda?" *kikiki*
We were looking for a bit more variety than the tipico (local) food, and there was an okay-looking Chinese restaurant across the street from our hotel, so we drop in for some spring rolls and fried rice.
We had time to reflect on our journey through Colombia: beautiful and diverse scenery, amazing people that we've met, frustrating traffic in the big cities and strange customs. They play this funny game in Latin America, it goes like this: whenever you see an Asian person, the first one to yell out, "Chino!" wins. I don't think it's derogatory or anything, they always exclaim it like they're surprised. Heck, outside of the Chinese restaurant above, the only other Asian I've seen in Colombia is the one staring back at me in the mirror! I'd be surprised too.
The strange thing is that I don't even think they are trying to get my attention, because this will happen even when I'm riding my motorcycle, and from almost-out-of-earshot-range behind me, I'll hear: "chino", so it must be a game they are playing amongst themselves.
I think the game is called, "Punchbuggy Chino". First to see one and call it out must get to punch the other Latin American in the shoulder or something... In the Chinese restaurant I saw the owner and turned to Neda and exclaimed, "Chino!" She shushed me, and punched me in the shoulder. That's *NOT* how you play it, Neda!!!
Las Lajas Sanctuary
After a couple of days, we venture just outside of town to see the famous Santuario de Las Lajas, a basilica church built on the steep slopes falling away into the Guaitara River. The original church was built in the 18th century, but this current incarnation only finished construction fairly recently, in 1949. It's quite impressive seeing it jut out from the side of the canyon.
Outside the church were hundreds of these plaques set against the canyon wall
Most of the plaques give thanks to the Virgin Mary
The scale of the church was massive
Inside, I felt like we were in a video game
When I was a kid, I used to play a video game called Quake (and Doom and Castle Wolfenstein), I could swear they modeled the maps after this church, especially the lighting.
I can tell from the look on her face, Neda knows where the rocket launcher is
Strafe Left! Strafe Right!
Neda: "What on earth are you doing? And why are you holding that camera like it's a gun?"
So gothic-looking, yet it was probably only built in the last century.
Game paused. People praying.
We're headed south to the border town of Ipiales. Yes, this means we are finally leaving Colombia! I can't believe we've spent over 5 months in this country! Such a beautiful part of the world, despite the bad reputation it has in the media.
Green velour-covered mountains on the way south
Our route for the day is straight down the Pan American Highway as it winds through the Atriz Valley of the Andes highlands. It'll take us the entire day to travel the 350kms from Popayan, but it's a smooth and flowing ride interrupted only by a couple of construction sites and the city of Pasto.
Stopping to peer down into the Atriz Valley - very picturesque!
Sometimes it's easier to go through the mountain than around it
Camera's flash illuminates all the tiny particle of dust in the tunnel
My selfie got photobombed while stopped at a traffic light in Pasto
Riding into Ipiales
We're hitting the wall a little bit with travel fatigue. Although it's exciting to be entering a new country, I think we need to put our kickstands down for a couple of weeks or more, so we're going to be on the lookout for a nice place to do so. Hopefully somewhere where there's no rain...
It's still raining everyday here BTW. I'm debating not mentioning it on the blog anymore. I'll just tell you when it doesn't rain...
Damn birds. I'm trying to take a picture here!
"Need a light, Neda?" *kikiki*
We were looking for a bit more variety than the tipico (local) food, and there was an okay-looking Chinese restaurant across the street from our hotel, so we drop in for some spring rolls and fried rice.
We had time to reflect on our journey through Colombia: beautiful and diverse scenery, amazing people that we've met, frustrating traffic in the big cities and strange customs. They play this funny game in Latin America, it goes like this: whenever you see an Asian person, the first one to yell out, "Chino!" wins. I don't think it's derogatory or anything, they always exclaim it like they're surprised. Heck, outside of the Chinese restaurant above, the only other Asian I've seen in Colombia is the one staring back at me in the mirror! I'd be surprised too.
The strange thing is that I don't even think they are trying to get my attention, because this will happen even when I'm riding my motorcycle, and from almost-out-of-earshot-range behind me, I'll hear: "chino", so it must be a game they are playing amongst themselves.
I think the game is called, "Punchbuggy Chino". First to see one and call it out must get to punch the other Latin American in the shoulder or something... In the Chinese restaurant I saw the owner and turned to Neda and exclaimed, "Chino!" She shushed me, and punched me in the shoulder. That's *NOT* how you play it, Neda!!!
Las Lajas Sanctuary
After a couple of days, we venture just outside of town to see the famous Santuario de Las Lajas, a basilica church built on the steep slopes falling away into the Guaitara River. The original church was built in the 18th century, but this current incarnation only finished construction fairly recently, in 1949. It's quite impressive seeing it jut out from the side of the canyon.
Outside the church were hundreds of these plaques set against the canyon wall
Most of the plaques give thanks to the Virgin Mary
The scale of the church was massive
Inside, I felt like we were in a video game
When I was a kid, I used to play a video game called Quake (and Doom and Castle Wolfenstein), I could swear they modeled the maps after this church, especially the lighting.
I can tell from the look on her face, Neda knows where the rocket launcher is
Strafe Left! Strafe Right!
Neda: "What on earth are you doing? And why are you holding that camera like it's a gun?"
So gothic-looking, yet it was probably only built in the last century.
Game paused. People praying.
Salty Dawg
New member
I like your sense of humor while in the castle. I am also of the type who's imagination runs wild when placed in circumstances that others take serious.
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/151.html on March 22nd, 2014
We're entering a new country today! It's been over 5 months since we've done a border crossing and I'm a bit rusty on the procedure that we had developed and streamlined in Central America. Ah yes, I stay with the bikes while Neda cancels the Temporary Vehicle Import Permit. That was relatively painless - just hand in the form and leave. Wow, what a difference from the triple-photocopy-stamp-everything-wait-forever dance in Central America!
Oh yeah, I have to show my face to get stamped out of Colombia
New country! So excited!
We've done no research about Ecuador. We don't know anything about it, so we really don't know what to expect. As we get our import papers to enter the country, a group of young Ecuadorians ask to take our picture with the bikes. Now *this* is familiar. They are very interested in our journey, so I read from the mental cheat sheet as they ask, "Where are you from?", "Where are you going?", "How long is your trip", "How much do they bikes cost? How fast do they go?" etc.
Paparazzi stop at the border
We stop by the SOAT booth to buy our insurance for the month, but there is a power failure and the computer is down. We've got a bit of a ride ahead of us and it's a bit late in the day, so Neda wanted to find another SOAT place further on down the road. I was a bit hesitant about riding without insurance, but I also didn't want to ride in the dark, so we pressed on, careful to stay under the speed limit so we wouldn't get stopped by the police. We're told that speed enforcement is very strict in Ecuador.
Nice roads
The first thing that struck me while riding in this country was how nice the roads were. At our hostel in Cali, we met some Ecuadorian tourists and they told us that the government had spent a whole lot of money recently on upgrading the pavement all over the country, so we knew beforehand, but riding on the smooth twisting asphalt around the Andes was such a noticeable change coming from Colombia.
But then the honeymoon ended. No more free Peaje! Government has to pay for all these new roads.
We're not used to paying for tolls, so Neda is fumbling around for change. 20 cents per motorcycle! Time to load up the tankbag with loose change. We no longer gleefully yell, "Pee-Ah-HAY!" when we approach the tolls now.
As we entered Tulcan, the first town just a few kms south of the border, we stopped by a store that advertised insurance. Unfortunately, they didn't sell "extranjero" (foreign) insurance. They told us that we wouldn't be able to get the kind of insurance we needed anywhere in town, but we would probably be able to buy the coverage for our imported vehicles in the next major city of Ibarra. It was a long way to go without proper papers, and I was a bit nervous.
Neda is missing vegetables in our Latin American diet
There were a couple of police checkpoints on the road headed south. Everytime we approached one, we nervously slowed down but thankfully, we got waved through as they were only checking cars and trucks instead. About half-way to Ibarra, my fears were realized. The policeman working the checkpoint looked at my face through my visor and decided to pull us over. Oh no. Nononono. What kind of trouble are we going to get into without proper insurance? Fines? Impoundment? Would we have to bribe him?
Neda is the designated Spanish-speaker, so as I pulled over, Neda stopped beside the cop to figure out what the problem was.
The cop didn't even look at her. His gaze went past her, and his eyebrows furrowed as he stared directly at me. Had I gone too fast? Broken some kind of traffic law that I didn't know about?
Then he indicated to me and asked Neda, "Chino? Japones? Coreano?"
HAHAHAHA!!! I've never been so happy to play Punchbuggy Chino in my life! At that moment, I knew we were okay, so Neda explained that I was Malaysian, and the policeman was very impressed with that since he'd never met a Malaysian person before. We chatted for a while about our trip and our motorcycles (he was a rider too) and then he let us go on our way.
We're developing quite the arsenal of tactics to avoid tickets in Latin America: "Throw Gene under the bus" and "Punchbuggy Chino". Awesome!
The view from our hostel in Otavalo
We rode through Ibarra but by the time we arrived, all the stores were closed, so we would have to come back the next day to shop for insurance. Ecuador has really impressed me with how modern and clean everything is, very different from Central America and Colombia.
Instead of staying in Ibarra, we found a hostel in Otavalo, a pretty town which is about 15 minutes away from the city. We opted to make our base here for the next few days because we've heard that there is a large indigenous population and we wanted to stay till the weekend because of their famous outdoor market that they set up every Saturday morning.
Neda, the friendly giant
My favorite part of our trip so far is seeing the local culture that's been preserved as a snapshot of history. Walking around town, we saw this woman in a traditional dress. The last time I saw this many indigenous people was back in Guatemala and my head (and camera) was snapping back and forth trying to take it all in.
Early morning in the historic centre of Otavalo
No, no, do what you did before!
I was taking a picture of this mural above because I thought it looked cool. As I was focusing, in the viewfinder I saw this guy walk past me and photobomb my shot, grinning mischievously and putting up the rabbit ears with both hands. Unfortunately, I was too slow with the shutter. As he walked away, I called out to him. He turned around expecting me to be mad at him, but instead, was surprised when I asked him to pose in front of the mural. Alas, he got camera shy and gave me this serious-smile instead. I wanted to see the grin and the rabbit ears again - it would have went perfect with the mural's stare! LOL!
Vendors setting up their stall
We had read that the best time to see the Otavalo Market was early in the morning when the vendors were setting up. That was terrible advice. Not only was it boring watching people put up stands and tents, but I missed two hours of sleep. We walked around town for an hour or two looking for a good breakfast spot.
This guy had many towels on him. Still wondering what they're for?
LOL! I didn't even notice this little girl giving me the evil eye until I went through my pictures later!
We're entering a new country today! It's been over 5 months since we've done a border crossing and I'm a bit rusty on the procedure that we had developed and streamlined in Central America. Ah yes, I stay with the bikes while Neda cancels the Temporary Vehicle Import Permit. That was relatively painless - just hand in the form and leave. Wow, what a difference from the triple-photocopy-stamp-everything-wait-forever dance in Central America!
Oh yeah, I have to show my face to get stamped out of Colombia
New country! So excited!
We've done no research about Ecuador. We don't know anything about it, so we really don't know what to expect. As we get our import papers to enter the country, a group of young Ecuadorians ask to take our picture with the bikes. Now *this* is familiar. They are very interested in our journey, so I read from the mental cheat sheet as they ask, "Where are you from?", "Where are you going?", "How long is your trip", "How much do they bikes cost? How fast do they go?" etc.
Paparazzi stop at the border
We stop by the SOAT booth to buy our insurance for the month, but there is a power failure and the computer is down. We've got a bit of a ride ahead of us and it's a bit late in the day, so Neda wanted to find another SOAT place further on down the road. I was a bit hesitant about riding without insurance, but I also didn't want to ride in the dark, so we pressed on, careful to stay under the speed limit so we wouldn't get stopped by the police. We're told that speed enforcement is very strict in Ecuador.
Nice roads
The first thing that struck me while riding in this country was how nice the roads were. At our hostel in Cali, we met some Ecuadorian tourists and they told us that the government had spent a whole lot of money recently on upgrading the pavement all over the country, so we knew beforehand, but riding on the smooth twisting asphalt around the Andes was such a noticeable change coming from Colombia.
But then the honeymoon ended. No more free Peaje! Government has to pay for all these new roads.
We're not used to paying for tolls, so Neda is fumbling around for change. 20 cents per motorcycle! Time to load up the tankbag with loose change. We no longer gleefully yell, "Pee-Ah-HAY!" when we approach the tolls now.
As we entered Tulcan, the first town just a few kms south of the border, we stopped by a store that advertised insurance. Unfortunately, they didn't sell "extranjero" (foreign) insurance. They told us that we wouldn't be able to get the kind of insurance we needed anywhere in town, but we would probably be able to buy the coverage for our imported vehicles in the next major city of Ibarra. It was a long way to go without proper papers, and I was a bit nervous.
Neda is missing vegetables in our Latin American diet
There were a couple of police checkpoints on the road headed south. Everytime we approached one, we nervously slowed down but thankfully, we got waved through as they were only checking cars and trucks instead. About half-way to Ibarra, my fears were realized. The policeman working the checkpoint looked at my face through my visor and decided to pull us over. Oh no. Nononono. What kind of trouble are we going to get into without proper insurance? Fines? Impoundment? Would we have to bribe him?
Neda is the designated Spanish-speaker, so as I pulled over, Neda stopped beside the cop to figure out what the problem was.
The cop didn't even look at her. His gaze went past her, and his eyebrows furrowed as he stared directly at me. Had I gone too fast? Broken some kind of traffic law that I didn't know about?
Then he indicated to me and asked Neda, "Chino? Japones? Coreano?"
HAHAHAHA!!! I've never been so happy to play Punchbuggy Chino in my life! At that moment, I knew we were okay, so Neda explained that I was Malaysian, and the policeman was very impressed with that since he'd never met a Malaysian person before. We chatted for a while about our trip and our motorcycles (he was a rider too) and then he let us go on our way.
We're developing quite the arsenal of tactics to avoid tickets in Latin America: "Throw Gene under the bus" and "Punchbuggy Chino". Awesome!
The view from our hostel in Otavalo
We rode through Ibarra but by the time we arrived, all the stores were closed, so we would have to come back the next day to shop for insurance. Ecuador has really impressed me with how modern and clean everything is, very different from Central America and Colombia.
Instead of staying in Ibarra, we found a hostel in Otavalo, a pretty town which is about 15 minutes away from the city. We opted to make our base here for the next few days because we've heard that there is a large indigenous population and we wanted to stay till the weekend because of their famous outdoor market that they set up every Saturday morning.
Neda, the friendly giant
My favorite part of our trip so far is seeing the local culture that's been preserved as a snapshot of history. Walking around town, we saw this woman in a traditional dress. The last time I saw this many indigenous people was back in Guatemala and my head (and camera) was snapping back and forth trying to take it all in.
Early morning in the historic centre of Otavalo
No, no, do what you did before!
I was taking a picture of this mural above because I thought it looked cool. As I was focusing, in the viewfinder I saw this guy walk past me and photobomb my shot, grinning mischievously and putting up the rabbit ears with both hands. Unfortunately, I was too slow with the shutter. As he walked away, I called out to him. He turned around expecting me to be mad at him, but instead, was surprised when I asked him to pose in front of the mural. Alas, he got camera shy and gave me this serious-smile instead. I wanted to see the grin and the rabbit ears again - it would have went perfect with the mural's stare! LOL!
Vendors setting up their stall
We had read that the best time to see the Otavalo Market was early in the morning when the vendors were setting up. That was terrible advice. Not only was it boring watching people put up stands and tents, but I missed two hours of sleep. We walked around town for an hour or two looking for a good breakfast spot.
This guy had many towels on him. Still wondering what they're for?
LOL! I didn't even notice this little girl giving me the evil eye until I went through my pictures later!
lightcycle
Nomad
We found a stall that served breakfast right in the middle of the market, Neda has her usual caldo (soup)
As we ate breakfast, we watched as the hustle and bustle in the market picked up
Just a reminder of where we are
This little piggy wore a hat. Keeps him warm on those chilly Otavalo mornings
Walking back from a morning filled with shopping
In a field on the outskirts of town was the Otavalo Animal Market
All sorts of livestock were for sale. You could pick up a pig (and then find them a hat in town later on)
If only I had more room in my topcase, ole Foghorn here would have made many a tasty lunch on the ride south!
I had to hide Neda's wallet, she was this close to emptying her tankbag
full of loose change and seashells to fit this little guy in!
Somebody needs a haircut. Me. I'm talking about me.
Otavalo was a really picturesque town, and it made a really good first impression of Ecuador on us. The country seems to be very prosperous and safe. I had a read that this was one of the top recommended places in Latin America for ex-pats looking for a new home, and now seeing it first hand, I can understand why.
At night, everything is lit up with pretty coloured lights
Two kids in the fountain, too fast for my shutter-speed to catch
We're loving Ecuador so far!
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/152.html on March 26th, 2014
Riding south from Otavalo, I'm staring at my GPS instead of the winding road ahead of me. I'm watching the latitude count down and giving Neda a play-by-play over the comms: N 00°00.300, N 00°00.200, N 00°00.100, until finally... S 00°00.001! We've officially crossed the equator and we're now riding in the southern hemisphere! Whoohoo!
As always, Neda is waiting in the southern hemisphere while I take my time getting over the equator
There is a monument off the side of the road right at the equatorial line, so we pull off to take some pictures and celebrate. This is a pretty big moment for us, because we've ridden north of the Arctic Circle and now we're at the middle of the Earth! However, I just calculated and we've actually traveled further longitudinally: Anchorage, Alaska to St John's, Newfoundland is about 97°, while Deadhorse, Alaska to the Equator is only 70°!
All this travel over this quarter of the Earth really accentuates the fact that we're crawling across a humongous ball. Add to it that this ball is hurtling through space, and that just blows my mind and really puts into perspective where we are in this universe!
Equator monument is in the shape of a huge sundial
This monument was erected to show how the ancient civilizations in the area were aware that this was the centre of the Earth, and used the sun, stars and landmarks on the horizon to map the passage of time. We spent a bit of time here celebrating our achievement of crossing into the southern hemisphere. We took some funny videos that when I review them now, aren't nearly as entertaining as we thought they would be and will probably never see the light of day....
On a depressing note: We've been trying to chase warmer weather for months now, and the irony that we're crossing the equator on the day after the Northern Hemisphere's Spring Equinox is not lost on us. So as of now, we're celebrating the Southern Hemisphere's Fall Equinox and heading towards winter. Sheesh!
Traffic down the main street of historic Quito
Quito should only be about an hour south of the equator, but we encounter heavy traffic once we hit the centre of town which means that we are arriving late in the afternoon. The skies are darkening as rain clouds move in and we scurry from hostel to hostel trying to find suitable accommodations.
Kate and Ras join us on a whirlwind tour of Quito
We met Kate and Ras (from California) in our hostel back in Otavalo, where we realized that we had actually seen them way back in our hostel in Popayan in Colombia - they had the room across from ours. It was obvious they were on the same circuit as we were, except they were backpacking, so we kept in touch via the Internet and when they arrived in Quito, we arranged to meet up with them again.
Since they were traveling a bit faster than we were (who doesn't), we got a taste of what sightseeing was like when you're normal tourists. We joined them on their whirlwind one-day tour of Quito, seeing all the churches and squares in the area. It was exhausting! We weren't used to the pace and the high altitude of the city had all four of us short of breath, and huffing and puffing up all the hills
It was really good having someone to talk to in English. It made me feel more like myself again, if only for a little while before I had to put the No Fumar Espanol mask back on my face.
Basilica del Vota Nacional (Basilica of the National Vow), the largest church in Quito
Oh Boy... George...
I really love those hats that all the Ecuadorians are wearing, so I try one on. I don't think I have a head for hats... Too much hair...
Neda surveys the city from the top of the Basilica
Colonial buildings line the city plaza
Iglesia de la Compania (Church of the Society of Christ)
Selling shawls on the street. I love the traditional outfits!
Outside the church, rain clouds develop
Raining every day in Quito. Not surprising. I've been looking through all of our pictures on this trip and the last time we had a stretch of days of blue skies to ride under was back in Mexico about a year ago. All our pictures ever since have been under white or grey cloudy skies. *sigh*
Despite the weather, Quito is a very beautiful, colonial city. The capital city of Ecuador and the second largest in the country, it's got a nice mix of old and new and the streets are kept very clean. After Kate and Ras leave the day after, we're going to stick around a bit and see more of the city.
Riding south from Otavalo, I'm staring at my GPS instead of the winding road ahead of me. I'm watching the latitude count down and giving Neda a play-by-play over the comms: N 00°00.300, N 00°00.200, N 00°00.100, until finally... S 00°00.001! We've officially crossed the equator and we're now riding in the southern hemisphere! Whoohoo!
As always, Neda is waiting in the southern hemisphere while I take my time getting over the equator
There is a monument off the side of the road right at the equatorial line, so we pull off to take some pictures and celebrate. This is a pretty big moment for us, because we've ridden north of the Arctic Circle and now we're at the middle of the Earth! However, I just calculated and we've actually traveled further longitudinally: Anchorage, Alaska to St John's, Newfoundland is about 97°, while Deadhorse, Alaska to the Equator is only 70°!
All this travel over this quarter of the Earth really accentuates the fact that we're crawling across a humongous ball. Add to it that this ball is hurtling through space, and that just blows my mind and really puts into perspective where we are in this universe!
Equator monument is in the shape of a huge sundial
This monument was erected to show how the ancient civilizations in the area were aware that this was the centre of the Earth, and used the sun, stars and landmarks on the horizon to map the passage of time. We spent a bit of time here celebrating our achievement of crossing into the southern hemisphere. We took some funny videos that when I review them now, aren't nearly as entertaining as we thought they would be and will probably never see the light of day....
On a depressing note: We've been trying to chase warmer weather for months now, and the irony that we're crossing the equator on the day after the Northern Hemisphere's Spring Equinox is not lost on us. So as of now, we're celebrating the Southern Hemisphere's Fall Equinox and heading towards winter. Sheesh!
Traffic down the main street of historic Quito
Quito should only be about an hour south of the equator, but we encounter heavy traffic once we hit the centre of town which means that we are arriving late in the afternoon. The skies are darkening as rain clouds move in and we scurry from hostel to hostel trying to find suitable accommodations.
Kate and Ras join us on a whirlwind tour of Quito
We met Kate and Ras (from California) in our hostel back in Otavalo, where we realized that we had actually seen them way back in our hostel in Popayan in Colombia - they had the room across from ours. It was obvious they were on the same circuit as we were, except they were backpacking, so we kept in touch via the Internet and when they arrived in Quito, we arranged to meet up with them again.
Since they were traveling a bit faster than we were (who doesn't), we got a taste of what sightseeing was like when you're normal tourists. We joined them on their whirlwind one-day tour of Quito, seeing all the churches and squares in the area. It was exhausting! We weren't used to the pace and the high altitude of the city had all four of us short of breath, and huffing and puffing up all the hills
It was really good having someone to talk to in English. It made me feel more like myself again, if only for a little while before I had to put the No Fumar Espanol mask back on my face.
Basilica del Vota Nacional (Basilica of the National Vow), the largest church in Quito
Oh Boy... George...
I really love those hats that all the Ecuadorians are wearing, so I try one on. I don't think I have a head for hats... Too much hair...
Neda surveys the city from the top of the Basilica
Colonial buildings line the city plaza
Iglesia de la Compania (Church of the Society of Christ)
Selling shawls on the street. I love the traditional outfits!
Outside the church, rain clouds develop
Raining every day in Quito. Not surprising. I've been looking through all of our pictures on this trip and the last time we had a stretch of days of blue skies to ride under was back in Mexico about a year ago.
All our pictures ever since have been under white or grey cloudy skies. *sigh*Despite the weather, Quito is a very beautiful, colonial city. The capital city of Ecuador and the second largest in the country, it's got a nice mix of old and new and the streets are kept very clean. After Kate and Ras leave the day after, we're going to stick around a bit and see more of the city.
lightcycle
Nomad
Inside the Iglesia de la Compania, everything sparkles in gold! Mesmerizing!
Statues inside the church keep watch wordlessly over the faithful
Instead of climbing the large hill (El Panecillo) where the giant statue of the Virgin Mary stands overlooking the city, all four of us cram into a cab and try to get some pictures from the top of the hill before the imminent rains fall on Quito.
45-metre tall Virgin Mary
Lots of other people at the top of the hill enjoying the view
We said our sad goodbyes to Kate and Ras and spent the rest of the week exploring Quito at our own pace.
This is more Neda's pace...
Watching the birds dive around the town square
Tipico (local) food are a nice cheap sustenance, about $2 for a full meal including drink. However, we're craving a bit more variety
Strolling down the historical streets of Quito
One afternoon, we hop on the bikes, ride to the modern part of the city and splurge on sushi!
Best that we've had on this trip so far! Words can't describe how happy we are!!!
Hanging out at the shoe-shine bench in the main square
Pensive in Quito
We've spent four days in Quito trying to figure out where to go next. I think we just may have a plan to escape this dreary cold and wet weather...
lightcycle
Nomad
Thanks guys! Appreciate the encouragement and glad to have you along with us!
lightcycle
Nomad
Updated from http://www.RideDOT.com/rtw/153.html on April 1st, 2014
We're going to the Galapagos Islands!
Neda is a huge wildlife buff and the perpetually sunny climate on the islands will be a good break from our rainy ride through the wet season.
More free advertising in exchange for a picture of the two of us
We needed a place to store the bikes while we were going to be away, so we dropped by Ecuador Freedom Bike Rentals to see if they could help out. Their mechanic, Diego, had a shop right across the street where we could park the motorcycles.
I needed to fuel up for the trip
Neda's been feeling a bit nauseous for the last couple of days, she suspects the ceviche she had before was the culprit. I was okay, so we found my favorite Central American chicken place, Pollo Camperos, and I pigged out on some fried chicken. This turned out to be a huge mistake.
That same night, I started feeling sick as well. Neda is usually the Distant Early Warning indicator for stomach illnesses. She gets sick and then 8-12 hours later, I do too, but 10X worse. I'm not sure if it was the food both of us ate the day before or the Pollo Camperos. I suspect it was the chicken.
We had an early morning flight out of Quito and all night I was driving the porcelain bus. Neda hovered over me like a backseat driver, and worriedly asked if we should cancel the flight. Unfortunately, it was a non-refundable ticket, so I would just have to suffer and hope the check-in desk would admit me on the plane even though I looked like death warmed over.
I got no sleep at all that night. It was still dark when the taxi rang up to our room and I picked up the phone before the first ring finished. Neda had to load all our bags in the back, and I stuck my head out the window like a dog the entire ride to get cold, fresh air on my face, and also to make sure that I would paint the outside of the car instead of the interior. At the airport, Neda checked us in while I rested on a bench, head down and rocking back and forth as if I was Rainman. Four minutes to Wapner...
Managed to get only one picture as we were landing on Santa Cruz island
I don't remember much of the trip to the Galapagos. Somewhere along the way there was a stopover, then we got on a bus, then a boat. Someone told me not to rock the boat so much. Four minutes to Wapner.
Sunny Puerto Ayora
We walked around the main town in Santa Cruz, the very touristy Puerto Ayora and knocked on a few doors to find a place to sleep. We found a nice hostel at the edge of town and I collapsed into bed and passed out for the rest of the day, completely oblivious to the fact that it wasn't raining anymore.
The next morning we shared our breakfast with a Darwin finch
We really didn't have a solid plan once arriving on the island. From the reading up we've done, most of the interesting wildlife is on the surrounding islands, which is accessible either by day trips on smaller boats or a multi-day cruise on larger ships. So we dropped in on the "Last Minute Booking" stores on the main strip of Puerto Ayora and found a good deal on an 8-day cruise that visited some of the more remote islands that were too far for the day-trip boats!
But since this was a last minute booking, the cruise only starts next week, so we've got to find other stuff to amuse ourselves while we're here. Hey, it's hot and sunny, I think we can manage.
A short boat ride takes us to Las Grietas, a narrow canyon filled with clear blue water
So much more fun than riding in the rain
Las Grietas' narrow canyon walls go all the way down into the water
We also visited the Darwin Research Station
I had no idea Charles Darwin only spent six weeks on the Galapagos islands. But he collected many samples and although the finches here are named after him, it was actually the differences in the species of mockingbirds on each island here that led him to write the Origin of Species book that outlined the theory of evolution.
I was really looking forward to visiting these islands now and seeing some of the things that he saw.
Giant turtle - not too Lonesome
At the Darwin Research Centre, we learned of the story of Lonesome George, the last remaining turtle of the Pinta subspecies. He was a symbol of the conservation efforts at Galapagos to save and preserve endangered species. However their efforts in trying to mate him with other turtles failed and he died childless in 2012, the last of his kind. Sad.
Now there's a clothing store named after him. Even sadder.
These guys weren't endangered - Land iguana. Fascinating to stare at. And they stare back too!
Watching the boats come in with their catch
There's a small impromptu fish market right across the street from our hostel. Every afternoon, when the fishing boats bring their haul on shore, they gut and filet the fish right away and sell it to all the local restaurants.
Pelicans and a sea lion are regulars here, taking advantage of the situation
In the evenings, they fry up everything they have left and you can have a fresh fish dinner right at the docks!
Making sure nothing goes to waste!
We're going to the Galapagos Islands!
Neda is a huge wildlife buff and the perpetually sunny climate on the islands will be a good break from our rainy ride through the wet season.
More free advertising in exchange for a picture of the two of us
We needed a place to store the bikes while we were going to be away, so we dropped by Ecuador Freedom Bike Rentals to see if they could help out. Their mechanic, Diego, had a shop right across the street where we could park the motorcycles.
I needed to fuel up for the trip
Neda's been feeling a bit nauseous for the last couple of days, she suspects the ceviche she had before was the culprit. I was okay, so we found my favorite Central American chicken place, Pollo Camperos, and I pigged out on some fried chicken. This turned out to be a huge mistake.
That same night, I started feeling sick as well. Neda is usually the Distant Early Warning indicator for stomach illnesses. She gets sick and then 8-12 hours later, I do too, but 10X worse. I'm not sure if it was the food both of us ate the day before or the Pollo Camperos. I suspect it was the chicken.
We had an early morning flight out of Quito and all night I was driving the porcelain bus. Neda hovered over me like a backseat driver, and worriedly asked if we should cancel the flight. Unfortunately, it was a non-refundable ticket, so I would just have to suffer and hope the check-in desk would admit me on the plane even though I looked like death warmed over.
I got no sleep at all that night. It was still dark when the taxi rang up to our room and I picked up the phone before the first ring finished. Neda had to load all our bags in the back, and I stuck my head out the window like a dog the entire ride to get cold, fresh air on my face, and also to make sure that I would paint the outside of the car instead of the interior. At the airport, Neda checked us in while I rested on a bench, head down and rocking back and forth as if I was Rainman. Four minutes to Wapner...
Managed to get only one picture as we were landing on Santa Cruz island
I don't remember much of the trip to the Galapagos. Somewhere along the way there was a stopover, then we got on a bus, then a boat. Someone told me not to rock the boat so much. Four minutes to Wapner.
Sunny Puerto Ayora
We walked around the main town in Santa Cruz, the very touristy Puerto Ayora and knocked on a few doors to find a place to sleep. We found a nice hostel at the edge of town and I collapsed into bed and passed out for the rest of the day, completely oblivious to the fact that it wasn't raining anymore.
The next morning we shared our breakfast with a Darwin finch
We really didn't have a solid plan once arriving on the island. From the reading up we've done, most of the interesting wildlife is on the surrounding islands, which is accessible either by day trips on smaller boats or a multi-day cruise on larger ships. So we dropped in on the "Last Minute Booking" stores on the main strip of Puerto Ayora and found a good deal on an 8-day cruise that visited some of the more remote islands that were too far for the day-trip boats!
But since this was a last minute booking, the cruise only starts next week, so we've got to find other stuff to amuse ourselves while we're here. Hey, it's hot and sunny, I think we can manage.
A short boat ride takes us to Las Grietas, a narrow canyon filled with clear blue water
So much more fun than riding in the rain
Las Grietas' narrow canyon walls go all the way down into the water
We also visited the Darwin Research Station
I had no idea Charles Darwin only spent six weeks on the Galapagos islands. But he collected many samples and although the finches here are named after him, it was actually the differences in the species of mockingbirds on each island here that led him to write the Origin of Species book that outlined the theory of evolution.
I was really looking forward to visiting these islands now and seeing some of the things that he saw.
Giant turtle - not too Lonesome
At the Darwin Research Centre, we learned of the story of Lonesome George, the last remaining turtle of the Pinta subspecies. He was a symbol of the conservation efforts at Galapagos to save and preserve endangered species. However their efforts in trying to mate him with other turtles failed and he died childless in 2012, the last of his kind. Sad.
Now there's a clothing store named after him. Even sadder.
These guys weren't endangered - Land iguana. Fascinating to stare at. And they stare back too!
Watching the boats come in with their catch
There's a small impromptu fish market right across the street from our hostel. Every afternoon, when the fishing boats bring their haul on shore, they gut and filet the fish right away and sell it to all the local restaurants.
Pelicans and a sea lion are regulars here, taking advantage of the situation
In the evenings, they fry up everything they have left and you can have a fresh fish dinner right at the docks!
Making sure nothing goes to waste!
lightcycle
Nomad
One evening we got a knock at our door. The owner told us there had just been an earthquake in Chile and they were evacuating everyone in the island to higher ground because of the threat of a tsunami. Holy crap! The largest tsunami that hit the Galapagos was back in 2011, when an earthquake in Japan caused the tides to rise 2 meters above normal, causing extensive flooding all along the flat coasts of all the islands.
Thankfully the speed of telecommunications is faster than a tsunami, which travels about 600 km/h. We were about 1,000 kms away from the epicentre, which gave us well over an hour to evacuate. We took all the essentials, our documents, electronics and most importantly, Neda's Kindle. We thought it would be an odyssey involving Land Rovers, the army and long lines of traffic leading away from the coast, but instead we hiked less than a km uphill to a stadium where people were playing a game of volleyball under the floodlights.
We only saw one pickup truck loaded with furniture race up the hill. Everyone else was strolling casually to the designated point for this part of the island. It seemed like they had done this many times before.
Some people bunkered down the night
The stadium was fairly empty since there were other evacuation spots in the city and we were on the outskirts of town. People gathered inside and outside and made themselves comfortable for the next little while. The volleyball players must have felt like they were Olympic athletes with all the attention from their new-found audience!
Over the next couple of hours, everyone milled about trying to find word of the status of the people affected in Chile and whether the tsunami was developing underwater. Every once in a while a police truck would come by, blue and red flashing lights cutting through the night, and they'd give us a status update, but the best way to get information was to sit by someone with a portable radio. From there, we learned of the exact ETA of when a tsunami would hit Galapagos, as well as the magnitude of the earthquake: 8.2. Not small at all. Thankfully, it was just off the coast and the casualty rate was limited to a handful of people who died of heart attacks.
All this up-to-date information and still we would have to wait it out, wondering if an undersea surge of water was hurtling towards us or not.
Inside the stadium, trying to find ways to amuse ourselves
Time passed by slowly, but word eventually got around the stadium that no tsunami had hit the coast. It all seemed pretty anti-climactic, nothing at all like the Armageddon or disaster movies. The official alert ended 1 hour after the ETA just to be safe, however shortly after we found out, people started heading back down towards the shoreline. We shrugged our shoulders and walked back down as well. Aftershocks, schmaftershocks...
Everything is still dry down here
All the power was turned off in our hostel in anticipation of the flooding and the owners still hadn't returned yet. So we waited outside a cafe next door and used their wi-fi under the street lights to let our friends and family know that we were okay. What an eventful last couple of days!
Thankfully the speed of telecommunications is faster than a tsunami, which travels about 600 km/h. We were about 1,000 kms away from the epicentre, which gave us well over an hour to evacuate. We took all the essentials, our documents, electronics and most importantly, Neda's Kindle. We thought it would be an odyssey involving Land Rovers, the army and long lines of traffic leading away from the coast, but instead we hiked less than a km uphill to a stadium where people were playing a game of volleyball under the floodlights.
We only saw one pickup truck loaded with furniture race up the hill. Everyone else was strolling casually to the designated point for this part of the island. It seemed like they had done this many times before.
Some people bunkered down the night
The stadium was fairly empty since there were other evacuation spots in the city and we were on the outskirts of town. People gathered inside and outside and made themselves comfortable for the next little while. The volleyball players must have felt like they were Olympic athletes with all the attention from their new-found audience!
Over the next couple of hours, everyone milled about trying to find word of the status of the people affected in Chile and whether the tsunami was developing underwater. Every once in a while a police truck would come by, blue and red flashing lights cutting through the night, and they'd give us a status update, but the best way to get information was to sit by someone with a portable radio. From there, we learned of the exact ETA of when a tsunami would hit Galapagos, as well as the magnitude of the earthquake: 8.2. Not small at all. Thankfully, it was just off the coast and the casualty rate was limited to a handful of people who died of heart attacks.
All this up-to-date information and still we would have to wait it out, wondering if an undersea surge of water was hurtling towards us or not.
Inside the stadium, trying to find ways to amuse ourselves
Time passed by slowly, but word eventually got around the stadium that no tsunami had hit the coast. It all seemed pretty anti-climactic, nothing at all like the Armageddon or disaster movies. The official alert ended 1 hour after the ETA just to be safe, however shortly after we found out, people started heading back down towards the shoreline. We shrugged our shoulders and walked back down as well. Aftershocks, schmaftershocks...
Everything is still dry down here
All the power was turned off in our hostel in anticipation of the flooding and the owners still hadn't returned yet. So we waited outside a cafe next door and used their wi-fi under the street lights to let our friends and family know that we were okay. What an eventful last couple of days!