Thursday, December 15, 2022

Ecuador 2022 - Cloudforest, Coast and Craters Tour - Day 2 - Mindo to Canoa

We woke up to the sound of the forest surrounding us and headed out in search of some excellent Ecuadorian coffee to start our day.  The staff set up a scrumptious buffet of eggs and breads that filled us up.  Adrian and Anthony, the two Canadians that had rolled in about an hour after we did last night, sat with us and we planned our day to right together down to the next lodge.  There were a couple of off bike activities planned for the day so we were packed up and ready to head out by 8:30 am.

In the parking lot with all our gear loaded

As the ride in the previous night had demonstrated the low available clearance on the bike with both of us on it, Karen insisted on walking out the 300 yards to the main road.  I can't say that I minded as I was still getting used to the bike and the different handling characteristics from my regular road bike.  The Canadians were patient and waited for us and we proceeded out to the main highway where we were to continue east towards the coast.

Our first stop was a little over 30 miles away at the Cascades Verdes park, a private park that included 2 swimming holes below waterfalls. We pulled in an paid a paltry entrance fee and bought a round of beers before hitting the trail down to the first swimming hole.  The dirt path was well maintained and included rustic steps that made the steep descent bearable.  I was just dreading the climb back out.

Karen and I claimed the first swimming hole while the guys continued on to the second which was an additional 25 minute hike. The water was cold at first but that quickly passed and we thoroughly enjoyed having the spot all to ourselves.  Hell yeah, I'm swimming under a waterfall in the middle of the jungle in Ecuador.  Who would have ever thought such a thing!!

After about an hour of enjoying our spot of paradise, we packed up and headed back up the hill.  Not long after we reached the entrance pavilion, the guys arrived from their long round trip.  They said that they had about 10 minutes at the other pool before starting their journey back.  We took our time changing back into our riding gear and proceeded back out to the highway to continue our journey east.


Next stop was lunch at a recommended resort situated on an island in the middle of the river.  This is where we would have to cross a narrow single lane suspension bridge to get to the island.  Upon arrival at the La Isla Resort, we enjoyed an incredible fresh fish lunch in the open air restaurant/kitchen. When it was time to leave, Karen volunteered to cross the bridge and video each of us as we crossed back over.


Back out on the highway the Canadians took the lead and set a rather brisk pace that we managed to stay up with for the most part.  Until, of course, we hit the town of Puerto Quito and the guys misread their GPS and turned off on the road that led through downtown.  It was obvious that they did not have much experience with GPS units where I had the advantage of using them extensively in my rallying adventures.  Karen and I took the bypass and pulled over on the other side of town to wait for them to make it through.

After a few minutes they zipped by and we pulled out to follow.  Not far down the road we encountered one of those "conveniences" of living/traveling in a Latin American country, the random police checkpoint.  The Canadians whizzed by but, of course, the officer turned and pointed us over to the side of the road.  The tour staff had prepared us for such an occurrence and I played my role as the dumb tourist as best I could.  "Sorry, no habla espanol."  I finally showed him my license and I guess the proof of my motorcycle endorsement was sufficient so he waived us on.  Nothing like being interrogated by Police in a foreign country to get your heart pumping.

The Canadians had pulled over a few miles down the road to wait for us and we all enjoyed a good laugh at our expense before continuing on our journey.  Karen had indicated that she was a bit uncomfortable with the pace so I told the guys to go ahead and we would just meet them that night at the hotel.  We saw them once at a gas station as we passed by and that was the last that we saw of them until that evening.

We finally reached the coast in the small city of Pedernalas which is the largest shrimp market in Ecuador.  Shrimp is one of Ecuador's biggest exports and the coast was lined with shrimp farms for miles and miles.  Turning south along the coast the temperature had made a noticeable drop from the upper 80's into the low 70's which made the ride much more comfortable. We were about 60 miles from our destination and the sun was slowly dropping in the sky. After a brief stop at one of the shrimp farms for a rest, we scurried along the coast road to get to our destination.  We were warned about animals on the road after dark so we made haste but we still ran across a REALLY REALLY large Brahma bull who had decided he wanted to take a leisurely stroll across the highway.  We both just sat frozen on the bike while we waited for him to mosey his way to the other side.  I was a bit tired at that point but it sure woke me up for the rest of the journey.

Path to the beach at Canoa Suites
After 9 1/2 hours of traveling and activities that day we rolled into the parking lot of the Canoa Suites located about a mile south of town.  Darkness was falling quickly as the sun sets everyday at 6:30 pm in Ecuador.  Our hostess met us in the parking lot and led us to a very large family suite right near the bikes. The room had a separate bedroom with a queen bed and two double beds in the main room.  A large bathroom with a comfortable walk-in shower was wonderful after a long day of riding.  After cleaning up a bit, we walked out to the beach.  It was amazing how flat the beach was as we had to walk nearly a 1/4 mile out just to get water up above our ankles.  For dinner we were able to catch up with Arian and Anthony and met another couple of guys who were riding on one of the tour company's other routes.  We sat around and had a few beers and enjoyed a tasty meal provided by the staff in the hotel restaurant. That night it was wonderful to drift off to sleep listening to the ocean not far away.

A quick dip in the Pacific Ocean before dinner. It was sooo flat!


Day 3 tomorrow!...Enjoy.





Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Ecuador 2022 - Cloudforest, Coast and Craters Tour - Day 1 - Quito to Mindo

Finally!!! The day had arrived for us to start our adventure.  The stress of having to pack and re-pack, do I take this? Do I leave this behind? Will they have this? etc.  It was a crazy morning at the hotel.  We took a break from our preparations and headed down to get our included breakfast. Oh man, what a good way to start the day.  Great breakfast!

Our instructions were to be at Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental at 9am.  Amazingly, we were able to gather all of our gear (helmets, jackets, etc.) and our luggage and make the short walk down the street to the tour company offices by 8:45.  


The big beautiful Suzuki Vstrom 1000 was rolled out front and we quickly attached the saddlebags and loaded a few light items into the top case.  A pair of Canadians, Anthony and Adrian, were departing on our same route that morning so we stood by while they took care of their paperwork before we sat down for the pre-ride briefing.  First the packet of daily route sheets and vouchers were distributed before Court started his briefing.  And what a briefing it was.  Super detailed as I was scratching away notes on our route sheets.  We all kind of looked at each other as Court described how all Ecuadorian 2 lane roads have an invisible 3rd lane down the middle.  Believe it or not, the traffic system, as chaotic as it may seem, works.  We wrapped up just before 11 am and we headed out to the bikes for last minute pre-adventure pictures.

The first challenge of the day was exiting Quito to the north which involved paying attention to the provided Garmin Zumo XT GPS units on each bike.  Gabriel N. led us a short way down to the large traffic circle where we had to quickly transition to the inside lane to catch the tunnel out of the Carolina section of town.  After Gabriel peeled off we followed the Canadians out through the tunnel where they promptly missed the first turn-off and ended up God knows where.  Karen and I proceed on the correct route and found ourselves breathing a little easier as traffic began to open up as we headed north.

Wrong Equator (circled)
Our first stop was the Intinan Museum where we paid our $5 each to enter.  Court, during his briefing, suggested that we ask for the 20 minute abbreviated tour and the guides were happy to oblige. Interestingly, the French had surveyed the area to lay out the Equatorial Line and build a large plaza and monument to celebrate their achievement.  Unfortunately, they got it wrong and declared the equator to be about 400 yards south of the actual equator.  








As our guide led us down to the REAL equator line, she showed us a series of 
demonstrations highlighting the oddities that occur on the equator.  For instance, ancient sundials were mounted vertically and were read on one side for half a year and the other side for the other half of the year.

Of course they had a demonstration of the Coriolis Effect that makes water swirl in different directions.  First she placed a sink directly over the equator and dropped some leaves into the water.  When she pulled the drain plug, the water didn't swirl and emptied straight out the bottom of the sink.  She picked up the sink and moved it about 5 feet to the south and repeated the experiment.  As expected, the water swirled clockwise as it drained.  The same experiment performed 5 feet north of the equator had the water draining in a counter clockwise direction.

The last demonstration had each of us attempting to balance and egg on the head of a nail that was placed on the equator.  Supposedly it is very, very difficult to do this either side of the equator but due to the balanced forces there, it makes it possible.  I wasn't able to do it but Karen was able to do it right away and received a certificate to prove it.

As our time was getting tight we continued on our tour where the guide wrapped up showing us some exhibits of early tribal life including a real human shrunken head, a practice that didn't end until early in the 20th century.


A kiss from half a world away

Leaving the museum we turned east and after a few miles we turned off the highway and began to climb up to the edge of the Pululahua Volcano Caldera.  The story is that this is the only volcanic crater in the world where people actually live inside the Caldera.  We couldn't really tell as the cloud layer that day obscured any attempt to see the crater floor.

After leaving the volcano, we continued east on a beautiful winding highway as we descended down through the Cloudforest.  Traffic was light and we really enjoyed the relaxed ride and the views.  The tour operator had recommended the Los Armadillos Cafe for a lunch break.  As we closed in on the waypoint on the GPS, a small cinder block home/cafe? appeared on the edge of the dropoff.  This is where we were to have lunch.  Capital OMG. How impressed we were.  Once inside the open air seating, we had spectacular views across the valley and were immediately surrounded by dozens and dozens of hummingbirds of all shapes, sizes and species imaginable.  And the food!! It got a second OMG!  This meal set the bar for the rest of the trip as most everyplace that we went was just as good.

Wrapping up the short ride for the day, we continued down the road for our turn-off to Mindo where our lodge was for the night. We had the option of an off-road route but we were getting tired and stayed on the highway.  Talking to the Canadians later that night proved to be the right choice as they said the gravel road was quite rough.  The El Septimo Paraiso Eco Cloudforest Lodge was short ways off the road in the middle of the Cloudforest.  It was nice to get to our room and get out of the riding gear and relax before heading down to happy hour and dinner.  We enjoyed several beers and laughed with the Canadians while enjoying an awesome pair of pizzas. I think the dinner and drinks set us back all of about $25.  We were so happy that the staff found us a fan for our room as it was a little stuffy in there.  It didn't take long for us to drift off to sleep.

Welcome to the Jungle

Oh, what a great start to this adventure.  We had an early start the next day as it would be our longest day on the bike in terms of miles.  The route sheet showed it to be 187 miles but it would be all paved.  What we would normally cover in about 3-4 hours was expected to take almost 10.

Until the next day...enjoy!

 



Wednesday, December 7, 2022

Ecuador 2022 - Cloudforest, Coast and Craters Tour - Prologue

Through the next few posts I hope to capture what I have said is indescribable in words.  One must experience in person what Karen and I have done to fully understand the entirety of these 9 days.  Words are inadequate and the pictures simply cannot do it justice.  None of this could have happened without the efforts of the first class people at Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental.  

The idea of this trip germinated about 10 years ago when I saw an advertisement in Rider Magazine for a tour company that offered on and off road tours in Ecuador.  "That would be interesting" I said to myself back then.  Then earlier this year Karen asked me what I wanted to do for my 60th birthday.  Without too much thought I said, "I want to go ride a motorcycle in Ecuador" and I set about to do the research.  The previous month some fellow Iron Butt Association friends had gone down to Ecuador and ridden the same self-guided tour that I had my eye on, the Cloudforest, Coast and Craters tour, aka the CCC.  This is advertised as a 60% paved, 40% unpaved tour with the options on most days for 100% paved routes.  The price was right and flights from Washington Dulles (IAD) to Quito, Ecuador (UIO) were reasonable and within our budget.  A special shout-out to Bob and Cheryl Woodsom and Minna Case for the inspiration and tips to make this trip a memorable one.

It's been a long year leading up to this.  Karen went on an incredible African Safari trip in April with her sister, Kathy.  I travelled out to Cheyanne, WY and participated in the 7-day LDX Motorcycle Rally.  In September I had plans to ride down to Texas to see my mother, then participate in the IBA Rideapalooza Ride Around Texas event, and finally ride back to Nashville, TN for a software conference.  Sadly, my plan to visit my mother turned into attending her memorial service as she passed shortly before I was to depart.  Oh how I wish she could see the pictures of this trip.  She would have loved it.

I spent most of October telling everyone in my company that I would NOT be available for system support during my trip.  I had underestimated the level of connectivity that I would have in Ecuador.  It turned out that almost every stop provided a good and reliable wi-fi service so I could keep up with emails and some chats.

Day -2 - Travel Day to Ecuador 

Our flight out to Quito would depart IAD at 9:42am so this called for a VERY early morning commute up I-95 and around the Beltway to arrive at the airport the prescribed 3 hours ahead of departure.  Ugh, that was an early drive.  Karen had figured out my surprise that we would be flying Business Class so we had plenty of baggage allowance to accommodate our motorcycle gear and street clothes.  I dropped her off at the departure doors and headed out to the economy lots where I was to use my pre-paid parking voucher (travel tip, do this if your airport allows).  When I got back the Copa Airlines ticketing desk was just starting to open up and we checked in our really, really heavy bags.  Since we were flying Business Class we were directed to the Turkish Airlines Club room where we enjoyed a light breakfast and some much needed coffee!

Copa Airlines is the flag carrier of Panama so we were set to connect in Panama City.  We had hoped to see the Panama Canal but, unfortunately, the airport was situated on the opposite side of the city and we were not able to catch a glimpse. Karen did, however, snap some good pictures of the HUGE ships that were sitting offshore waiting for their turn through the locks.  After landing we were able to relax a bit in the Copa Lounge in the air conditioning and grab a snack.

Our connecting flight from Panama to Quito was on one of Copa's newest planes, a 737-900, where they had new lay flat seats in Business Class.  Oh, the joy of having some decent leg room!  We both drifted off for a bit during the 2 hour flight into Quito.  Arrival in Ecuador was a non-event.  Immigration and Customs were very friendly and efficient.  When we exited the secure area after Customs, we walked into pure chaos as an enormous crowd was waiting for arrivals just outside the door.  I was approached by several unlicensed "cab" drivers but they were quickly shoo-d away by airport staff.

A word about Ecuador cab drivers, they are awesome!  Most do not speak very much English but they know how to use the translators on their phones.  The airport is a pretty good distance from our hotel but the cab fare was only $25.  It would have easily been triple that in the States.  The key to any cab ride is to settle on a fare BEFORE closing your door.  Traffic is what you would expect in a foreign country, pure chaos.  But....it worked and it worked fairly well.

We arrived about 6:30 pm at the Hotel Finlandia which is one block away from the tour company property.  The hotel was nice and clean, but like most hotels in Ecuador, there was no air handling equipment in the room so it was a bit stuffy for someone accustomed to sleeping with a fan on.

After settling in as best we could, we headed downstairs to the hotel restaurant for dinner and a welcome drink (the drink being part of our booking deal through Hotels.com).  This was the first of one of the biggest surprises of our trip, just how good the food would be all week long. 

Getting to sleep that night was a bit troublesome with the city noises going late into the night and the lack of any air movement.  Cars honking, dogs barking, and people shouting is just not something I'm used to.

Day -1 - Acclimation Day in Quito

The tour company recommended that you arrive a day early to Quito so that your body could get used to the 9,000 ft elevation.  This meant that our Friday would be spent doing some minor touring around the city.  Little did we know but that Friday was a nation holiday for the "Day of the Dead".  The tourist spots were going to be crowded.

Our breakfast was included in our hotel package so we headed down fairly early to enjoy the buffet and some really good Ecuadorian coffee.  Afterward, we caught a taxi out front and headed to the TeliferiQo Cable Car a few miles away (Taxi $3).

We arrived about 9:15 am and a good number of visitors were already at the site.  The ticketing line moved fairly quickly and we got in line for the ride up the mountain.  We started at just under 10,000 ft and the 18 minute ride dropped us off at the top at 13,000 ft.  Fortunately, the morning fog was lifting and we were greeted with sunshine up top but we still had to deal with some clouds obscuring the views.
Out of breath at this altitude

It's hard to believe how large the city of Quito when viewed from 3000 ft up.  From the cable car station we ventured up the trail a few hundred feet but at that altitude, every step was exhausting.  Of course, Karen ran across a lady resting at a table who had on an Alabama sweatshirt so Karen had to engage in some smack talk about the game a few weeks prior.

After a short time enjoying the views, we headed back down to the loading area for the trip back down the mountain.  As we descended below the cloud layer, the views opened up to show the enormity of Quito.  I even saw a giant condor sitting on a power pole near the tram line.  Magnificent!

When we reached the bottom and departed the tram, we congratulated ourselves for arriving early as the line now extended out to the parking lot.  One warning that we had heard before our trip was to only use yellow painted cabs.  Unfortunately, none we are the taxi station.  We chatted up a fellow in his broken English and my broken Spanish to use his non-yellow painted cab.  It was actually a fairly late model SUV that was clean and clearly had cab features and signage so we took a chance.  He was a joy to ride with to our next destination in the old downtown Quito area.  

We were dropped off just outside the Basilica del Voto Nacional, a giant neo-Gothic church constructed mostly from large cinder blocks.  The church charged a small fee to tour the structure but it was so worth it.  We entered in the middle of a Mass but were ensured that it was OK to walk around.

I don't have space to place enough pictures here to do the building justice.  It was beautiful.

As we made our way around the main sanctuary, we stumbled across a secondary sanctuary that was even more ornate.  It must take an incredible amount of dedication to maintain such a magnificent structure.

Our next destination was about 10 blocks away so we decided to walk instead of a taxi.  Note: Quito is a large city with a LOT of people in it. At no time did we ever feel threatened as we wondered the streets standing out as obvious tourists.  Karen's blond hair was of interest to a few kids but otherwise we felt very comfortable.

Now for the most amazing occurrence of the entire trip. Bear with me as it takes a bit of explaining.  Here we are walking down a street in a city of over 2 million people on a national holiday meaning that the streets were packed.  Karen tells me that she needs to find a bathroom.  At that moment we were walking by a sign that read Centro Comercial and it looked like it was large enough to have a public bathroom so we turned it.  It turns out that it was, indeed, a small "mall" if you could liken it to something familiar.  We walked past a beautiful beer garden and made a turn left and a turn right where we entered a moderate sized courtyard with a fountain and tables.  On the other side of the courtyard was the public restroom (banos).  I plopped at a table as Karen made her way over to get in line (15 cents to use the bathroom, 25 cents with a few squares of toilet paper).  Just as Karen is returning to me at my table, I point across the courtyard and say, "Is that..." and Karen says, "Yes, it is."  

Just as this man is about to sit in a chair I yelled, "James Owen! Are you lost?!"  I thought he was going to jump out of his skin.  Here we are, in a city of 2 million+, in a small market with a public restroom, and I run into my friend and someone that I idolize in the long-distance motorcycle community.  For those that don't know, this is the Micheal Jordon, the Peyton Manning, the Hank Aaron, ... of the long distance motorcycle rally world.  James is the only 2-time winner of the famous Iron Butt Rally and is an absolute beast on his bike.  After a few minutes, the lovely Janet Owen returned to join us for some chat and photos before their tour group was departing.  James and Janet had just arrived the day before from Peru and were on their way to the Galapagos Islands the next day.  The saying "It's a small world" just doesn't hold a candle to how incredible of a chance meeting it was.

After we parted Karen and I continued our walkabout and made our way to the Iglesia del la Compania de Jesus (Church of the Society of Jesus), an elaborately gilded baroque church where, sadly, they did not allow pictures to be taken.  I've never seen anything like it.  The ENTIRE interior was covered in gold leaf.  Truly a sight to see with your own eyes.

Photo Credit: http://www.fundacioniglesiadelacompania.org.ec/

We ended our tour with another entertaining cab ride back to our hotel where we spent most of the time using the driver's cell phone to translate our instructions.  One tip that I wish we had listened to was to purchase a readily available SIM card for our phones so that we could have a data plan to use while out and around.  It would have come in handy.

With our city tour complete, it was now time to head down the street to our tour company's office to check in and complete much of the necessary paperwork.  All was in order and the tour company gave us our 35 liter soft saddlebags that we would attempt to stuff a week's worth of gear into.  They took us outside to size up the motorcycle that we would be renting for our trip.  Karen and I hopped on and all parties sort of bought off that it would indeed carry the two of us plus our gear for the week.  More details to follow in tomorrow's story.

To complete the day, we returned up the street to our hotel and transferred our gear and clothes for the week to the saddlebags and put our other items into our suitcases for storage at the tour company the next day.  Running out of energy from the day, we decided to just eat dinner in the hotel restaurant and I'm glad we did.  The name of the establishment is Senso Cinco (Five Senses) and it hit all of them.  Karen has a risotto dish that was to die for.

Like the previous night we didn't have a real comfortable sleep with all of the city noises.  It may have been the anticipation of starting our trip the next day as well.

Thanks for staying with me through this long prologue.  Tomorrow, WE RIDE!!!