CROSSING THE LINE

Regardless of all the lines which I've crossed which I shouldn't have crossed, I've now crossed the EQUATOR for the third time. The first crossing was on my way North in Kenya, and the second crossing going South in Sumatra (I actually missed the line and didn't even get a photo). Anyway, in this case my North-bound route crossed the line a number of times as the road snaked through the hilly Ecuadorian landscape, and I was so keen not to miss it again that I found myself taking pic's of the bike in the middle of nowhere (the GPS indicated 0 degrees). However, eventually there was a monument and a large sun-dial laid out in stone, and all the paraphanalia that goes with it. Other lines which I've crossed on this trip have been the Tropic of Capricorn (3 times), and the Tropic of Cancer (8 times). Anyway, my last report was from Quito where I was staying at the Casa De Cyclistas in the city (Carlos, Daniel, and Santiago, with dogs in pic). From there Hannes, Annelies, and myself did a short hop down to Tumbaco where we stayed at another "Casa" owned by another Santiago (in picture still in his pajamas) - I was his first South African guest in the 20 years he's been hosting touring cyclists. The garden was spacious, so Hannes stoked up a braai (Argentinian style ASADO). From there we followed a cycle track which runs along a disused railroad for about 40 km (very nice, no traffic, beautiful scenery and even a number of nice dark tunnels). At Otavalo I said goodbye to my cycle companions, and subsequently crossed another line - the border from Ecuador into Columbia. In the hilly South of Columbia I met a number of other cyclists including Marta from Poland and her Argentinian companion in picture. I also met a group of 3 Columbian cyclists on the day when I reached Cali (2 days ago). I've been staying in Miller's Casa De Cyclistas in Cali, and although I was planning to move on this morning it was raining so persistently that I decided to stay and visit the Internet Cafe. Talk about rain, there is no shortage of it here with the daily (or nightly) thunderstorms. I've been camping all along, and in order to ecape the rain I've stayed in some interesting places such as schools, military check-posts, and road-work camps. On the first night after crossing into Columbia I asked to camp in a field next to a "village" farm house, and the family showed me to camp in the back yard which they considered to be safer. There I spent the night in close quarters with a barking dog, a grunting cow in labour, a goat, two cats, geese and chickens, and cages full of guinae pigs. The matriarch of the Baez family was in charge of the place, and in addition to doing farm-work, the grown daughters also did quite well in having children from foreign men (mostly South Americans). I was given a good breakfast the following morning, and although they may have been hinting at a South African addition to the family, I was feeling a bit too worn-out from a restless night amongst all those animals! From Cali I'll probably head off tomorrow in a North-easterly direction towards Bogota (over the Andes again!). Daily distances cycled since Quito have been:- Tumbaco 17 km; Quinche 44 km; Otavalo 76 km; Bolivar 95 km; Ipiales 84 km; Cebadal 57 km; Bridge Camp 73 km; Patia 102 km; Paraga 55 km; Popayan 68 km; and Cali 125 km. The total distance which I've cycled so far in South America is 17 760 km, and the total distance which I've cycled on this journey is 84 247 km.

VULCANO-LAND

The town of Baños (where I ended my last report) is already a fair way up between the Amazon Basin and the Central Highlands of Ecuador, and as the three of us cycled onwards we were entertained by views of the smoking vulcano which we were leaving behind (Phillip and Isa had gone ahead the previous day). As we moved North the road took us past a number of other high mountains, mostly vulcanos. One of the mountains we passed is the extinct Vulcan Chimborazo, and at well over 6000 metres above sea level it is the highest mountain in Ecuador (and due to the equatorial bulge it's summit is the furthest point from the centre of the earth). However, the second-highest mountain, Vulcan Cotopaxi, is by far the most spectacular (and at nearly 6000 m it is apparently the highest active vulcano in the world). Therefore we made a diversion off the paved roads into the Cotapaxi National Park. Once again, with my narrow pavement tyres I had lots of "fun" climbing up the rather poor gravel road into the Park where we camped at an altitude of close to 4000 m (fortunately there was a hut in which we could camp, as there was a freezing wind blowing). We were very fortunate that the day was perfect with blue sky, so I took about a million photo's of that mountain. The following morning was also OK, but soon the clouds rolled in again, obscuring most of the vulcano as we looked back. On that day we had to descend down towards the Pan Americana again, firstly on a terrible gravel road, and then for about 10 km on a slippery uneven cobblestone "Big Dipper" (even though I was constantly on the brakes I still suffered a broken spoke). Then it was Northwards on the Pan Am highway, and now eventually I've arrived in the capital of Ecuador, Quito. There is a new part to the city, but the Old Historic Centre is quite wonderful to see. For the past few days Hannes, Annelies and myself have been staying in the new Casa De Cyclistas in the new part of town, where we met up with Phillip and Isa again. We'll probably move on tomorrow to another Casa De Cyclistas a few k's outside Quito, and stay there for a couple of days before heading North to the equator about 20 km away. Daily distances cycled since Cuenca have been:- Palmas 82 km; Mt Camp 60 km; Mendez 42 km; Macas 79 km; Puente Pastaza 66 km; Puyo 69 km; Baños 62 km; Pillaro 47 km; Laso 58 km; Cotapaxi NP 28 km; Machachi 39 km; and Quito 44 km. The total distance cycled in South America so far is 16 964 km, and the total distance which I've cycled so far on this journey is 83 451 km.

EL ORIENTE

From the Southern Highland city of Cuenca I cycled East down to the Upper Amazon basin of Ecuador (known as El Oriente locally). I'd arrived in Cuenca together with fellow cyclists Hannes and Annelies, and on leaving Quenca we were joined by Swiss cyclists Phillip and Isa. To say that we cycled "down" to the Oriente is not completely correct - it was rather a case of "ups and downs". The scenery along the way was spectacular, although often the hills were very steep and the road was unpaved in sections. The first mountainous part was through luscious cloud-forest, with it's accompanying mist and rain. Once down in the Amazon Basin the climate was quite different to that of the highlands, and I hadn't experienced that type of heat and humidity since Eastern Bolivia some months ago. However, it was a nice change, cycling through the tropical forest with all sorts of exotic flowering plants. We camped once in the rain, but stayed over mostly in village hostals. Once we were fortunate to camp inside a disused restaurant, as it really stormed during the night. While on the subject, I'll reply to Peter Z's curiosity as to why one would want to camp inside a building. In this case we were in the tropics, so the tent keeps out all the bugs such as mosquito's, sand flies, and spiders. Camping inside a school literally puts you in the eyes as the kids stare through the windows, so the tent allows for some privacy when changing clothes, etc. At high altitude the tent lends additional insulation agains the cold, and if it rains then at least a person is not confined to the tent - you can sit outside to cook and socialise. If I camp in the same spot for a few days (such as on the old fishing platform in Penang) then the roof protects the tent from baking in the sun, and when I walked off to the shops I could secure my belongings inside the tent. So, generally, camping inside is what I call "easy camping". My cycling companions are early risers so they usually leave before me in the mornings and I catch up with them later. As a result I was on my own for a day or two after somehow losing the others along the way. From the town of Puyo we climbed up again towards Baños and the Central Highlands of Ecuador. Baños is a very touristy town, and there are hordes of Gringo's as well as local tourists. The town derives it's name from the local hot springs, and there is also a huge smoking vulcano looming overhead. All manner of amusement equipment is for hire, and as I cycled up from Puyo I was passed in the opposite direction by swarms of Gringo's wearing river-rafting helmets and barreling downhill on rented mountainbikes. Next I'll be heading North through the vulcano-studded Central Highlands.

THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS

I don't seem to be able to get away from the Andes Mountains, and so far in the Southern Highlands of Ecuador it has been an up and down affair. I've reached the "Charming City", and third-largest in Ecuador, Cuenca. The city centre of Cuenca is truly beautiful, It is on the banks of a small river, and there are many wonderful historic buildings (many of them are impressive churches). In Loja I'd met up with cycling friends Hannes and Annelies, but while I waited for my new bank card to be delivered they moved on. From Loja I took a small dirt road for the first section North, which was reportedly more scenic than the main road, and there were interesting tribal people in the area (the men wear their hair long in plats or pony-tails, so if it wasn't for my beard I may have fitted in there). However, the weather had been rainy for the previous few days, and I had some fun in the mud with my loaded bike on narrow slick tyres. Further North I met up with my two friends again, after they had sheltered from the rain for a couple of days. In the village of La Paz we camped in a school room in exchange for a donation to the school Xmas fund. Before we even unpacked the bikes Hannes had organised a football game with the kids, and of course I was roped in as well. Some time into the game I picked up an "injury", and was replaced by a more effective player half my size and one-fifth my age. Talk about size, it may sound unbelievable but when I walk down the city streets I've noted that most of the people are shorter than me. In this region it is also rather unfortunate to be a pig, because pigs are being barbequed and cooked in all different ways in roadside stalls. I've been relaxing in Cuenca now for a few days, and tomorrow the three of us intend to cycle down to the Amazon basin (known as the Oriente)towards the East of the mountains, which hopefully will be a nice change of scenery. Daily distances cycled since Trujillo in Peru have been:- Huanchaco 14 km; Dios (+30 km police lift) 93 km; Chiclayo 92 km; Olmos 110 km; La Matanza 104 km; Piura 68 km; Las Lomas 119 km; Macara 57 km; Languche 59 km; Catacocha 37 km; Catamayo 61 km; Loja 39 km; Saraguro 64 km; Ona 38 km; La Paz Pueblo 39 km; and Cuenca 72 km. The total distance cycled so far in South America is 16 288 km, and the total distance cycled so far on this trip is 82 775 km.

ADIOS PERU, HOLA ECUADOR

Since my last report from Trujillo, I've left Peru behind and cycled North across the border into Ecuador. But first let me start where I left off last time. I was at Lucho's famous Casa De Cyclistas in Trujillo, Peru. There I made new friends, Germans Marcus and Dorothy on their way South, and I also met up with Hannes and Annelies who I'd met earlier on the road close to Cuzco. After a photo session with Lucho in front of his Casa, the five of us cycled to the nearby Huanchaco beach where I'd already been, and we had a couple of relaxing days there. From there I headed North alone on the infamous section of road, notorious for armed robberies on touring cyclists. For most of the first day I was escorted by the highway police (at one stage they even stopped a pickup truck and loaded me up for about 30 km). In Chiclayo I found the local Casa De cyclistas where I camped in the yard amongst the chickens and guinae pigs. Further North I met local cycling enthusiast Juan Carlos, who stopped to chat (although the conversation was rather limited, he spoke no English and my Spanish still leaves a lot to be desired. In the city of Piura I stayed over for a day, and then disaster struck. My bank card was swallowed by an ATM, and when I eventually got the bank to open up the machine my card was not inside. Fortunately my sister Olga wired me some money via Western Union, so I could at least pay my rent and stay alive until I could organise a new card. I had to get a SIM card for my phone, and spent about 80 dollars more phoning Nedbank in South Africa to block my account and order a new card for delivery in Ecuador where I was heading next. So I had to spend another couple of days in Piura, which turned out not too badly as It is quite an interesting non-touristy city with an amazing huge market (one can buy anything from bicyles to day-old chickens there). I got to Ecuador OK, and there I was soon into the big mountains again. Perhaps I didn't look all that great, because the vultures seemed to be following me along, roosting in the roadside trees. I had to wait a few days here in Loga for the new bank card, which was miraculously delivered (adressed to Loja, South America). Loja is quite an attractive historic small city. So far I also quite like the Ecuadorians, and things here seem a little more relaxed than in Peru. From here I will head North through the mountains again.

THE CORDILLERA BLANCA

After heading North from Lima through the desert, I couldn't wait to get away from the damp foggy coast. I had been intending to cycle via Huaraz (the "Adventure Capital" of Peru), and as soon as I could I headed for the hills again. Initially the climb followed a river valley, and again I noted that the desert is actually quite fertile if there is irrigation water. The dry ground is also a handy space for drying crops such as maize and paprika. So, once more I climbed to over four thousand metres before descending a bit to Huaraz, at the foot of the beautiful snowy Cordillera Blanca (still part of the Andes). There are apparently 22 peaks in this range of more than six thousand metres (including the highest in Peru), so trekkers and climbers tend to make their base in Huaraz. There I camped for a week at the popular Jo's Place hostel, where I enjoyed the company of a number of other cyclists and climbers. Eventually it was time to leave, and I headed back to the coast via the spectacular Santa Rosa River Canyon. However the road is unpaved, bumpy, narrow, and dusty, with about 40 hair-raising tunnels. I'd heard a lot about Lucho's Casa De Cyclistas in the city of Trujillo, but the day I finally arrived there, nobody was home. So I went to the nearby Huanchaco beach where I found a nice cheap hostal for a few days rest (the weather is also better than around Lima - the fog clears in the afternoon). Luckily I did find some life at the "Casa" on my return to Trujillo, and it's a good place to pay some attention to the bike (Lucho has a small workshop and loads of spares - mostly 2nd hand). The historic centre of the city is quite interesting, with many attractive colonial buildings. However, the road for some distance to the North is a bit of a gauntlet for cyclists - lots of reported armed robberies. I'll have to see how it goes when I leave. Daily distances cycled since Lima have been:- Lancay Nat Pk 102 km; Pativilco 104 km; Valley Camp 74 km; Cajacay 26 km; Junction Village 33 km; Huaraz 86 km; Caraz 71 km; Canyon Camp 1 74 km; Camp 2 41 km; Chao 120 km; Huanchaco 84 km; and Trujillo 16 km. Total in South America so far is 15 222 km. Total distance cycled on this trip is 81 709 km.