(June 20 – written by Dave) Riding into Vilcabamba yesterday we saw number of signs featuring photos of older folks, along with nice sayings about how Vilcabamba was the place to be if you wanted to live longer. The longevity story all started back in January 1973, when Dr. Alexander Leaf of Harvard Medical School … Continue reading Vilcabamba – Believe it or not…

(June 19 – written by Dave) No rain today.  Sun.  What a fun day! What a difference a day makes.  We had some high clouds in the morning but by 10AM we were in full sun.  We were both a little overdressed but because we are so used to not having sun, we hadn’t put … Continue reading Fun in the sun! –Loja to Vilcabamba (43k/16,201k, +2,300ft)

(June 18 – written by Dave) We were not excited about riding today – more rain and high mountains were in the forecast.  We could have stayed in bed and may well have if it weren’t for “the bike packers”.  They knocked on our door last night full of vigour and told us that they … Continue reading Rain day number 3 – Saraguro to Loja (72k/16,158k, +4,500ft)

(June 17 – written by Dave) Today we had company riding – Mark, Hana and Richard normally seek out the dirt roads but today there was no obvious dirt option and they rode the PanAmerica Highway with us.  Or I should say, they were kind enough to ride at our pace.  Mark and I are … Continue reading 5 or 9 Musketeers – Oña Junction to Saraguro (39k/16,086k, +3,600ft)

(June 16 – written by Dave) Today was a long day.  Make that a long double day.  We rode two planned days in one.  We are not crazy, we were just wet and cold at the planned stop and we would have had to set up the tent in the wind and rain.  Nancy suggested … Continue reading Long day –Cuenca to Oña Junction (108k/16,047k, +6000ft)

(June 14 – written by Dave) We are enjoying our time in Cuenca.  It feels like the last big city we’ll see for a while – sort of like jumping off the end of the earth as we move to the more remote south of Ecuador and Peru.  I’m sure that we’ll find peanut butter … Continue reading Cuenca city wandering

(June 12 – written by Nancy) (posted June 13) We made it to Cuenca yesterday after another good ride through the mountains.  We didn’t get around to doing the blog yesterday as we ended up having too much fun chatting with a group of long distance cyclists at a local pub. Actually, the last two … Continue reading Touring cyclists abound! – El Tambo to Cuenca (77k/15,939k, +3600ft)

(June 11 – written by Dave) Today we visited the largest known Inca ruins in Ecuador – Ingapirca.  It is not strictly an Inca ruin as the Cañar people lived in the area before the Inca arrived.  Over time the Inca outnumbered the Cañar but they never really conquered them.  Instead the two groups decided … Continue reading Ingapirca ruins

(June 10 – written by Nancy) Another big climbing day completed under relatively sunny skies – yahoo!  The hotel last night wasn’t one of our better ones – it was a bit noisy, mostly I think from the staff talking at the reception area which was just around the corner from our room.  And, the … Continue reading Up into the fog – Chunchi to El Tambo (61k/15,862k, +5249ft)

(June 9 – written by Nancy) Well, the weather gods smiled on us today – no rain and mostly blue sky and sun, which meant we could clearly see all of the amazing landscape around us as we made our way to Chunchi from Guamote.  We got up a bit earlier this morning to give … Continue reading Andes views – Guamote to Chunchi (79k/15,801k, +4265ft)