PowerCycle

01/24 The loop continues. The road from Toacaso was paved until about 10km from Sigchos and then it turned into a rough cobblestone mess. Of course the mess included one very large climb at the end. Amazing scenery today. It’s just a shame that this area is so heavily populated. All the hills, even ones you wouldn’t think could be farmed, had something growing on them. The people living in the houses along the road are very friendly. Some school kids even gave me a push up a hill.

When I was packing up this morning I checked the pressure in my front tire and saw that it was a little low. As soon as I hooked up the pump the stem on the tube broke and all the air leaked out. Had to toss it (the tube). Half way to Sigchos the new tube went flat. I think it was because of my bad tube replacement in the morning (pinch flat). K&M left 90 minutes before me and I just happened to catch back up to them when it went flat so we got to hang out for a bit.

Sigchos is a tiny town that doesn’t see nearly as many gringo tourists as I expected (based on stares). The hotel we’re staying at is called Hotel La Posada. Rooms are $5 each with warm showers and wifi(!). The food downstairs in the restaurant is pretty decent too. $2 for dinner (thin steak, rice, soup, salad, drink).

There was an email in my inbox from someone named Verónica who had the title of:

Agente de Rastreo/Trace Agent
Pasar del Ecuador S.A.
Licensee of Federal Express Corporation

At first I thought it was a spam but then the FedEx part caught my eye. I thought my bike frame shipped via DHL but whatever. Google translate helped decipher the email and I realized she was asking for some kind of id number or tax number and I had until the 27th to respond. In a panic I emailed her back because I don’t have either one of these numbers. She wrote me back and long story short she is submitting the paperwork to Ecuadorian customs with her id number and a form saying it’s OK for me to borrow her number.

I still don’t know who this Verónica works for, what this id number is, why customs needed anything since Koga should have filled everything out but I’ give her a big fat hug if I saw her for helping me.

I’ve had wicked heartburn every night for the last 4 days. Not sure what it is. Tonight I hit up the pharmacy and got some stuff called Aci-tip which made me laugh because I read it as Acid-Trip. I’m scared to take one because they are freaking huge.

GPX Track