Last post for a while and contact info

I just arrived in Riobamba after spending four days up in Banos. I really liked Banos- it had a great central market, plenty to do, and a great climate. Yesterday I spent a few hours playing basketball with a bunch of locals in the park. There was a bit of a warm breeze blowing and it reminded me of one of my best summers ever - my last in San Diego. I always used to play ball on some courts above the sea and for some reason last night gave me a overwhelming sense of nostalgia for those days. Then the awful heartburn I had from devouring a massive plate of chicken and rice smothered in very hot aji chili sauce brought me back to reality, and more pressing concerns, like not throwing up as I sprinted up and down the court.

Why would I do something like eat a huge meal right before playing basketball? Well, I was famished from renting a bike and riding for about 4 hours down the Routa delas Cascadas. It was really interesting starting off in the could forest and then descending into the jungle. I made it to a town called Mera, where a combination of fatigue and rain combined to convince me that it was time to catch a bus back to Banos.

Along with biking in Banos, I also did some hiking and went on a somewhat disappointing rafting trip. I had wanted to do the class four section of the river but they didin`t have enough people to do that so we went on the class three section which was kinda weak. The class threes in Panama were much better, and you didn`t have to wear a wetsuit there.

I came to Riobamba with the intention of visiting the big Saturday market they have here. Which I did, scoring a sweet alpaca sweater to keep me warm during the cold nights at altitude near Cotopaxi. I start working at Secret Garden tomorrow and wanted to be prepared as I will be pretty much isolated out there beyond bi-weekly trips to town to use the internet and pick up anything I may need. I took an instant liking to Riobamba when I saw several monster trucks rolling down the street as part of a car show and noticed a big poster advertising a rodeo in the bullfighting ring tonight. It`s a total hick town in the Andres. Gotta love that. I`m still debating going to the rodeo tonight but better make up my mind soon as it starts in half an
hour.

For the next month or so I will be posting rarely, if at all and will have only very sporadic access to email. If you want to reach me just give me a call at the Secret Garden Cotopaxi (website is http://www.secretgardencotopaxi.com/) at 593 0935 72 714. It`s free for me to receive calls there, and it`ll be good to hear some familiar voices in the sticks, so don`t be shy about calling.

And don`t worry, the place is really a lot less about ecotourism than the website suggests. I haven`t gone all hippy on you down here.

Pics from the last few days

I`m having trouble getting my text bloc to paste into blogger so I`m just posting pics for now. It`s always something...

Rafting in Banos

Apparently thieves get burnt in Ecuador
Church in Banos

Monster truck!

Dangerous road

Accosted by a monkey

Cowboys in Riobamba

Meat on a stick on the street, Riobamba

Cool old truck

Lots of pics, and yes, I am alive

Well, it`s been quite a week or so since I last posted. I`ve been above 5000 meters, found a pseudo-job, seen some really cool sights and hiked about 30 miles. It`s been a good time.

After Mindo, I headed back to Quito for a night to get my plans firmed up for Cotopaxi. I booked 4 nighs at this hostel called Secret Garden, which has a sister hostel in Quito. I got it all lined up, found a pair of pants (see below) and headed off. The place was a little pricey at $28 a night, but that included all meals and a few hikes, so I figured it was well worth it.

The hostel was in the middle of nowhere, about 20k from the Cotopaxi volcano. It is in an agricultural valley surrounded by volcanoes, and overall one of the more beautiful places I`ve ever been. The first day I got there the staff took us on a hike up a creek to a couple of waterfalls. I led the way in jumping into the glacier fed creek. They next day included a 6 hour horse ride up to the peak of Huachinago. My legs are still sore from that. The day after was Cotopaxi - took a 4x4 to about 4500 meters, hiked up to the refugio and then after a rest there made it to the glacier at 5200 meters. It would have been an easier hike but due to some localized, completely natural weather variation, the glacier has retreated up the mountain over the last 10 years or so. The day after included another hike to the top of Pachocoa. I then chilled for the next day and recovered a bit.

Secret Garden is owned by a Aussie guy and his Ecuadorian wife. It`s one of my favorite places I`ve ever stayed - they grow a ton of their own veggies on the property, have pigs, ducks, rabbits, guinea pigs, geese, chickens,and sheep for meat/eggs and get really good milk and butter and whatnot from surrounding farms. Katerine (the Ecuadorian) is a chef and we had some great food up there. Particular highlights included a few of the soups, the pizza baked in the wood-fired oven, and a rabbit pie (made by one of the volunteers that I`m replacing who also happens to be a chef). The rabbit had been freshly slaughtered that afternoon. I liked the place so much that when I found out they were looking for volunteers to take the place of a couple guys that are leaving on the 25th, I jumped at the chance. Starting Sunday I`ll be leading hikes, helping out on the farm, doing waiter duties and whatever else is needed around the place for a month in exchange for free room and board. Should be a good time and allow me to extend my trip a bit longer.

The last few days I`ve been doing a bit of town hopping. I went to Quilotoa yesterday afternoon to see the crater lake up there and hike around. After a morning hike today I took 4 different buses to a place called Banos where I am now. It`s a little touristy, but I`ve been told there are some great bike rides and hikes around here so it should be fun. There are also volcano-fed thermal baths that I`m going to check out. That`s about all for now. As a reward for making it through all that here are some pics:

Ziplining through in Mindo

Rock jumping in Mindo

Cool flower

My buddy the tree frog

Omar rounding up horses at Secret Garden

An experienced horserider

Waterfall near Cotopaxi

Lake Quilotoa

Cotopaxi on a clear day

Omar feeding Bazel a dead rabbit. Bazel eats them skin, bones a all. He especially likes to crunch the skulls.

The top of Cotopaxi

Un par de pantalones

Note: this post was from about a week ago but the computer I was on crashed before I got it up. I don`t know why I`m bothering to post it now, but I am. I wouldn`t read it, it`s not very intresting.

After having my legs get chewed to bits up in Mindo by these little biting black flies, I decided that I needed a pair of good treking pants if I was going to do as much hiking as I want to. I`m heading to the Cotopaxi area tommorow morning so set out today to find a pair.

I figured that the big mall by the stadium here in Quito would be a good place to start. I headed down there on the bus and noticed a big sign advertising Columbia gear at this one store in the mall. Excellent sign.

What I discovered after an hour of searching four different stores is that XL isn`t really a size carried here. I wasn`t able to find a single pair that actually fit. I found a pair of 36 waist pants, but they were not anywhere near long enough. With time running out, I needed a plan.

Thinking that "Gringoland" (the touristy area I stayed in for a bit) would be a better bet, I hopped on another bus in a torrential downpour. I dashed through Gringoland, and checekd in 2 shops. No luck on the right size. Finally, I found this well-stocked shop that had all sorts. I hope they serve me well around Cotopaxi.

Back From Mindo

Just got back from Mindo, a cool little mountain town a couple hours from Quito. It has some pristine cloud forest, lots of rivers and a ton to do. I did a bunch of hiking, ziplined around, floated down a river and generally had a great time. I came back to Quito today as the power had been out for two days up there, and I wanted to get back to civilization.

Next, I`m headed to the Cotopaxi Volcano to stay at this hostel in the middle nowhere. I guess there are lots of hikes, bike rides and whatnot to do in the area. I wanted to climb the volcano, but being an idiot I didn`t bring my hiking boots, just running shoes. I don`t want to shell out for another pair on top of the expensive trip to the top so I`m going to pass on hiking it and just hike around it.

I`m finally posting some pictures that I salvaged from my various camera disasters. I`ll try and get some up from Mindo, but don`t want to plug it into the sketchy computer I`m in so am going to hold off till I can burn them onto a CD.

Cool door in Quito

Plaza Grande in Quito

View from the top of Basilica Voto Nacional

Cool window

Quito from the Teleferico

Church where I got yelled at (a sign might be a good idea?)for taking pictures of the blinged out interior

Basilica Voto Nacional

Hiking the Teleferico

Thunderclouds

Lupine and paintbrush at 4200 meters

GN'R

What to do in Quito on a Thursday night when your plans to head to an idyllic little town for some nature exploration fall through? Why Guns N´ Roses at the Estadio Olympico, of course! Throw in a little Sebastian Bach, and I´m betting you have a hell of a concert. How can you go wrong with this dude: