03/10 Perfect weather today. The wind got a little crazy in the afternoon but for the most part I had a nice tailwind all day. Not that it helped much, since I was going up hill most of the time. I was going to stop at a hostel in Cajabamba but there wasn’t anyone there and I didn’t feel like trying to call the cell phone number posted on the board. Fortunately the road to Guamote was downhill almost all the way and it was only 8 miles or so.
The clear skies provided perfect views of the nearby volcanos. When I left this morning Tungurahua was looking pretty impressive but it was nothing compared to the monster volcano Chimborazo. The glacier topped peak reaches up to 20,702 feet (6310m) making it the highest mountain in the country. Taking into account the earth’s bulge at the equator, it’s also the furthest point from the center of the earth.
The roads stayed paved all day and there was a shoulder which was nice because traffic is very heavy. Took a picture of an older lady carrying a huge pile of wood up a hill next to the road. She didn’t see me, nor did anyone else so I didn’t break my rule. 
Seeing little kids (6-7), old women and old men lugging massive loads of just about anything is very common.
Guamote is described in the Lonely Planet guide as beautiful but I didn’t think so when I got here. I suppose its charming in a way but the streets are a mess and none of the buildings looked to be in very good shape. There’s a railroad line that runs through the middle of town but I couldn’t tell if it was active or not. LP makes it sound like it is.
I got here on Thursday which is market day here (and supposedly one of the biggest ones in rural Ecuador). It was a bit crazy riding around and I had a heck of a time trying to find a hotel. Ended up at the Ramada Hotel (no relation to the nice one I hope). It’s a rip off. $20 for a big room but lukewarm water only. I was too tired to care though.
I’m not going to be able to make it out of the country by the 17th if I stay in the mountains so I’m going to head down to the coast when I get to Cuenca. I’ll just have to climb back up again. Have I mentioned how much I hate the tourist visa situation in Ecuador? Another 30 days would have been nice (without having to pay over $200).
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