(June 23 – written by Dave) This will be a short post.  We spent all day on the bikes, arriving at San Ignacio, Peru at 5:30.  My bicycle computer registered over 8 hours of moving time. We only had 26k to ride in Ecuador this morning.  26k – simple..  It took us 5 hours.  Yes, … Continue reading A sting in the tail –Zumba Ecuador to San Ignacio Peru (76k/16,406k, +7,200ft)

(June 21 – written by Nancy) (Posted on 22/June - it failed to go out due to slow network yesterday - this blog is for yesterday) One last quiet night at the Le Rendez-Vous Guesthouse was all I got – I couldn’t convince Dave that maybe we should hang out a bit longer to get … Continue reading Sun in the Andes – Vilcabamba to Palanda (79k/16,280k, +7200ft)

(June 22 – written by Dave) Today’s theme was dirt.  We knew that the road between Palanda and the border had some washouts and associated dirt sections. But the truth be told, the road was just dirt.  Sure there were heaps of washouts but mostly the last 35k, the road was simply dirt.  If not … Continue reading Andes dirt –Palanda to Zumba (50k/16,330k, +4300ft)

(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