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…
Tag: Ecuador
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…
Arriving in Quito
Day 1 of travel went relatively well. We had a slight delay out of KC but we easily made our connection in Atlanta. We left KC about 1:20pm. Our flight from Atlanta left about 6pm and landed around 11pm. That was not the most pleasant flight. The plane was a small 737 so it was…
Ecuador Itinerary
Planning for Ecuador was easier than Alaska for sure, but also more challenging due to conflicting information online & lack of information. The bike rental was easy from Ecuador Freedom Bike Rental. They will provide us with a bike, GPS, hotel arrangements each night & a couple of activities along the way. They will also…
Venturing into the Southern Hemisphere
Our next trip is scheduled. Like every other trip before this, we are super excited & thankful for the opportunity to continue exploring the world together! We’ll spend 16 days in Ecuador with our friends Rob & Staci. We’ll travel about 1,600 miles through the country. This will be one of our shorter rides, but…
