(May 31 – written by Dave) Greetings from Quito and our week of immersion Spanish.  We are not fluent in Spanish, nor are we effluent (but that’s a whole different story).  But we have actually learned a lot in the first four days of class.  Tomorrow we’ll have our last session and start getting ready … Continue reading Quito views and Spanish class

(May 26 – written by Dave) Ok, ok, no head scratching science in this post, phew. On to the surprises.  The first surprise was Friday morning when we went outside the apartment.  The streets were deserted like a Sunday morning.  We couldn’t figure it out, no people, no taxis, stores shuttered – did we miss … Continue reading Quito surprises

(May 24 – written by Dave) The other day we crossed the equator and it got me thinking back to my grade school days in the northern hemisphere.  Back in grade school we learned that the ocean and wind currents rotated clockwise north of the equator and counter-clockwise south of the equator.  In grade school … Continue reading Spinning in Quito

(May 22 – written by Dave) (Happy one year on the road!  One year ago today, we rolled out of Fairbanks, Alaska, starting this trip) In spite of staying in the same apartment as three Peterson sisters, with their countless degrees, advanced degrees, higher education certificates and frankly, much better writing skills, you are stuck … Continue reading Quito – Changing of the guard and other thoughts

(May 20 – written by Dave) So we’ve settled in Quito.  As Nancy mentioned, we are staying a nice apartment in the La Foresta neighbourhood.  We are surrounded by buildings new and old and of a huge variance of architectural styles – including a striking building called Torres del Castillo (an older castle shaped building … Continue reading Quito – the old city

(May 18 – written by Nancy) For a short mileage day today it seemed like a hard one.  But we made it into the very large city of Quito without any mishaps and are now relaxing in our very luxurious apartment, awaiting the arrival of my sisters very late this evening.  We did have few … Continue reading Into the big smoke – Hotel Las Abejas (Hwy 283) to Quito (43k/15,461k, 3500ft)

(May 17 – written by Dave) (posted on the 18th as the no-tell motel had no internet, not the sort of place people worry about email I guess) Riddle me this:  How is it possible to be spring one minute and autumn the next, without having any summer whatsoever. Answer:  Cross the equator north to … Continue reading Riddle me this – Otavalo to Hotel Las Abejas, Highway 283 (63k/15,417k, 3,500ft)

(May 16 – written by Dave) Today we had one goal (that is if you don’t count eating, sleeping in and relaxing).  We wanted to see the “famous” Otavalo market.  The market is located only 400 meters from our hostel so it was hard not to visit it.  The market is known for having lots … Continue reading Otavalo market and meeting other cyclists

(May 15 – written by Dave) Yesterday we spent most of the day in Ecuador but being so close to the border, it still felt like Colombia.  Today we got our first real taste of Ecuador, and so far we like it.  We’ve noticed a few things that are different - here’s some quick observations: … Continue reading Impressions of Ecuador –Ambugui to Otavalo (64k/15,355k, 4200ft)