Ecuador.....

We entered Ecuador from Ipiales in Colombia on the 6th August 2018. The scene at the border at this time was sad, very sad, packed with refugees fleeing from Venezuela, men, women and children ….. whole families displaced by the events taking place in their own country. We had wanted to visit Venezuela originally and had been following the news there since we entered Canada in 2017. Unfortunately the situation had deteriorated further and by the time we had reached Colombia we discovered that the border between the two countries had been closed for some time with little chance of re-opening for travellers like us. We had mixed feelings at the border,despair that we couldn't help these people ourselves but pleased that the other neighbouring countries were doing their best to assist these people. You can read a full account of our border crossing here at;

https://jyloldham.wixsite.com/jilloldham/where-to-next-tour-2017-2019

On a good note we met Richa and his friend from Colombia which helped to pass the time. Richa has his own Sport/Motorcycle clothing company Moda Jersey. Great guys 😀

Once away from the border we headed for our first overnight stopover in Ibarra about 85 miles away. What a gorgeous place it turned out to be. A family run restaurant with rooms right in front of a lake, Laguna de Yahuarcocha to be precise...Casa Mateus. Nice food, lovely staff, great view....oh and humming birds. We were treated to a beautiful sunset whilst eating our tea...perfect. No alarms to set tomorrow, we're only riding to Quito, only 70 miles.

On our arrival into Quito we discovered that Chris's bike had developed a fuel problem. We found out the hard way when it ran out of fuel going up one of Quito's steep hills....eek....well actually it's not run out, it's just not functioning when the fuel drops below a certain level......and so a little saga develops......firstly a friendly man helps push Chris to the top of the hill and tries to find the apartment we've rented for us......we're very close, in fact it's only round a few corners.....easy to say.....but not when you have Quito's infamous steep streets thrown into the mix. We got a little closed and the bike conked out again so we parked up and considered our options. In the end it was decided that I'd wait with the bikes whilst Chris went off in a taxi to the nearest petrol station to get some more fuel.....we had no idea where the nearest one was at this point but after checking maps on the phone thought it wasn't walking distance......so off Chris goes. Meanwhile I hang round the bikes attempting to look inconspicuous.....a little difficult with two HD's with a load of stickers on them.....peeps were interested and wanted to chat. Anyway I saw a taxi pull up and thought Chris was back....nope....but a young man came up to me and started chatting, checking if I was ok and what the problem was. I explained and told him that Chris had gone for more fuel.....'No....you need gas??!! he exclaimed....I can do this for you, my friends will come....'.....Turns out that 'David' was from Moto Ayuda International Ecuador. A group of motorcyclists that helped other motorcyclists who found themselves stranded. Sure enough about half an hour later and just as Chris really did return, two guys in their bikes had arrived to syphon petrol out of their own tanks into Chris's......amazing, fantastic, these guys were so cool Muchas Gracias 😀❤

Finally we arrived at the apartment and got settled in after meeting our host Xavier. The bikes were tucked up and safe in a car park a street away but with superb security...so good we had to show our passports to get out. Tomorrow we were tasked with getting the bikes to HD Quito for some tyres and to check the fuel issue on the Softail.

Task achieved, it was now time to explore Quito. Steep streets, old buildings, lots of churches and squares to sit round drinking coffee in. We even went on the roof of Iglesia de la Compañía de Jesús, a church with an amazing amount of gold leafed architecture inside. Later that week whilst I was on admin duty, Chris also managed to climb inside the tower of the Basilica. During our rambles round exploring we also discovered that we had arrived on the same week as 'Fiesta de la Luz'.... a light festival dedicated to Quito's heritage and artistic innovation. At night the city was heaving with people attending this festival, which was worth seeing by the way. Unfortunately during our visit my video camera was stolen, whisked away into the crowd … 'Gone in 60 seconds' as the film...…..so bloody annoying. After I'd shouted at the crowd...ha,ha...as if that'd help.....we reported it to the tourist police who took us to the local station. They were very good and with the aid of a little 'Google translate' we completed their forms and report for the insurance company. Feeling 'bitter' for a short time, we reminded ourselves that having a camera stolen could happen in any crowded space in any city in the world and continued our exploring.

On our last day in Quito we returned to the HD dealer and collected our bikes, a bill that almost made us fall over.....shocking, over a month's budget....just don't ask.....due to Ecuador's high import taxes, parts from the US are a fortune!!!!

Having picked ourselves up, we rode just out of town to a little B & B called 'The Bridge to Ecuador' in Pomasqui. We'd picked here because it was just down the road from two equatorial points to visit, the first being the original monument, Ciudad Mitad del Mundo, the location being measured in 1736. Over the years this has been remeasured and different locations marked as the exact point of the equator. Apparently the first one is off by 240 metres. Still a close measurement from the old days without the use of sophisticated measuring tools/gps equipment. The second one was the Museo Intinan,not far from the original monument and closer to 'Where X marks the spot'....the sought after '00'00'00" on the gps units. Both places are quite touristy but I reckon they're still worth a visit.Of course there's other places and I often wonder in years to come if even more advanced technology will mean 00'00'00" has to be moved again!!

Back on the road, we head West through Ecuador towards Puerto Lopez, a small fishing village where we were going to take a boat trip to hopefully see whales and other wildlife.

We booked into a bamboo styed hotel, 'The Victor Hugo'.....what a fab place, comfy, good food and we also booked our boat trip at the front desk.....easy peasy. Originally we'd wanted to try to visit The Galapagos Islands from Ecuador but our budget was trashed here by HD Quito being soooooo expensive. Not to worry, we took the next best thing or 'Poor Man's Galapagos' as it's called. A boat trip to Isla de La Plata which forms part of the Machalilla National Park. The guide from 'Luz de Luna' called round for us the next morning and we walked with him to the boat which was docked in the harbour a short walk from the hotel. And so the adventure began.....what would we see....if anything.....as many of you reading will know.....Mother Nature doesn't always come out to play......well today it did.....just watch...…!!!!!!

Fantastic day out, highly recommended.

Puerto Lopez is certainly worth visiting. It's mainly a fishing village but for those of you into whale watching and nature lovers it really is a must. The Humpback Whales migrate along the Pacific coast of Ecuador and kind of 'stop off' around the Puerto Lopez/Isla de La Plata area to mate between June and September. There's a small choice of hotels and hostels to stay in and there's also hiking trails in the Machalilla National Park on the mainland for you to explore very close to the town. If you like to see what the locals get up to besides tourism, take a walk down the beach in the morning or evening to catch the fishermen.

The short visit to Puerto Lopez ended and we packed up and headed out on the road again. This time we heading back inland to Riobamba to visit the World's highest volcano/mountain!!!.....I kid you not.….higher than Everest measured from the Earth's crust, Chimborazo is pretty awesome.....seriously!!!!

The ride there, to Riobamba was brillzy, a beautiful sunny day to, ha,ha….'trundle' across Ecuador. We thought we'd got lost at one point, bloomin sat nav, it's a joke....the roads were deteriorating but help was at hand. We'd paused to start using Maps.me, an offline mapping system to check our route when one of the locals pulled up. He was really chatty and wanted to know all about us and his sister lived in Switzerland, and, and...….finally got round to 'where are you heading?'. We told him and he told us to follow him and he'd put us back on the right route.....and he did.....saw us safely onto the right road, tooted, waved and drove off......whoever you were.....thank you 😊 The ride continued, fantastic scenery. Eventually Chimborazo loomed up ahead. We had to ride past it to get to our lodgings in Riobamba. As we approached the weather changed.....still beautifully sunny but cold here and really windy.....heated grips on....really!!!??? Despite the weather we awed at the sight of the dormant volcano and ooooed at the sight of Vicunas (part of the camel family) grazing feely, protected in this area and part of the Chimborazo Wildlife Production Reserve.

Finally we arrived in Riobamba, checked in and jumped in a taxi into town to the offices of 'Probici'…..we're going to mountain bike down Chimborazo!! At the offices Galo Brito sorted us out with our bikes, gloves, helmets and given a thorough run down of what to expect . We also met Maria and Ju who were to be our companions for the trip. Next morning Carlos picked us all up in a 4 x 4 and we were off......drive, walk, ride.....cracking day 😊💕

Next up....Banos…..we rode to here and planned to stop for several days.There were quite a few things to see and do in this area and Banos is known as the 'Gateway' to The Amazon, being the last city in this part of Ecuador before you reach the jungle and Amazon Basin.

Our digs, slightly unusual, at Posada J.....a room on the roof...yep...a room on the roof of a hostel with a little waterfall at the back and views of the small city. It was peaceful up there as well with only the odd person popping up to look at the view before scuttling off back down the stairs.

Time to be tourists and a taste of the Amazon. We booked a day trip with Imagine Ecuador which included a visit to an animal rescue centre where the authorities had 'rescued/reclaimed' animals that people had tried to smuggle or sell, a waterfall walk and swim, eating grubs....ha,ha if you dare and a visit to a little finca where they made chocolate....oh yes and a ride in a wooden dug out canoe.....sound good??…..it was and our guide Carlos Enrique Garzón Casco was brilliant...what a day.....literally from almost dawn and certainly until it went dark, I can't even remember what time we got back but it's certainly a day that will be remembered for a long time 😊💕

So....the grubs.....'Suri' or 'Palm' grubs to be precise.....no I didn't eat any, neither did Chris....he had termites later.....😮😜😂

Sorry....ha,ha…..not sorry.....lots of visuals in this blog....so want to share our amazing experiences with you all. So following on from those vids, here's more...…..the visit to an Cotococha people's village was fun watching dancing, chatting to the locals and where we had our faces painted. I even had a go with a blowpipe that they used to use for hunting....apparently I'm a good shot.....but being veggie I won't be utilising my skills 😜😂

Leaving the village we took a canoe ride with the lovely Kevin, down the River Puyo which links to the Pastaza and then the mighty Amazon......Look out for a great view of the active Sangay volcano...the eruption from 1934 still ongoing.

And finally to end the day Carlos took us to a cacoa finca where we 'had a go' at getting involved with shelling the cocoa beans, roasting them and turning them into chocolate, yummy. I enjoyed the drinking chocolate but to eat it in it's purest form was a little bitter for me but if you're a fan of dark chocolate you'll enjoy it.

And then it was time for Carlos to drive us home.....massive yawn zzzzzzz.

But there's more....oh yes......no visit to Banos should be complete without a visit to 'The Swing at the Edge of The World'...….Casa del Arbol......come on it's only about a dollar or two to get in...….and then you really should visit Pailon del Diablo......one of the most amazing waterfalls I've ever seen...…….

The Swing

Paillon Del Diablo

Nearly finished with the vids...one more. We'd seen little carts/trollies going across rivers and ravines in Colombia moving people and goods, even animals about......finally we got to have a go in one....'a tarabita ride'.....

So that was Banos and surrounding area, you can tell how much fun we had there but now it's time to go again. This time we're heading for Cuenca, still in Ecuador but taking the long way round on the Troncal Amazonica (E45 ) and then cutting across. Not long after leaving Banos we rode through the village of Shell. Carlos our guide from the 'Imagine Ecuador' day out had told us about here as we'd passed through it prior but in the 4 x 4. The village of Shell only exists because the oil company 'Shell' set it up as a base for operations in 1937. The company spent ten years prospecting for oil in the area but was unsuccessful and met with many Indian protests. It was abandoned in 1948. After that the Missions came, more people died and the town was used as a rescue/recovery base. However the town eventually flourished if you can say that and the airstrip that was originally built there is now owned by the military. It's called The Rio Amazonas Airport (PTZ) and still serves the region. Apparently the 'Missions' still use it as well.

Once again Ecuador did not disappoint, beautiful scenery and oh my gosh....an epic dog chase 😂😂

What a fab day's riding. We obviously didn't ride to Cuenca in one day but pulled over into a hotel/motel place with a public swimming pool that I'd asked the hostel owner in Banos to ring and reserve for us. It didn't have a website just a telephone number. We completed the ride to Cuenca the next day and stayed for a couple of nights. We found Cuenca was a fairly quiet city having previously visited Quito. It had a pleasant square and church in the old bit, the rest was modern. W