October 11, 2016
While Andrew and I enjoyed our house sit in Vilcabamba, our Austrian friends Nici and Philip enjoyed Ecuador. They timed their arrival in Vilcabamba so we could ride together again – yippee!
Cycling Stats
October 11, 2016
Start Point: Vilcabamba, Loja, Ecuador
End Point: Yangana, Loja, Ecuador
21.1 km distance, 2:41 time on bikes, 47.4 km/h maximum speed, 7.8 km/h average speed
Accommodations & Route Information
October 11, 2016
The first climb out of Vilcabamba took us one hour. You end up climbing to an altitude of 2000 meters. You then immediately descent to about 1600 meters and then return back up to 1985 meters and then you have a slight drop into the town of Yangana. There is a good shoulder and the quality of the road is good and there is light traffic. The town of Yangana is about 1500 people. We slept under cover near the football pitch and church. There is a toilet there with sinks and running water. There are stores to buy food in Yangana.
What happened…
Amanda writes: We were so happy to be back on the bikes again and especially pleased that Nici and Philip decided to ride with us. In some ways this cycling lifestyle is more enjoyable with more people. Our first day after the key exchange with the home owners we headed down into town to the hotel Nici and Philip were staying at.
A little sad to be leaving these 3 amazing dogs.
Andrew hanging freshly cut bananas for the homeowners before we leave.
We had considered staying in town another day trying to figure out what is happening with a package of bike parts we had sent to Ecuador. The four of us decided to not hold hope on it’s arrival and hopped on our bikes for the next town.
So great to be back on the road with our friends Nici & Philip.
It was a much later start than we’re accustomed to but it was good to spin the wheels. We enjoyed some wonderful views of the home that we took care of on our way out of town and recalled how lucky we really were to be there.
A look back at the beautiful home we enjoyed.
People are said to live longer here. After visiting for two months I believe it!
We all decided to pull the plug the first day in a town called Yangana. We shared a four pack of beer and it was just great to be back in the saddle. We set up our camp beside the local soccer field as the towns people said that was best as there was no hotel.
Some new local farm animals.
Andrew explaining to these curious boys how the stove works.
Interesting town information. We’ve only traveled 4 degrees since the equator.
Wow – what a shock of return to the regular latin america sounds. For the past two months Andrew and I had enjoyed peace and quiet and soundless nights aside from some wind. We were blasted back into reality with loud music until 3am, a late soccer game that started at 8pm and some kids throwing rocks at our tent. While I know they are just kids I was in no mood for it and climbed out of the tent and confronted them and gave them shit. They giggled and then after I gave them ‘the look’, you know the one only older women (usually Mom’s) have mastered they ran off. On my way back to my tent I noticed that the soccer game had screeched to a halt and all the men were staring at me and whistling. I realized that in my angry haste of chasing kids I was wearing my hot pink yoga pants and a tight blue tank top without a bra. As I climbed back into the tent and the soccer game resumed, Andrew just commented “so I guess I’ll go out next time ha?”.
Still enjoying Latin American churches.
Andrew Doesn’t Write: We have received a couple of messages about Andrew no longer contributing to our blog. Thanks to everyone who noticed and took the time to comment. I can’t say why Andrew no longer blogs nor can I say when he will blog again. Perhaps in the coming days he’ll add something to let us know. In the meantime you may notice a slightly new format and different outline of the pictures as I struggle to continue sharing our photos without the software Andrew uses on his computer. I hope that we will still be able to share our lovely photos. In the meantime thanks to everyone for the comments and I’ll keep blogging as I enjoy sharing our journey.