Cartagena bay (View on flickr)

About a year ago Randy and I started talking about the pros and cons of riding through the most northern country of South America. We all know that Colombia has had a bad reputation for years because of narcotrafficking, the FARC guerrilla organization, paramilitary groups, kidnapping, etc. We even told our family members we would skip this country and fly straight to Ecuador. After reading the wonderful adventures of other cyclists who dared to enter the foreboding country we started to understand things have changed for the better of the last few years. The most current reports tell how Colombia has gone and is still going through a great metamorphosis. Much of the change can be attributed to the President, Álvaro Uribe, who is determined to make Colombia a safe place after more than 40 years of conflict.

The following is my impression of Colombia during our bicycle ride in May 2008.

We entered the seaport of Cartagena after sailing from Panama. The cityscape looked like a mixture of Quebec, Canada, Miami, Florida, and New Orleans, Louisiana. Cartagena is surrounded by stone fortresses built to protect the city from years and years of pirate attacks that the city endured in the time that it was a key treasure port for the Spanish. Currently there is an astonishing number of new skyscrapers being built -- I counted over 20 huge cranes hanging over the city´s waterfront, a sure sign of prosperity and growth.

Cartagena (View on flickr)

The old part of Cartagena is a wonderful colonial city with every building painted stark white and with black wrought-iron metalwork covering the windows and red tile roofs spread out as far as the eye can see. The city has a feel of New Orleans: lively, musical, colorful vendors, and a tad bit on the seedy side which adds to its character. We did not do this city justice as far as visiting all the sites but we did have a good look around. The highlight of the afternoon was the the Naval Museum, in the southwest corner of the city walls in the the Plaza de la Marina. What I liked most was the 1/16th scale sailing vessels from all over the world. But my all time favorite was Gloria, a real stuffed dog who once was a mascot to a commander in the Navy. The dog had more articles written about its life story then the commander.

Hot morning near maria la baja (View on flickr)

We were itching to get on the road again, so we headed out to explore South America after visiting Cartagena for only one and a half days. We headed west along the coast of the Colombian Caribbean. What I remember most about this part of the trip was the mango trees, the flat land and the incredible heat. Oh the heat! One day Randy´s bike thermometer read 112 degree Fahrenheit which equals 44 degrees Celsius. We would get up at 4:00 in the morning so we could be riding by first light and try to beat the heat which became very hot by mid morning. Some days we would be wasted by heat exhaustion and having a nap along the side of the road by 10:30 in the morning. The early morning rides were delightful, comfortable and the humid lowlands made for long fiery sunrises.

We stayed on the Pan-American highway all the way through Colombia because we were advised that it would be safe for two cyclists like us. It turned out to be very safe because it is secured by hundreds of military checkpoints. The purpose of the stops are to check vehicles for drugs, weapons, kidnap victims and an assortment of other illegal activities. In any one day we would ride by one to ten controlled checkpoints. I guess we looked harmless so most of the time we were waved through. I often thought that if we were smugglers our disguise was a great one because not once were we stopped for a check of our bags. Once in while military personnel would wave to us to stop because they wanted to know about our trip, like where we we from or where are we going or why are you doing this. We stopped at one check point to ask for directions and ended up talking to the group for about 15 minutes. After giving the top commander one of our business cards, he gave us a present in return. I thought he was reaching for something in his jacket pocket but he was just putting away our card. He leaned over and gave Randy and me a huge bear hug and best wishes on our travels.

Climbing in the morning, high in the Colombian Andes (View on flickr)

Most of the military were young men doing their compulsory year of service. We would just wave at them as we rode by and look to see if anyone wanted us to stop for a check. Some of the military men waved back, others just looked at us and while many just ignored us and kept talking on their cell phones. I wondered if the military personal gets free cell service because of the young men seemed to spend a lot of time on the phone. It's probably a way to take away the boredom. Only once did we have to halt our progress for the day because of potential conflict. There was a demonstration by campesinos whose coca fields were being destroyed by the US-led plan to destroy illicit crops. However, they have no income to replace their former living, and are quite upset, so created a roadblock on the highway.

Roadblock before the demonstrations at Tarazá (View on flickr)

It was late in the day and the young men at the military checkpoint told us to hang it up for the day. We found a hotel for the night and continued in the safety of the daylight. I was a little tense riding through the small town that was under military control. What we found out was that two days earlier there had been a skirmish between the campesinos and the military during a protest where one person died and several were hurt. I must admit I was tense as we were waved passed the road block by the riot squad and into the small town of Taraza. I remember seeing the charred remains of tear gas, spent metal parts and burnt tires scattered through out the towns main street. It was the closest I had ever come to a war zone and I was scared. Randy jokingly said we should stop for breakfast. I said "no way" and we rode on toward a more tranquil part of Colombia. I took my first deep breath about 15 miles past the town and did not stop sweating for another 10 miles.

The people of Colombia are great lovers of sports of all kind. Soccer, billiards, skating, bull fighting but especially cycling. In the first hour of our riding out of Cartagana we saw more sports cyclists than we had seen in all of Central America and Mexico combined. We even rode with a couple who rode every morning with a group of friends. When we stopped, the group gathered for a photo with the gringo cycle tourists. They had so many questions we did not know which one to answer first. From then on every time we neared a city we would see dozens and dozens of cyclists riding with full professional gear. They would ride with us and want to hear our stories. They would ride two or three abreast blocking traffic with no worries. The traffic just went around them with no problems.

Lots of cyclists and motorcyclists (View on flickr)

The roads of Colombia belong to everyone. The dogs, the horses, the cows, the cyclists, the motorcyclists, the cars, the buses, the trucks, the semis, and us. They drivers drove slow and the Pan-American highway had a nice shoulder most of the time. It was a pleasure to ride this country because of the Colombians' huge respect and support for cycling. We received many thumbs up and waves from all sorts of drivers, cyclists and people throughout Colombia. I often felt like a queen, and I know the queen of England would be green with envy.

cali traffic (View on flickr)

My general impression is that Colombia is a well-developed country with the majority being educated and more affluent then most Latin American countries we've visited. I do not mean there is no poverty because there are many people who are living way below the poverty level. But a majority seems to be able to afford either bicycles or motorbikes as forms of transportation. There is good bus transportation in the cities as well as the country all which seem to have good emissions. Colombia has a good medical system and appears to have less crippled and maimed people throughout the country. The cities of Medellin and Cali are world centers for plastic surgery of any kind because of the advanced technology and lower prices. The LASIK technique was actually developed by a Colombian, Jose Barraquer, around 1950.

I even got a quote for some alteration with plastic surgery. To tighten up my skin and to reverse the current sun damage to my face, I could have a Botox treatment for about US$400. I could have a total alteration for around US$10,000, including a face lift, chin tuck, breast implants, arms firmed up, a belly tuck, and some liposuction around the buttocks and thighs. It would take a couple of months of healing before I could get on my bike and continue my trip. Since we do not want to interrupt our current forward motion, I decided I will come back for a full treatment in two years. By that time I may not need any of the treatment because I will be in awesome shape.

We had the incredible fortune of staying with four different host families who are members warmshowers.org. Each host offered us different insights to life in Colombia. All which we are very grateful for the enriching experience.

We stayed with Jon and Ivo in Manizales, a young newly web couple from two different countries. Ivo is a well educated Colombian from Bogota and Jon is from Minnesota working as a teacher in a bilingual school in Manizales. They taught us a lot about the local culture both from the gringo point of view and a Colombian point of view.

Nancy and Nelcy (View on flickr)

We also visited Gonzalo in Armenia where we stayed on his familiy's finca, a Colombian fruit farm growing platanos. Platanos look like huge bananas but require cooking.. We were well cared for by the caretaker family, especially Nelcy, who cooked traditional Colombian food over a wood burning stove. Every meal we had bananas prepared many different ways. It was very peaceful staying out on the finca and we were treated like royalty.

Gonzalo and Randy on the way to Salento (View on flickr)

Gonzalo took us mountain biking and I'll never forget it, because of the stunning back roads we explored that took us through green rich fertile areas, past banana plantations, up and over mountain ridges and to one of the most scenic villages in Colombia. In Salento we stopped for an excellent lunch of trout which was wonderful, beautiful and cheap (Bueno, Bonito Y Barato). We topped this off with a fruit cocktail that I thought was one of the best foods in Colombia, The salpicon had a dozen different fruits in natural juices. Oh, it makes my mouth water thinking about it. After lunch we went for the second half of the ride which I will always remember as the muddy slot. Because it was the rainy season the single track we descended was only doable by walking our bikes down. It was just a tunnel of mud that made no sense to be on and especially with bikes. At one time I had to step down the steep path backwards with my bike held uphill as I slipped backwards down the mucky way. After 30 minutes we reached the pavement and by that time I had enough of mountain biking in Armenia but our host was not finished yet. We washed our bikes in the stream after after I expressed I had enough of forward motion we headed home, which I thought would be along the pavement and the short way home but no, we went along the back muddy roads full of extremely beautiful landscape with fruit trees, cornfields, canyons, forests and streams. We finished the ride in the pouring rain. Ever bit of us was soaked but the rain had washed off the 25 miles of dirt we had collected in the rugged back roads of Colombia. It was the "Tour de Excellency de Armenia". That night we shared a meal with the Gonzalo, his mom and his aunt at the finca, of course prepared by Nelcy. We talked for hours of what life has been like in this part of Colombia a long time ago and how it has changed over the years. We talked about coffee, bananas, fruit growing, cultural difference for women and so much more. Again this provided us another view of life in Colombia.

Reaching the bottom of our descent before the 1900 meter climb to Pasto (View on flickr)

At this point we rode on through the challenging Colombian Andes. We were starting to get in shape and are riding well. And it's a good thing to be riding strong under the "shadows of the giants". Every day we climbed to immense heights and descended enormous slopes. The weather was gentle on us and waited until we reached a place to stay at night. When we were not staying with a host we stayed in hotels which for the most part were quite decent and on the average are higher quality then other places in Latin America we have stayed in. Clean, well lit, have bathrooms with toilet seats, nicer beds though hard, nice sheets and blankets, clean and cheap for an average of $8 or $10 a night. The cheapest was $7.00 and the most was $25.00 We stayed a few places near discoteques which were very loud and stayed open until 4:00am. In this case we got out our earplugs. The people love dancing and music which is everywhere. We now make sure our hotels are not near a discoteque.

Leaving Miller's Casa de Ciclistas in Cali (View on flickr)

We next visited Cali and stayed in a Casa de Cyclistas which offers hospitality to cyclists. Miller Hernan and family open up their humble home to traveling cyclists like us. They offered a nice place for us to set up our tent which was great because it was cooler sleeping outside. We had use of the kitchen, a bathroom with a cold shower and a nice family experiences. We stayed there during the Mother´s Day weekend and felt welcome as if we were part of the family. The family has limited resources but has a richness that is shared openly and eagerly. For a Mother's Day present, everybody else in the house jumped in and took over the day's chores. Miller and I went to the farmer's market at 6:30 in the morning and bought all the makings for the a speciality soup called ajiaco. It took several hours of preparation and several more hours cooking over a wood burning fire, and was delicious.

We stayed a couple of days and explored the city with Miller and a new friend Jose and his son Juan who all are biking enthusiasts. Jose and Juan spent a half a day showing us all the highlights of Cali. Jose is currently organizing the second annual bike tour of Colombia called Colombia Nuestra Meta which translates as Colombia is our goal. He even gave us very, very nice cycling jersey. We now have a sponsor, more or less. If I can say so myself we look so cool. You will be seeing photos of us wearing our fancy jersey in famous places like the Equator and Macchu Picchu.

Santiago and Randy in Popayan (View on flickr)

Our next major stop was at Popayan where we stayed with Santiago and his family. The family would be considered upper middle class in any culture. They live in a two story apartment in the middle of Popayan. Both Santiago and Marta are hard working folks, have one daughter whose beautiful name is María Camila, also a small chihuahua dog and a live-in servant. Santiago gave us a complete tour of Popayan including the dozen of churches and we were tested on all the names of the churches.

Santa Domingo Church in Popayan, Colombia (View on flickr)

Let´s see if I remember all of them: San Francisco, Santo Domingo, La Ermita, San Agustin, San Jose, La Encarnacion, Cathedral Basilica Nuestra Senora de la Asuncion, Belen, El Carmen. There are as many churches as there are banks in this medium size town of 250,000. The buildings in the historic center, like Cartagena, are all painted white. Of all the places we visited in the 6 weeks in Colombia, Popayan is my favorite. Perhaps it was how well we were treated by our very generous hosts. We were treated to a fine dinning experiences at a posh restaurant serving fine typical local food. Santigo and family we thank you very much for sharing a few days in your lives and educating us about the fine people and town of Popayan.

Nancy with friends near the top of the climb to Alto de Ventanas (View on flickr)

The last week was full of more climbing and descents and rain. As we approached Pasto the weather did not hold back any more and the dreaded rain tested our spirit and followed us into Ecuador. But all and all the weather was great for the majority of time, the food and fruits terrific and the people were the highlight of our visit in Colombia.

My general impression is that Colombia is a well developed country with the majority being educated, more affluent then most Latin American countries. I loved all the different fruits like lulu, mora, guayba, and the ice creams and juices made from the exotic fruit.

Fruit-drink stand in Medellin (View on flickr)

The food was varied enough from location to location to be an adventure by itself.

What I will remember the most about Colombia is the absolute friendliness we experienced as cycle tourist. The country loves cycling and supports it in so many different ways. First of all the drivers seemed to give us plenty of space and shared the road with everyone. The huge number of cyclists of all kind is very impressive from the sports enthusiast to the worker, the commuters, the townspeople doing their errands.

Colombia is has many riches and is a very developed country that one day will get the respect from around the world that it deserve as a first class place to visit and live.

Nancy and Randy at the Equator in Ecuador (View on flickr)

Randy at the arctic circle (View on flickr)

We crossed the equator on May 29, almost 2 years after we crossed the Arctic Circle on June 14, 2006! The amazing thing is, take a look at our clothing... I think we were colder at the equator (near 9000 feet of elevation) than we were at the Arctic Circle!

There was a fine monument alongside the rode with an incredibly intricate sundial showing the day of the year as well as the time of day. It was all for nought on such a cold, cloudy, rainy day though.

We got our photos of Colombia all updated, and also the maps and elevation profiles of our route through Colombia are now there.

You can see the pictures:

• Second half of Colombia (or as a slideshow.)
• Ecuador (or as a slideshow.)

The maps and elevation profiles (including an overview of the route) are here.

Portada de nuestro libro: Las Mujeres de Puente de Amistad (View on flickr)

Hemos terminado la traducción a español de nuestro libro que trata de las increibles mujeres de Puente de Amistad, quienes conocimos trabajando en Guatemala en Junio y Julio del año pasado. Esas mujeres fueron tan impresionante y admirable. Por eso escribimos el libro, pero nunca tuvimos bastante tiempo para traducir a español y revisarlo. ¡Y las mujeres del libro nunca lo han visto! Pero en Quito pasamos casi una semana estudiando en el Cristóbal Colon Spanish School, y Randy tomó como su objetivo la traducción y revisión del este libro.

Usted puede leer el libro en forma PDF aquí. También es posible comprar una copia imprimida (a nuestro costo, sin ganancia) aquí en blurb.com. (Desfortunadamente no ofrecen pedidos a muchos paises, pero si a México y Argentina.)

Click here for the English version of the book.

perfect picture for a postcard (View on flickr)

Note: You can see all the pictures of the Galápagos trip here.

Having cycled all this way, we decided since we were kind of in the neighborhood, we should visit the Galapagos Islands, which are part of Ecuador and 600 miles west of the Ecuadorian coast. We made the reservation for an 8 day tour of the Galapagos through the Happy Gringo travel agency in Quito, which had been recommended by another cyclist. Not knowing exactly when we would get there we communicated through email for a few days prior to our arrival in Ecuador. I was very impressed with their quick and thorough responses to our thousand questions.

penguins (View on flickr)

When we finally got everything arranged, we had reservations on a 100-year-old twin-masted ship called the Sulidae (built in Denmark at the turn of the 20th century). They call it the pirate ship because of its age, style, and because it's painted black as night. Seeing the ship for the first time, I knew we would have a unique experience.

We flew out of Quito and arrived at the San Cristóbal airport where we met most of other passengers we would share this experience with. Right off, I knew we would all have a great time together. They seemed like similar folks with similar interest and all choosing to do a similar medium cost adventure. There was a couple from Canada, a couple from Australia, a mother and two adult children from Denmark, a newly in-love couple from Germany, and Ken, a masters student who reminded me of a National Geographic photographer.

Sulidae - the 1901 yacht we sailed on in the Galapagos (View on flickr)

When we boarded the ship after the group briefing we were shown to our cabins. We did seem to get the smallest of the cabins and the smelliest. But luckily we did not bring much luggage, and our three small panniers just fit under the bottom bunk. I got the top bunk with a hatchway that opened so I could sleep cooler at night. We figured out what the smell was from the small bathroom that was part of our cabin and it was basically the combination of mildew, sea, and the nature of the beast. All week it would a challenge to manage, especially during times we experienced rougher seas. We did not plan on spending much time there other than sleeping so we just coped with it. We had the small room and more toward the front of the boat where we felt more of the rise and fall of the ship during the times when we where sailing (always at night). The people in the back of the boat had larger spaces, but the sound of the pumps and the motor were going all night long.

blue footed boobie and sea lion (View on flickr)

The purpose of the trip was to see the wonders of the Galapagos Islands and we did that! During the 8-day trip we saw an extensive part of the Galapagos Island and had no time to sit and relax. We were on the go the whole tour from 8:00 in the morning to 8:00 at night. We brought along books we had imagined we would need to pass the time but hardly read a chapter the whole trip.

The crew sailed the boat at night and we arrived at a new place before the morning meal. After the morning meal would would take the panga, the (very) small motor boat to either an island to hike or a new place to snorkel or swim with the sea lions or motor around seeing the wonders.

a bunch of iguanas (View on flickr)

The first day we walked a nature trail on San Cristóbal Island and learned about the delicate environment that is home to much life that only can be found in this area. Actual the amazing thing about the Galapagos is that the animals, birds and many plants have adapted to each particular island.

During the next 8 days we would take many nature walks, guided by Raúl, the well informed park ranger/guide who was born in the area. In English, he educated us about the magic of the islands. I never tired of seeing black marine iguanas (they swim and dive, deep!) sunning on the black lava rocks, the restful sea lions lazing on the beach and or admiring the 500-pound giant tortoises munching on grass. Living up to 175 years, one old tortoise we meet was supposedly born during the time Charles Darwin did his research at the Galapagos Islands.

lava iguana (View on flickr)

In 1835 Charles Darwin studied and noted the similarities and differences of the flora and fauna and finally concluded that the species, in order to survive, would gradually alter based on environmental conditions. After 20 years of research he published the "The Origin of the Species by Natural Selection" in 1859.

What I enjoyed most was the snorkeling and swimming. Randy and I rented wetsuits and snorkeling gear so during the hours in the water we were comfortable and enjoyed the feast of underwater life. The most entertaining was swimming with the friendly and curious sea lions. They would swim right up to our masks and just about kiss the glass before swimming around in a circle and returning. One group of sea lions actual absconded with the anchor of our small motorboat and hung it up in some rocks. Randy had the most fun diving down into the deep water and being surrounded with many these wonderful creatures. Together they would twist and dive and resurface for a breath of air and descend once again for another frolic in the sea.

Randy playing with the sea lions (View on flickr)

Once Randy paying to much attention to his new friends and was swimming upside down near the bottom and clobbered his head on a massive rock. Laughing he came up for a breath holding his head and continued on with his play.

In total, we visited 4 islands: San Cristóbal Santa Cruz, Floreana, Isabella. We saw the famous blue-footed boobies, the lava finches, magnificent frigatebird, swam with Galapagos penguins, marine Iguanas, land Iguanas, Darwin finches. Galapagos hawks, and doves. pelicans, and Sally Lightfoot crabs. We visited several reserves and research centers,

crab (View on flickr)

We rode some very old and tired horses up to the second largest crater in the world on the Fernandina island. But the day was foggy and rainy so we did not see the crater. Three of the 16 horses fell during our trip including mine. My horses footing was shaky at best. It tripped forward onto its front two legs and forward I followed. I gripped on to the neck which softened my landing and I just rolled down and up on to my feet. I was a little bruised for a week or so but nothing major. One family who are experts on horses refused to ride the horses because they felt they where underfed and not fit to have riders and perhaps this is why 3 riders went down.

volcano chico (View on flickr)

We did get a beautiful view of Volcan Chico with newish lava flows. The old flows have turned red from the release of iron and the massive pitch-black flows from the 1968 eruption lie over the older oxidized under-base creating a surrealistic moonscape.

Another adventure we went on was by fishing boats. Because of the safety factor, the expedition went out on two boats which each had two 250HP engines. During the one hour trip to the lava tubes where we were going to snorkel the boats pounded through the open water.

finding our way to los tuboles (View on flickr)

The boat slammed so many times, I imagine I am 1 inch shorter (if that is possible) after the spine crushing expedition. Once we got close to the cove the real adventure started. In order to get to the cove we had to find a way to shore through the 3 -5 foot surf waves. After scouting for a route through the surf for 30 minutes and many tries the fishermen finally succeeded by revving up the two powerful outboard motors and raced the surf into the quieter waters of the cove.

mangrove reflection (View on flickr)

Our driver put a handle of one motor between his legs, up into his crotch and the other motor he directed with his left hand. Once into the coves we swam with sharks, giant tortoises, Galapagos penguins, school of tuna and tons of other colorful fish. The collapsed lava tubes provide an enchanting cove of lava arches, brackish water just right to support giant swimming turtles and intermingled mangrove trees. I have never seen a more magical place.

The boat ride out of the caves was even more treacherous than the ride in. Our boat almost got creamed by the other boat on one failed attempt. The boat we rode in made it out after a half a dozen tries, but the other boat made it safely out of the crashing waves only after 30 minutes of trying and failing. The trick is to wait until there is a perfectly quiet set of waves. I did admire the fishermen's patience, skill and experience.

group dinner (View on flickr)

One of the best parts of our trip was the wonderful food cooked by Carolina. Every meal she made was great, including homemade deserts. She cooked these fine meals in a space no bigger then 4' x 6'. How she created all those masterpieces in such a small space aboard a rocking ship, I will never know but I will remember her tortas, chocolate mouse, Carmel cheesecake and the shrimp bisque. Three fine meals a day were served up to twelve of us hunger explorers.

The ship sailed at night for 6 to 10 hours most nights in order to reach another island. It was rougher then we had anticipated but all but one night we got some sleep, well most of the time. The last night was the roughest.

group shot (View on flickr)

I had to close my hatch above my bed because of the waves crashed on to the deck and into my air hole. That night I do not want to experience again. I felt real bad for the new passenger we picked up for the last night of our trip and it was the beginning of her trip. She was sicker then a dog. I wonder how she survived.
The whole trip was wonderful: the crew, the places we visited, and the folks we shared this incredible week with. It is amazing that a small bunch of strangers for all over the world can become such good friends in a short period of time. It must be the magic of the place.

florenda borrenas bay (View on flickr)

If you are thinking of going to the Galapagos Islands, arranging a trip on a ship is a way to see more of the area. Go on a ship with 12 passengers which makes the experience very interment, faster to embark and easier on the delicate resources. Large ships with many passengers is taxing on a delicate environment and may be prohibited in the future. Pay more then you think you can for a quality boat. Go on the biggest boat you can find to make the sailing smoother, but not more people. Take sea sickness pills before you need them.

Swimming with the Galapagos Sea Turtle (View on flickr)

Go during the ocean's quiet time (not that we know when that is...). The high season costs more and is during July and August but it may also be the high season for the wind and the waves. No mater, just do it and you will come away with many wonderful memories of a place of incredible beauty.

We finally got a clear view of a volcano (Volcan Sangay) (View on flickr)

Some notes about routes in Ecuador that are probably only interesting for people planning to tour here:

• Our Route, Trip Log, Notes, and GPS Tracks: Our complete maps and notes are now up..
• Maps: We carried the ITMB Ecuador Map. Although I hate the ITMB maps, this one worked. In addition, we bought the excellent book of strip maps published by the Instituto Geografico Militar, which is available in good bookstores in Ecuador, like Libri Mundi in Gringolandia in Quito and at other sites. There is also a general tourist map available in tourist offices. Its biggest benefit is the extensive charge of distances between cities.
• GPS Maps: We were unable to find any GPS maps at that time to download into our Garmin GPS, but since GPSTravelMaps.com has come into existence. If you know of others, please send us a note or leave a comment here.
• We came in from the north, at Tulcan, which is where most cyclists coming from the north would get to. By the time we got to Ibarra, the traffic started to get irritating on the Pan-Am.
• Approaching Quito, we kept on the Pan-Am. There's a turn where most of the traffic goes the more direct route (not on the official Pan-am) via Tabacundo. At that point the real Pan-Am via Cayambe becomes a delight (and just past Cayambe is a fantastic equator marker). Per the advice of a tourist official, we followed it to Cusubamba, where there is a turn to the left toward El Quinche. That road was OK but got busier and busier. It finally dumps into the main road into Quito from the East. The idea was to get into town fast. It didn't work out perfectly. The road got quite busy.
  
  

  riding up to Quito (View on flickr)

  Nancy found an important alternate route: Passing into Cumbayá, ask for the back road up to Guápulo, which is a vertical road climbing right up the cliff that lands right in the main part of the new city in Quito. (Our friend who just stayed on the busy highway into the city from the east ended up hitting a couple of nasty tunnels, one of which had a policeman who turned him back when he was partway through.) It was quite a climb, but the traffic was respectful and slow. All that said, there has to be a better way into Quito. Maybe the bus. Quito is a huge and long north-south oriented city, so coming in from the north means endless metro riding. Who knows.

• Our guidebook suggests that a northern route would be via the Mitad del Mundo, and that there is an old road from Mitad del Mundo to Otavalo. Sounds good to me.
• A friend also highly recommended the back road from Otavalo to Cayambe. We didn't take it because it was a gloomy rainy day and we didn't want to deal with a dirt road.
• Leaving Quito to the south was also irritating. It was 20km from the New City out to where the highway starts. It worked out OK.

Nancy riding up from Mendez (View on flickr)
• Nancy got irritated with the Pan-Am, so we detoured east to Baños (very nice), and then continued on the marked bike path down to Puyo. It was delightful. We then continued an Oriente loop to Macas. Just 30km of this was unpaved, to the Pastaza River. It was pretty ugly at first, but it got better. All but this 30km was delightful pavement. From Macas we continued to Mendez, which again was mostly paved, but there was 20km of poor-ish dirt road. Then we ascended up to Paute, which was an awesome ride. About 25km of this was unpaved. An amazing amount of elevation gain. And incredibly beautiful sights. This Oriente detour is highly recommended and could be combined with a jungle expedition pretty easily. It was a bit remote than what we've usually done, so we ended up camping a couple of times, and once we needed more food than the pitiful amount we normally carry.
• Cuenca to Loja was pleasant, but the best part was about 20km past Saraguro (a nice town) at San Lucas. There at the bridge we took a left turn to go down the river on the Old Pan-Am, which was a delightful dirt road. No traffic, (but dogs of course), and just a great way to go. And shorter and easier than the new Pan-Am.
• Most bike tourists follow the Pan-Am from Loja to Macara and to the coast of Peru, then down through Trujillo and then up into the Cordillera Blanca. But more are now continuing on in the sierra through Vilcabamba and Zumba. That's what we decided to do, and it was great (and quite rough). About 20km past Vilcabamba it becomes dirt (to all the way past San Ignacio in Peru) and starts to climb over valley after valley. The first day out of Vilcabamba we enjoyed it too much and lost track of the time and got stuck camping in a good rain at 2600 meters. Not a good night, but it was a beautiful place. From Zumba to the border were two steep hills that took us most of the day. It was an easy little 7km downhill to Namballe, the first real town in Peru, and we actually made it before dark.

Update from Peru:
The route from Vilcabamba south to Zumba, into Peru, to San Ignacio, Bella Vista, Chachapoyas, Kuelap, Celendin, and to Cajamarca has turned out to be one of the most delightful stretches of the whole trip. Highly recommended. Mostly dirt road, some muddy, some hard (not too hard in Peru - the grades have been easier than in Ecuador). But all wonderful. A great way to enter Peru.

Mudholes everywhere, climbing up from Namballe to San Ignacio (View on flickr)

They master riding early in this part of Peru (View on flickr)

We are now in Peru. Another country! This is the 11th country we have entered with our bikes. With something like 11,800 miles (19,000 kilometers) we crossed the Ecuador border into Peru at La Balsa. This was the quietest and most rural border crossing we have done to date. As the immigration officer stamped our paperwork, a chicken roamed the room pecking at crumbs, a herd of cows passed out front and the money changers sat on the bridge enjoying beer on this late Saturday. No one came up to us asking if we wanted to change our money from dollars (which they use in Ecuador) to Soles (Peru's currency). That was a first.

From the border we started off following a river and actually had a flat road for 7 kilometers. Yes flat. We heard that Peru is flatter then Ecuador but we could not believe it. Of course, we found out otherwise in the morning, as the road rose above the village of Namballe. The people were so friendly on our ride from Namballe to San Ignacio! We feel like rock stars once again. Everyone waves and beeps and everyone says hello and "welcome to Peru". We even got filmed by a couple passing by on motorcycles. He explained it is for marketing material promoting tourism in the town of San Ignacio. Along the route a young boy ran after us with two papayas in his hands to give us as a present. His name was Carlos and he had no shoes but he had a wonderful smile to go with his kindness. We have found the people much more outgoing and less intimidated than the reserved folks of the highlands of Ecuador. We like it when people think we are special. We make more contacts and find out more about the people we see along the way.

The roads so far are dirt and very rough, no smooth grading like in Ecuador. However, our first road was more gentle in slope - we were able to ride all of it, with no pushing. All the culverts seemed to have been washed away or never existed. As a result we find ourselves riding through huge mud holes. One spot seemed about 50 feet long and the whole width of the road and no way around, so we were forced to ride through it. The coffee-colored mud was consistency of thick yogurt. In some places it may have been 6 inches thick. I know I could not see where I was steering. I just rode blindly, holding tight to my handle bar. I just hoped I would not slip and fall into the slop. The final section offered two deep ponds of mud. Randy told me the left hole was the better one and I should ride through it. At last, I did not have the courage or the skill to maneuver through it. I dismounted my steed and waded through the mud and around the ponds, adding to the collections of mud I had been accumulating all day. When I got to the other side, I looked back and saw I had an audience watching us with our fully loaded bikes making our way through the river of mud. I wonder if they had made bets if we would make it through or wipe out.

Nancy riding into Peru from the border. It's a pretty casual border. (View on flickr)

We stopped for lunch on top of a hill and watched the local Sunday afternoon football games. People came from all over dressed in their Sunday best for the afternoon festivities. As I we sat down on top of the hill to prepare lunch the papaya slipped out of my grip and rolled down the embankment, and came to rest against a parked motorcycle. Everyone waited to see my reaction. I started laughing seeing the fruit down near the foot ball field. Everyone else joined me laughing. I climbed down the embankment and retrieved it. It still tasted wonderful and just a little bit smashed. We had it with peanut butter on our bread - a great combination. I fed the peel to the chickens, the dogs and the donkey who seemed to enjoy it the best.

That day we rode only 44 kilometers (about 28 miles) and climbed 4300 feet (1300 meters). I was tired because of the technical riding, the bad surface and many muddy areas. I slipped off my bike just once and ended up upside down with my bike. Yes, my bike ended upside down resting on its handlebars and seat with me lying next to it on my back, laughing away. Randy wanted to take a picture of me but he thought it would be better to make sure I was OK. I did appreciate his kindness and consideration but I was really fine and was again amused at the silliness of the situation.

We where concerned at the end of the day we would not make it to our destination and started to look for camping spots. It turned out we had a great downhill stretch and made it before dark to San Ignacio. After looking at 3 hotels, we found a room in a house for $8. The owners seemed to have a party until 3am so we did not rest well and moved to the Hotel Dorado the next day where we paid $10 for a night, which seems normal so far. Meals (all basically the same) cost between $1 and $1.50. Breakfast looks like lunch and like dinner: Rice with chicken with yuca.

Tomorrow we will follow the river south for a day or two. We had been told the road is flat and paved. We since found out it is not paved, but more dirt like before. This is ok and I can live with this. But I do hope it is not as steep as some of the roads we've ridden recently. I really want to ride some more flat before we have to climb the giants of the Peruvian Andes. I hope it is flat, I hope it is, I hope….

In Peru, young friends ran to catch us to give us a papaya! (View on flickr)

The mototaxis we see everywhere in northern Peru (View on flickr)

Drying the coffee. Dogs and chickens help out too. (View on flickr)

Coffee drying everywhere on the road from Namballe to San Ignacio (View on flickr)

At the Ecuador-Peru border (View on flickr)

Loading the bikes into the boat for the crossing of the Rio Marañon (View on flickr)

Rice paddies in northern Peru (View on flickr)

From San Ignacio we descended rapidly into a completely different kind of country - rice paddies everywhere. Neither of us had ever seen the cultivation of rice before, so we were amazed to see the effort required to work with the plants at the various parts of their life cycle. It was beautiful, too, but like we had left the high mountains and landed in a south-east Asian area!

After about 50 kilometers of dirt (formerly paved, but long since decayed) we hit beautiful new pavement for the first time in days. And it was downhill, too. But we soon turned off for a shortcut that we read about in Peter Berechree's incredible blog of his Andes-by-bike adventure. We took a dirt-road turnoff to the town of Bellavista and found our way to the banks of the Rio Marañon, a major river headed to the Amazon. Hoping that we'd gotten to the right place, we waved and yelled to a fellow cleaning his boat on the other side, he eventually came for us. We loaded the bikes up a 2x4 ramp and crossed over in a jiffy, then road a few miles to catch the highway again. We got a pleasant little diversion from the highway and probably eliminated 50 kilometers from our route.

Riding up into the Utcubamba River valley (View on flickr)

Utcubamba River Valley (View on flickr)

Soon we were starting up the beautiful valley of the Utcubamba River, which we would follow for something like 130 kilometers (75 miles). For the first section it climbed rapidly and we looked at the rapids of the river below wondering whether they were runnable in a kayak, remembering our favorite sections of rivers in Colorado, but feeling simply fear looking at these rapids.

At Pedro Ruiz we hit a stretch of highway construction which closed the highway during the day, so we loaded the bikes on an evening microbus for the quick trip to Chachapoyas, the former capital of the Chacha people, who were conquered by the Incas in about 1500. We were headed for their most impressive fortress city, Kuelap. Riding further along the Rio Utcubamba, we got to a little place called El Tingo, where we hoped to organize a ride up to the ruin, but it turned out that there is almost no reliable transport. (It is a 10 kilometer, 1300 meter, 3-4 hour walk up to the ruins on a trail, but we wanted to take a rest day.) We weren't able to organize anything in El Tingo, but Nancy insisted that we call some agencies back in Chachapoyas, and we succeeded in getting one of the tours out of Chachapoyas to pick us up the next day. But Kuelap was an amazing site, built apparently as a fortress high on top of a mountain, much like Macchu Picchu was for the Inca. When the Incas conquered the Chacha people, they forced everyone out of the fortress, so it was hardly a factor when the Spanish conquerors came just a few years later.

Outer wall of Kuelap (View on flickr)

Looking down from Kuelap at the road we took up (View on flickr)

Village of El Tingo - nothing to do but watch the burros go by (View on flickr)

Ironically, the things we'll probably remember most about this stretch of the trip will not be the impressive fortress, but the joys of bike touring. On the way up the river we were yelled at by two workers from across the river - their cable car, the only way they had of getting across, was on the wrong side of the river. So they coached me on how to get in and take it across to them, and then we all came back across together. And in Tingo, we had time to do what the few other residents did. We just sat on the bench by the police station or in front of the little restaurant and watched the few people go by. A burro-load here, a microbus there. Perhaps an old woman carrying a load of firewood. Seeing the police lift the gate for a truck passing through. Just watching the little parade was all there was to do. And we stayed at the delightful and quaint little Hospedaje Casa León that looked like something from another century, but still had hot water in one of the bathrooms.

From El Tingo we rode still farther up the road until Nancy happened to spot a sign announcing the turnoff to another famous archaeological site of the Chacha people, Revash. We rode up a canyon about 5km and then hiked high up the canyon wall to see the ancient burial site. It certainly reminded us of an Anasazi site from the American southwest, but in miniature, as it was a burial site, instead of a place to live.

Despite the significant detour, we did get to Leymebamba that night just at dusk, ready to arrange transportation across the huge valley ahead to Celendín.

Revash (View on flickr)

Randy helping the boys get back across the river (View on flickr)

Donkeys everywhere (View on flickr)

Peru has some of the biggest mountains and deepest valleys we have encountered so far. We find it very interesting to ride the high mountains of Peru because the sierras are inhabited by indigenous people who live in the traditional ways they have maintained for centuries. Not much has changed in hundreds of years. In some areas we have been riding through there is no electricity, no running water, no paved road, lots of sheep, cows, chickens, donkeys which carry cargoes of milk, wood, heavy loads of vegetables like potatoes, corn and cabbage. The people themselves carry huge loads on their backs. The women wear the same traditional clothes they have for ages including special hats which identify the area they come from. Around Cajamarca the women wear short skirts with ballooning petticoats, tall, wide-brimmed hand-woven hats made of fine strands of straw. They all have wraps and ponchos to either keep warm or carry a load. They're even shorter than me. From the distance they sometimes remind me of the profile of Halloween witch The women in Northern Peru can be seen herding donkeys loaded with metal containers of milk, babies on their backs and walking along a high mountain road while spinning wool on a stick, preparing the wool for knitting or weaving. The women always have busy hands. Always. Where we are right now the women knit afghans of multiple colors, ponchos, and sweaters. If they don't have a baby on their backs they're carrying a load of firewood, twigs, or huge bunches of herbs and greens.

Goatherd by the side of the road (View on flickr)

Herb vendor (View on flickr)

Horses delivering the milk (View on flickr)

The men work hard in the high fields growing the family's food. We see the men toiling on the sides of mountains, leaning over for hours planting, weeding and harvesting. At other times times we see them leading teams of oxen plowing the fields. We also see groups of men herding horses or donkeys heavily loaded from the harvested fields. Once we saw a train of burros carrying massive white bags full of cabbage. When one of the animals finally descended to the road, it refused to go any further. We watched with terror as one young man tried to drag the animal up the last slope to the unloading place. It tried to kick but missed. His handler kicked and whipped him but the poor donkey would go no further. It just lay down in the middle of the road, along a dangerous curve. The young man was furious. He unloaded the cargo and dragged the animal to its feet with the help of another man. The poor thing still could not go any further. The did manage to get it to the side of the road behind the guardrail. They just left the animal there and carried the load up the mountain the rest of the way on their own backs. The horse was lame and hardly stand on any its own legs. It changed its weight from one leg to the other, obviously in pain and didn't even mosey the few yards remaining to the unloading area. It twitched and sweated trying to recover. I felt helpless, a bystander watching a hard fact of life in this area. The animals work as hard as the people themselves.

I am always amazed to see cultivation of fields which barely cling to the slope. Occasional we see collapsed slopes and the result. In one area we rode through a whole village was wiped out by a landslide. In some areas the only crop they grow for sale was coffee and in other areas they grow fruits, potatoes, rice, cabbage, wheat, beans, corn and various other legumes for exporting to other areas. Near Leymebamba it is the time of the year for cutting the corn, and we saw flocks of wild parrots who have emigrated here for this special harvest. Wild flocks of dozens green parrots flying up and down the canyon above the Utcubamba Rivers. The racket they make is an unforgettable sound. They are immigrants without papers.