Enjoy The Ride

Last Thursday I received a message from Delta that our flight to Iceland was cancelled. We knew it was unlikely we would be allowed to go, but we hung on until the last minute, hoping it would work out. It’s so disappointing. Everyone was super gracious & refunded our money for our houses, excursions, rentals…

Planning for Iceland

We’ve been talking about Iceland for months & we have finally taken the first step in actually getting there in June! Initially we thought we would take our own bikes, but after a bit of research, it seems like a better plan to rent. Yesterday, the rental company confirmed that the bikes we want to…

Day 13: Quito to KC

We woke up early to return our bikes to Freedom. The night had been rough for Rob. He may have gotten a parasite from our time in the river in the Amazon. Thankfully by morning he was ready to attempt to rally & we headed out for our last day! It was going to be…

Day 12: Amazon Rain Forest to Quito

Today is it. The final day of riding in South America. We covered 145 miles on our trek back to Quito, endured a little rain, and incorporated 2 last adventure tours before getting back to the city. Our first stop was just a few miles down the road in Puerto Misahualli. A small river village…

Day 11: Banos to Cotococha Amazon Lodge

Today was beautiful. Adventurous. Amazing. I loved everything about today. We rolled out early so we could make it to the lodge in time to do a waterfall hike. It was a pretty ride, as always. The roads were good, the weather was great & this would be our first venture into the Amazon, and…

Day 10: Banos

Day 10 of the ride was a free day in Banos.  We woke up in our super cute hotel, had breakfast on the patio with a great view of a waterfall, played with a kitten that was very interested in watching us eat, then prepared to head out to explore Banos, which is amazing!! Our…

Day 9 Cuenca to Banos

The ride from Cuenca to Banos was one of our longest days.  It was beautiful & definitely another one of my favorites.  We traveled 403 km through small towns, cities, farmland, and high mountain ranges.  Our lowest elevation was just under 6,000 feet and we climbed well over 14,000 for a perfect view of Chimborazo…

Day 8: Vilcabamba to Cuenca

Staci and I met at 8:50 to head up to the spa for our morning massages!  The resort is beautiful & the spa had excellent ratings, but we weren’t sure what to expect for $37.  It turned out that our one hour sessions were amazing!  If I had to post a tiny complaint, it would…

Day 7: Zaruma to Vilcabamba

With only 165 easy miles to ride today, we got up & headed out for what was supposed to be the best breakfast of the trip!  Sadly, it was not the best breakfast, but it was a good experience.  We ate at La Romeria where we had amazing pizza last night.  This morning we ordered…

Day 6: Guayaquil to Zaruma

Today we traveled just about 170 miles to Zaruma. We traveled through banana groves, cacao groves, and an interesting mix of mountains and flat lands. At one point there were large shade trees that remind me of ones I have seen in photos of Africa. The tree tops had a large circumference, but they were…

Day 5: Canoa to Guayaquil

Today’s ride was great!  It was warm & once again we saw a huge variety of landscapes & people on our last day along the coast of Ecuador. Near Bahia we saw quite a few of the ceibo trees.  These look like upside down trees, with thick trunks and branches that look like roots that…

Day 4: Canoa Beach Rest Day

Today was not a ride day, we enjoyed a play day on the beach!  We woke up early & headed out as the sun was coming up.  We slept with the doors open, which was awesome except for the massive amount of mosquito bites on my face & left arm…  We had to have the…

Day 3: Same to Canoa Beach Hotel

Thankfully we didn’t have to get an early start today.  We only had 140 miles of riding ahead to make it to our beach resort!  The weather here was warm & only going to continue to heat up as we headed South down the coast towards Canoa Beach.  Because we had gotten in after dark,…

Day 2: Destination Same

Day 2 was about twice as long as it needed to be.   There was an extra loop in our GPS so we took a very scenic route!  It was a good ride day though & the weather was good so I considered those bonus miles!  We left the gorgeous Hacienda near Otovalo and headed towards…

Day 1 Departing Quito and Crossing the Equator

Every day of this trip was amazing!  *except for……  We laughed many times at that statement, it seemed like every day there was at least one thing that wasn’t ideal & sometimes it was definitely lousy, but thankfully every day was full of amazing views, good health & great weather! Our first day started out…

Happy New Year!

New Years Day in Ecuador.  It was a great day!  Pablo arrived at the apartment at 9:30am with our driver Nicholas.  We planned a trip up to Cotopaxi National Park.  I have been looking forward to this day for a long time!  Quito sits at almost 10,000 feet.  When the weather is good you can…

First Full Day in Ecuador – New Years Eve!

We hopped up early after finally getting to sleep around 1:30am from our flight into Quito.  Our guide Stalin picked us up at our apartment for our half day private tour of Quito. Stalin drove a small hatchback so 3 of us snuggled into the back seat together.  The plan was to visit the historic…