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.
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