Chapter 4: Ecuador - the country of four worlds

               Ecuador - the country of four worlds

It's been a little while since the last blog update, for those of you who have been following regularly, you may imagine why. With the dark thoughts and strange dreams frequently returning, the writing creativity had to take a little vacation. 

In the meantime, we tripled in numbers. Equal parts humans as well as machines. For now, the FBI-recommended therapy will have to be put on hold as some homemade organic group therapy is on the menu. Sometimes it takes a tankful of gas before you can think straight.

Mad or Nomad, that is the question at the moment. 

                             Kio parceros, bien okey?

After Cesare got stuck at the Colombian-Ecuadorian border for two days due to gasoline-related protests, we can finally sniff each other’s exhaust gases again. And since that sounds like a boatload of fun, Simon also decided to join the squad on a DR650 for a wholesome 4 weeks of moist-warm "itchy-in-the-butt" style adventures. 

Accepting that we could only plan so much, we kept the route flexible, consistently checking local websites for potential obstructions to our route and keeping in close contact with my assigned agent for safety concerns. And of course let's not forget mechanical issues of the machines. To not keep you guys guessing too much, there were a lot of each! 

To be clear, most motorcycle problems are caused by the nut that connects the handlebars to the saddle. Here is a brief overview of all the things that went wrong in just a couple of weeks. Let's start with Simon's exhaust pipe that fell off... 

or his chain, that threw a weird fit that day (pun intended?) ...

Between all three bikes, there were footpegs that decided to fall off, broken muffler straps, cracked chain guards, two failing front suspensions, two beyond-failure rear shocks, a leaking gas hose, about four overdue tires for replacement, a broken ignition switch, a broken brake and shift lever, a bent handle bar, a front and a rear brake that stopped working at random times, and an uncountable amount of lose bolts leading to squeaks and rattles making us (mainly Cesare) sound like rusty windmills blowing in the wind.

Did I mention a worn out piston-rings on one bike and leaky valve seats on another? Ah, whatever! Add a quart of oil every 1000km and count your blessings... as long as you can. Lucky for us, Ecuador has yet to discover the meaning of "emissions testing."

The afore-mentioned suspension issues are a small price to pay compared to the fun times that result from jumping around on the adventure bikes.

Now, not all mechanical issues are created equal and the following is proof of mother nature having the last word in all things life and death. 

Fairly strong rain showers had accompanied us on the route from Quilotoa to Banos, a 3 hr ride, no breaks included. Needless to say, our hands were stiff from the cold and our toes were submerged underwater inside the allegedly "waterproof" boots, filled up to below the ankles with rain water. The fun part about worn-out GoreTex is that it’s still waterproof enough to keep the moisture in for many days to come.

A sudden outcry through the intercom would alarm me to look around and get ready for a situation. 

Cesare got hit by a sizeable rock that slid down a ravine next to the road and pinned the bike and himself against a car standing in traffic next to us. 

The boulder hit the right side pannier and the swing arm the hardest, and therefore didn't cause any bigger damage to the bike and the luckiest part was that he got his leg pulled up before the impact. It took two people to roll the rock off the bike and clear the road. Is this what it feels like to hit rock bottom? Crazy day!

The rains from the days before left their marks all over the country. 

                      A couple of little off-road HAHA's 

Aside from offering uncountable ways to crash your bike, aka having infinite amounts of fun that not even the American standard system can measure, the real focus in Ecuador lies in its natural beauty, the mountain views, and plant diversity. 

View of the active Cotopaxi stratovolcano at 5900m/19,300ft from inside the National park - no bikes allowed. *sadface* 

A breathtaking view after sunset from Cotopaxi on Illnizas twin peaks at 5300m/17,300ft, the Mordor of Ecuador. 

Looking closely can be hard when zipping through the forest trying to keep the rubber glued to the road, but when the motors are quiet and the gloves come off, the beauty of the jungle is all-encompassing. I may have captured 10% of the flora I thought was interesting, which goes to show the vast diversity of plants just growing by the roadside.

West side entrance to Sangay National Park. The views were slowly building about an hour before even reaching the park and accompanied us for the entire drive through the park. The park stretches from high alpine landscapes to densly forested jungle scapes on the east side of the Ecuadorian Andes, the magical Amazon basin. 

     Keepers of the Amazon Rainforest - a tribute to an                   Olympic weightlifting team from Puyo. 

A narrow road led us up the mountain and over the sierra. Visibility: about 100ft/30m, temperature: too low to be comfortable, traction conditions: poor, oncoming traffic: 18-wheeler trucks going not more thana a couple mph, barely clearing the rock wall on the right and the steep cliff of certain death on the left. 

A homemade toll station in the middle of the woods had us laugh when the self-proclaimed gate keeper charged us 25cents for passage. 

This photo comes to life when imagining the sharp mildewy smell of weeks old wet cheese foot boots, sweaty pants, and rank leather gloves. Would you be ready to sleep in this concoction every night? Do you understand why I usually prefer to camp in the wild? 

 The natural Ecuadorian room fresheners at our service.

Onward through the trails, eerie landscapes await...

with some friendly creatures hiding in the fog.

The mood? We keep it at 100 every day...

just like the speed...

... unless we literally can't...

... or the jungle trails got too narrow...

... or the fog too dense...

...or because the trucks were lurking behind the next corner (can you spot the oncoming traffic?).

We wanted the jungle and we got the jungle, so much so that it is now time to slowly decend into another of Ecuador's worlds - the coastal low lands, where seafood and oxygen are abundant. 

A bowl of fresh encocado on rice and patacones. The words have not yet been invented to describe the flavor-happiness resulting from this goodness.

Vamos a la playa!

Four wheels move the body, two wheels move the soul,              and one wheel is just a wheelie wheelie good time.

Back in Quito, we had about a week to kill, so we took on day trips to neighboring volcanoes, into the jungle towards the Mindo cloud forest, and across trails of all sorts. An added plus of quick day trips is dropping all luggage at the hostel and riding light, about 50-60lbs less weight overall. 

First we tackled Guagua Pichincha, an active volcano about 1.5hrs from the city center. There wasn't exactly a clear route available on our Wikilocs, so we improvised a thing or five and at times ended up either in the middle of a construction site or open farmland (as pictured above). 

We parked the bikes at a little hut, from there it took about an hour to hike the top, in full gear, little bit of snow and cold wind at 15,500ft/4700m. The air was thin and the steps slow, but the view was absolutely worth it.

When the trails get narrow and the view unclear, riding turns into a full body workout. Between hill climbs, jumping over obstacles, and slow balancing exercises, the hands take the majority of the impact. 

And when all tips and tricks don't work anymore, the motto turns into "lift your legs, duck your head, and pull that throttle.”

A mix of clouds and earthly gases created a mysterious atmosphere, the absence of any life at the top added to the impression. The sandy ridgeline provided loose footing at best and dropped steeply into the hidden crater bowl. 

The Ecuadorian version of roadside maintenance. 

La mitad del Mundo - at latitude 0.0 the water does not swirl, gravity is at its weakest, we're furthest away from the center of the earth and closest to space due to a slight distortion of the planet. For the stargazers, this is also the place to be to see constellations from both the Northern and Southern hemisphere at the same time. 

Slowly concluding the Ecuador part of the trip, we can say we've conquered the water...

... the air... 

Paragliding one of the highest launch spots in the world at 14,000ft/4300m. The capitol of Quito below, the ever-present Cotopaxi volcano in the distance. The views right at sunrise - pure perfection.

... and the land...

Christian, my trusted mechanic at the Husqvarna center in Quito will take good care of the machine for the month during my travels back home to Denver first, then onward to Mexico for a wee bit. I eventually return to Quito on November 2nd.

For now it's time for some vacation from the vacation, recharge in order to get back to the handlebars with a refreshed mindset.

Remember, never trade the thrills of living for the security of existence! 

"O, Ecuador, my heart's green land, a tapestry of peaks and shore,

you hold my love with every hand, from Andean sun to Amazonian roar. 

I see your mountains, strong and high, a crown of condors in the sky, and feel the warmth of your embrace, reflected in the tropic's grace. 

From Andes' majesty to coast's soft sigh, my love for you will never die."