Hello folks. Quite how we managed to get out of Quito alive on Tuesday morning is beyond me as the pollution on the city's roads is deplorable. Matt and I did our bit to reduce the amount of carbon monoxide in 
the atmosphere by breathing most of it in to our lungs. We'll be leaving Ecuador on Thursday with good memories of the country but having sustained untold damage to our bodies! I had a tantrum in the traffic as well which, had I had a gun, you'd all be reading about on the news. The commuting Ecuadorians must have been highly amused by an Englishman flapping his arms like King Kong and swearing profusely in the morning traffic but they all had it coming if you ask me. The locals have a penchant to hit the hooter a split-second after the red light goes green indicating people to move along, and I just flipped at their impatience. Couple this with Matt's little tizz in the morning with his panniers and we make quite the couple! Anyways, the last two days on the road have been superb and both under a blanket of blue sky. Last night we camped under the stars alongside some Inca ruins at Ingapirca. It concluded a 500km day in the saddle which took us to a height of 4400m alongside Ecuador's highest peak, Chimborazo (see photo, right, also showing a good example of an environmentally friendly Ecuadorian truck in full effect). If we could ride our XT660s on the moon, which could well be our next trip together, then this will have been good reconaissance. Today we have riden a myriad different road surfaces, mostly poor, before ending up at a sleepy village 100kms short of the Peruvian border.
the atmosphere by breathing most of it in to our lungs. We'll be leaving Ecuador on Thursday with good memories of the country but having sustained untold damage to our bodies! I had a tantrum in the traffic as well which, had I had a gun, you'd all be reading about on the news. The commuting Ecuadorians must have been highly amused by an Englishman flapping his arms like King Kong and swearing profusely in the morning traffic but they all had it coming if you ask me. The locals have a penchant to hit the hooter a split-second after the red light goes green indicating people to move along, and I just flipped at their impatience. Couple this with Matt's little tizz in the morning with his panniers and we make quite the couple! Anyways, the last two days on the road have been superb and both under a blanket of blue sky. Last night we camped under the stars alongside some Inca ruins at Ingapirca. It concluded a 500km day in the saddle which took us to a height of 4400m alongside Ecuador's highest peak, Chimborazo (see photo, right, also showing a good example of an environmentally friendly Ecuadorian truck in full effect). If we could ride our XT660s on the moon, which could well be our next trip together, then this will have been good reconaissance. Today we have riden a myriad different road surfaces, mostly poor, before ending up at a sleepy village 100kms short of the Peruvian border.
5 comments:
hola stu,
thank you so much for posting on your blog.
Most oof the time, you save my day with your words.
Have fun on the rest of your trip, and I hope to see you sometime again back on OUR mountaiins
Greetz from bavaria
Anian
Hi Stu,
have been reading your blog diligently - well ok every other day or so. ok ok well at least once a week. How abt not since crew change. Well we do have a life here too you know even if it is mundane waking up to snow outside the bedroom window, rain and sleet throughout the day and the family pulling this way and that on your "free" time. But it's all great stuff...
and nice to hear you still have your great sense of humour, tho some equadorians may not have fully appreciated it. Personally I have not actually experienced the waving arms bit, but I'm sure it would have been a laugh... after.
take care,
Graeme
btw - just noticed for first time that you can "comment" your blog posts... so I have...
Hey Matt and Stuart, great to hear youre all the way down to Gonzanama (wherever that is !!!)
Take care and ride safe
Saludos de El Salvador
Mario
Cool stuff. All sounds like wicked fun. Good luck with the Peruvian border.
Have been getting your txts but you clearly ain't receiving ones from the UK.
Getting pretty cold in Edinburgh/Perthshire. There be snow on them mountains. Glenshee could be a goer pretty soon for the boarding!
P
This picture cracks me up. The angle makes Matt's blue yammy look so small and along with his fluorescent jacket, I think he looks like a learner rider. Only able to ride in a straight line as there are no corners in sight! Don't forget the life saver, big truck coming!
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