day 154 - km 11291

hacienda chochiyacu - 31km before zumba
69.45km 1440 alti meter
the hacienda was not only for farming, it also had a professional cock-fight arena built in!? the garvel road is under construction, which was a bigger problem for one of the bad bus drivers as he got stuck in the mud. amazing mountain views.

day 153 - km 11221

loja - hacienda chochtyacou
73.61km 1768 alti meter
rolling out of town... it seems like the day for cutting up some pork, as in almost every house/village i pass you can see a pork half hanging. villcabamba is a nice little tourist town, so i continue riding
volleyball is played in every little village, although with little technical differences to the european version.

day 152 - day off

loja - day off
walking around town, checking the market...

day 151 - day off

loja - day off
cleaning and oiling the bike after the last rainy days, updating the blog....
(trying to eat something else then rice, beans and eggs)

day 150 - km 11142

sonadores (zamora)- loja
55.52km 1917 alti meter
long cold/wet climb from 1100 meters to 2800 meters and then down to loja (2100 meters).
nice scenery with lots of waterfalls.

day 149 - km 11087

rio chuchumbleza - sonadores (zamora)
104.42km 1414 alti meter
along the river zamora on rolling hills from the jungle to the mountains.
(nice to roll on paved roads again!)

day 148 - km 10982

santa marianita - rio chuchumbleza
54.69km 813 alti meter
another half day of rough roads after a rainy night.
finaly reaching the paved road again! (but it's hot and humid down here)
found a nice camp at the river.

day 147 - km 10928

san luis - santa marianita
57.66km 1340 alti meter
up to 1650 meters, down to 900 meters, up to 1700 meters..... and all that on gravel / sand / dirt roads. we didn´t get breakfast at one of this little mountain village-restaurants, but we got some aloevera for the sunburn. some of this villages seem to sleep and wait with evolution for the paved road to be build. (the wooden stick on my bike is my new anti-crazy-dogs-protection-system)

day 146 - km 10870

bella union - san luis
48.16km 1448 alti meter
who said that the jungle route will be flat!?!?!?!
alot climbing and 30km off gravel / sand / dirt rouds.
to our surprise there was a cock-fight happening at the place we camped.
(not really my kind of entertainment!)

day 145 - km 10822

los angeles - bella union
105.76km 869 alti meter
more jungle views and more rain...

day 144 - km 10716

vera cruz - los angeles
88.11km 1068 alti meter
nice multicolored butterflies, jungle rivers and alot rain.
... and the rough roads started...
(alex having a shower behind the school)

day 143 - km 10628

banos - vera cruz
68.76km 543 alti meter
after a bath in the volcano heated pools off to the jungle...
leaving the touristy places, riding through the first tunnel on the tour, seeing amazing waterfalls. the parking at the restaurant was for free for bikes!? ;-)
after a soaking wet half riding day, playing some soccer under shelter with emanuel.

day 142 - km 10559

machachi - banos
128km 1008 alti meter
up to 3500 meters and then down to 1800 meters in one day (it never felt like a long downhill, just rolling hills mostly)
making up my mind and heading for the jungle-route...

day 141 - km 10431

tumbaco - machachi
65km 1350 alti meter
the volcanoes are covered in clouds and there is quite some traffic on the panam,
so i am thinking about another route...

day 140 - km 10367

quito - tumbaco
18,40km 174 alti meter
back on the road again... at least a little....
dropping from 2800 meters to 2300 meter above sealeavel.
meeting santiago at his house again. great host! great cook! great bike mechanic!
if someone is planing to bike to or around quito, this is the place to stop by for informations... (like there are better ways in / out of quito then the panam. unless you really like the constant black smoke in your face from all the busses and trucks)
((i have the contact details and the directions))

day 139 - day off

quito - day off
happy birthday igel!
finaly doing some sightseeing in the historic old town, with great views from the belltower of the basilica. watching the soccer game with ivette (ecuador-peru 2:1)
nice evening with igel, paola, rambo, ivette, kelly, dave and lucky. after that checking on alexanders packing and saying goodby to pia. safe travels!

day 138 - day off

quito - day off
putting on the new tires and mounting the new rack. meeting paola, igel, rambo, alexander, santiago and his family. santiago invited us all to this house in tumbaco where we had traditional food and a great chat. THANX!!!

day 137 - day off

.... waiting for UPS .....

quito - day off

day 136 - day off

quito - day off
28,19km 231 alti meter
thought about sightseeing, but tried to get some other stuff done.
extend my 10day visa, get a map for ecuador, see if i can get my package out of the customs...)

day 135 - day off

quito - day off
updating the blog and recharging the "batteries" with good company and good food.

day 134 - km 10314

toll checkpoint 15km before quito - quito
23.89km 477 alti meter
last climb to quito, checking in at the hostel zentrum and doing some maintainance.
(washing cloth, trying to get my spareparts which are stuck at the customs....)
meeting pia and having a great chat in dialect! meeting ivette and some friends of her in the evening. nice dinner, great company!

day 133 - km 10290

lago yahuaracocha / ibarra - toll checkpoint 15km before quito
111km 1800 alti meter
i had a great camp at the lake with great view and even a dinner for free!?
now about 100km away from quito... not sure if i`ll get there today or tomorrow morning. i decided to camp half way up the hill to quito, as i didn´t want to get into town close to sunset or later.

day 132 - km 10179

tulcan - lago yahuaracocha / ibarra
125.15km 1712 alti meter
i like riding on sundays.mostly less traffic and i meet interesting people along the way. like other travelers (www.reiserex.blogspot.com) and today alot roadcyclists (as there was a race around bolivar).