PowerCycle

12/04 If you had asked me 2 years ago what I thought it would be like at the equator I would have said hot. I would have been wrong. Another cold one today. Climbed back up over 10,000 feet which pretty much guarantees a chilly ride. I did have some reprieve though. Trucks and buses passing slowly on the up hill sections constantly bathed me in hot exhaust fumes. The wind was out of the north which also helped, especially tearing down the one long descent before getting into Cayambe.

Ecuador is right up there as one of my favorite countries. I can’t vouch for the scenery because the place is constantly shrouded in cloud cover but if the sun came out it would probably look pretty incredible. I don’t think there’s been a time where I haven’t been riding by massive volcanoes. I think my favorite thing so far is the culture. Guatemala was the last place I remember where the indigenous population had such a distinct way of dressing. I keep meaning to take a picture of someone but I hate asking people (it makes me feel like a tourist) and getting in a sneak shot hasn’t worked out. There are some extremely short people living here too. Mostly indigenous people from what I’ve seen so far.

Took a detour into the town of Otavalo which is famous for its huge Saturday market. I was hesitant at first since it was off the highway a bit but after passing the animal market on the outskirts of town I knew I had to go check out the main event. The streets were chalk full of people selling just about everything. The main area was along a couple streets near the Plaza de Ponchos but you could find booths set up everywhere. I cruised around eating things that I couldn’t identify and taking up lots of room on the narrow streets. There were a couple foreign tourists (4) walking around with the big cameras out but not as many as I expected based on the LP Guide.

Ran into a troupe of guys riding their mountain bikes down to Argentina. They had no gear and from what I gathered just rode from one town to the next stopping at the major intersections to make money for food/shelter by juggling. One of the guys had a little poodle in his front basket. Maybe it did tricks too.

My day off in Ibarra was relaxing. I was really surprised how nice that city is. You have to go in pretty far but once you do there are quite a few old churches and well-maintained parks hiding amongst the less inspiring buildings.

I think I’m sick but it’s hard to tell. Every time I’m indoors my nose starts running like crazy. Once I get outside it’s fine. I think I just need some sushi.

Staying at the Hotel La Gran Colombia for $15. They have hot water, TV, wifi (downstairs) and electrical outlets. It’s just past the giant yellow super store, Gran Aki.

Update: wifi doesn’t work. I suspect a router reboot would clear it up but it’s locked in an office. A nearby internet cafe got me me fix. Looks like a volcano is erupting 150 miles south of here right where I was planning on passing through. I won’t be there for a month which should give it time to calm back down.

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