Author Archives: Daisy

Welcome to Colombia!

We crossed the equator – 0.0 degrees!

We actually found a flat spot! — And there are more to come.

What?! Another new country already!? It’s true, we are already out of Ecuador and into Colombia. So far it has been HOT, almost savannah-esque, and full of motorcycles. We have both had nearly catastrophic mechanical failures (more on that later), and we are currently taking a second, unexpected rest day while our bikes get patched up. Now, a little bit about our exit from Ecuador, and then more on our first days in Colombia. We’ve got more details on our end of trip plans queued up at the end of the post too.

No traffic on the PanAmerican Highway

First, leaving Quito. We had been dreading our exit from the big city, but we were hit with an incredible stroke of luck: a national holiday. There was almost zero traffic as we made our way out of this metropolis! It was fantastic. That day we conquered still more Andean climbs and reached the market town of Otavalo.

Our cyclist friend Jorge (who we met first in La Paz and later in Cusco) has been in Otavalo for two weeks recovering from an injury, so we were excited to meet up with him again. We also decided to take a rest day here, and to spend it doing absolutely nothing. It was glorious! We only left the hostel to visit the market and buy stamps. It was an exercise in supreme rest.

Rawrrr!

The first almost catastrophic mechanical occurred after leaving Otavalo. Everything was going great – we got out of town (and met Godzilla en route), and had a huge descent into a hot valley. About 30 miles into the day’s ride I felt that my rear brake was catching on something. I couldn’t find anything stuck on my wheel, so we rode to the next gas station and stopped for lunch. After lunch I could feel that something was wrong with my wheel. As I rode a little irregularity was noticeable all the way up through my seat. We stopped again, and saw the source: a crack in the rim of the wheel.

The cracked rim

This was really bad news. A cracked rim can very quickly become a broken rim, causing the tire to fly off the wheel and the rider (me) to crash. We were very far from the nearest bicycle shop, and completely unable to fix the rim on our own. I suppose we should have seen this coming (rims get worn out from braking, and we’ve been braking a LOT on these mountains), but we really wanted everything to just hold out until the trip was over. We had to make the hard decision to get a ride. It was our first ride since Patagonia, more than 6,000 miles ago.

Daisy is sad we had to get a ride

Luckily, we were about 100 meters from a toll booth where all the speeding traffic has to slow down and stop to pay. We got permission from the workers there to approach each pickup truck as it passed, and soon we were crammed into the back seat with two other folks, en route to the Ecuador-Colombian border 60 miles distant. Colombians are much more avid cyclists than Ecuadorians, so we expected to find better (and cheaper!) shops on their side of the border.

Our border crossing was straight-forward, except we felt a bit rushed by the visibly expanding crack in my rim. The border agent required that we leave the bikes outside with the sketchy money changers. I explained to one of them about my cracked rim and he explained (mansplained, if you know that term) that it happened because I needed to change my brake pads. Thanks buddy – only done that about 5 times in the last year!

Our last country of the trip: Colombia

We rode the few miles to downtown Ipiales in Colombia and quickly found a row of bicycle shops. The fourth one we entered had the parts and the mechanic to make the repair, and it was with a great sigh of relief that we left the bike in their care for the afternoon. We got a nice hotel, went out for a massive pizza dinner, and celebrated our arrival to Colombia.

View of Ipiales from our hotel roof

From Ipiales to Popayan we had planned for four days of riding. We ended up doing it in only three, since the small towns we passed through were somewhat unappealing and shockingly hot. That’s not to say the riding was bad, as it was actually very beautiful as we descended out of the mountains and all the way down to 2,000′ (600 meters) elevation. Once at the bottom, though, it was hot and humid all day and all night. The heat forced us to be on the road at dawn to avoid the worst of it.

The last palm at the hotel we stayed at: “Dos Palmas”

We were also surprised to find that almost everyone living in this area is of African descent. Folks were friendly when we talked to them, but seemed very hesitant to engage. They also looked at us like we were absolutely crazy. We later learned that almost no tourists come through here because the US state department has some pretty strong travel warnings out about this area. We were fine though, and even got lots of smiles and waves after we shouted out ‘Buenos dias!’ to everyone we passed.

This truck was loaded

Some guy named Jesus is running for office around here. Lots of publicity!

Many buggies as we left Popayan.

We reached the city of Popayan a day ahead of schedule and had a lovely rest day eating food and resting (again). This morning we left town excited to be heading to the coffee zone of Colombia, but we were thwarted about 6 miles down the road. Jason started to feel that same catching sensation from his rear wheel. Yup – another rim cracked! We knew what to do this time. We turned right back around, returned to town, and found a bike shop. This time we are leaving the bikes there overnight to get ALL the rims replaced. We don’t want this to happen again! It is a bit of a treat though, to take an extra rest day.

Jason’s cracked rim.

We are in the fancy room at a nice hostel, and have a whole sitting area on the third floor to ourselves. What luxury!

View from our sitting area.

So finally, more on our somewhat big news (that many of you may already know): Colombia will be our last country. It is with great excitement and sadness that we near the end of this adventure that seems (to us) to have lasted most of forever. We both will be starting work in State College in October, and we have decided to skip over Central America. Instead, we will fly to Spain to spend a couple weeks with my Spanish family. All the cyclists we’ve met on the road have said that they didn’t much enjoy their time in Central America, at least not compared to South America. It was also very expensive and difficult to get from Colombia to Panama, and much cheaper to go back to the US. We found that to be unbelievable. Going to Spain before starting work will be a great transition, and a good chance for us to really wrap our heads around staying in one place for more than a couple nights.

We have already secured housing in State College (visitor’s welcome!), and of course there are also some pretty cute little service dog puppies that need puppy raisers!

Welcome to Ecuador!

One week ago we entered our eighth country: Ecuador. It then proceeded to pour rain for the next week. Charmed as we were by the lush jungle, new architecture, and very nicely painted churches, it has been a tough week. We are now resting in the colonial city of Cuenca in the Ecuadorian Andes, where it has finally (!) stopped raining for a bit.

Waiting at immigration…

Leaving Peru was a bit of an adventure. The road is paved all the way to the border, where there is a very quiet immigration building and a lovely ‘peace bridge’. As we rode towards the border a man on a motorbike yelled at us ‘Gringos! Wait for me! Wait for me there!’. We were a bit confused, but carried on to the border. When we arrived the immigration building was empty. Humph. We figured that the yelling motorbike guy must be the border agent, who had left his post to head to town. A half hour later, he returned and proved us right. The rest of the border formalities (on both sides) were very easy. Apparently almost no tourists pass through here, so everyone was very friendly and mellow. The only downside was the lack of ‘Welcome to Ecuador’ signs!

First view of Ecuador, across the river.

As soon as we crossed the border the road became dirt and the grades became severe. We think the grade neared 20% on some stretches right after the border, but for the most part it hovered around 12%. This means we were in our lowest gears, and still barely able to keep moving. The road climbed and dipped and climbed again quickly on the steep hills. In only 14 miles we climbed AND descended over 4,000′ on dirt roads, and of course it was raining by the end of it.

The church in a teeny town.

We noticed right away when we entered Ecuador that the living standard was higher. The houses were constructed differently, and most had very nice covered balconies and porches. The churches were all nicely painted in bright colors. We stopped seeing three-wheeled motorcycle taxis and started to see yellow pick-up truck taxis and the classic bus transportation: the Rancheras. We spent that first night in a nice hotel in the lively city of Zumba. Everyone was very friendly to us and called out ‘Good morning!’ to us all evening. Oh, and did I mention that Ecuador uses the US dollar? It is truly bizarre to us to pay for things using five dollar bills and one dollar coins. They LOVE one dollar coins here; there are designs I have never even seen back in the States!

Plaza in another tiny town.

Classic ‘ranchera’ style transportation.

The next day we woke up to pouring rain. We debated just staying in Zumba for another day, but in the end we decided to make a go of it. This ‘do we ride or not’ discussion would be repeated each day for the next 5 days! On this day, though, we sometimes REALLY regretted not resting! You see, the heavy rain had caused even more mudslides and landslides than usual on the lightly trafficked dirt road. We had to drag ourselves and our bicycles through thick mud that sometimes went higher than our ankles. By the end of the day we were filthy and exhausted. Our bicycles were ok, since we had spent time in mud puddles to wash them off, but our brake pads were wearing at an alarming rate. We stayed in a small, simple hostel in a tiny town. At first it was obviously a quiet place, but then the whole hostel was suddenly packed. We learned that the road was closed due to a massive mudslide 10 km up the next climb. Oh goodness…

There were a few clear moments though!

The road became pavement (mostly), and we made our way past the mudslide the next day. The wind and rain just kept coming, however. At the top of every pass visibility was minimal, the temperature hovered around 40, and the rain blew sideways. Every day we arrived in the next town soaked and exhausted. We took a rest day in the town of Vilcabamba, AKA Gringolandia. This little valley made headlines for having the perfect climate for longevity, so a whole herd of ex-pats and hippies moved there. We found the place a bit bizarre, but were thrilled at the availability of peanut butter.

Welcome to Gringolandia – where they will do your US taxes for you even though you live in Ecuador.

At least there are coconuts!

Definitely an American ex-pat’s mansion.

After leaving Vilcabamba we were out of the truly lush jungle area, but the rain continued. We spent an afternoon in the lovely city of Loja. It had a fantastic feel to it, and we loved the mix of modern (cell phone shops, fast food stands, cupcake stores, etc) and historical. There is a good university here, so the students made the place feel alive.

Jason pretends to be thrilled with the weather.

After Loja it was three more days of rainy up and downs. We realize that we have gained an ability to just keep riding in very adverse conditions. Nasty rain, wind, and cold? Just don’t stop, and eat crackers when you get hungry. We continue to eat lunches and dinners out at small roadside restaurants. In Ecuador everything is about twice the price as in Peru (meals are about $3 instead of $1.50), and they have lots of different names for different kinds of bananas. We are becoming banana connoisseurs!

Typical view in the mountains.

We camped one night at a local school.

Got to dry the clothes somehow!

Now we are in the city of Cuenca. It is a big, modern city with a huge historical core. There seems to be a church on every corner. We will spend the day wandering the streets, looking for new brake pads, and eating fried bananas from street vendors. Yippee!

Down to the jungle: our last post from Peru

Our last section of Peru

I can’t hardly believe it: tomorrow we leave Peru and enter Ecuador. It has been almost three months since we entered this country! I can say without hesitation that Peru is an incredible place. Maybe someday we will get around to writing a good summary, but for the purpose of this post I will write a bit about our last week here. Highlights include one last, epic descent and climb, and our arrival to the land of bananas, coconuts, and rice paddies.

Playing cards and drinking coffee. Rest day.

We last updated in Cajabamba, which is about 100 miles from the similarly named but much much larger city of Cajamarca. We took a nice rest day there. As usual, it was mostly filled with eating, resting, and internet. A few pictures:

Big market in Cajamarca.

Chicken feet, anyone?

Jason was too tall for this restaurant!

Our first day of riding took us up and down yet more hills, and through many bustling towns. There were the usual views, but also some fun experiences eating cookies, watching crazy cars, and riding through rain for the first time in weeks.

We had no desire to go into and out of yet another major Peruvian city, so we were overjoyed to find a shortcut on our second day that not only avoided Cajamarca, but also saved us 23 miles of riding. Sure, it was 4 miles uphill on dirt, but we got to go through a tiny hamlet, agricultural fields, and get chased by still more dogs. Taking the shortcut was also exciting because we finally left Peru’s highway 3, which we have been following (more or less) since we entered the country over 1,000 miles ago.

Two little kids on one little bike.

Next up was the craziest descent and ascent that we’ve ever done. We crested a small rise (ok, it was 1,500′) to look out into the next valley. The road wound below us, dropping over 7,000′ all the way down to the river below and then rose back up 9,000′ on the other side. Nearly all of this was in full sight! It was a bit dizzying to stare down almost two vertical miles, and it was a bit terrifying to descend all that in one go on narrow roads carved into the cliffs.

At the bottom it was HOT. I am talking 90 degrees kind of hot, with mango trees and bananas everywhere. We spent an entire afternoon climbing halfway up the other other side and back into cooler temperatures. Because of the steep cliffs there were no towns, so we camped in an old quarry next to the road before finishing the climb (finally!) the following morning.

The top! Finally.

On the other side of the mountains from that mind-boggling dip we found a whole new Peru. We were on the Amazon side of the Andes, and boy was the difference apparent. Everything was so much more green. We could see waterfalls from the road, and we followed ever larger rivers downhill for over a hundred miles. It was joyful, lovely riding.

As we bottomed out around 1,500′ the air became hot and humid, and fruit stands became common along the road. We started to see rice paddies everywhere, and banana trees, and coconuts. Even the people look different here, and they all seem to ride motorbikes in flip flops. The locals seemed very excited to greet us and yell ‘Gringo!’, especially a pair of young guys who passed on their moto three times to take videos with their phones.

Rice paddies are everywhere

Now we are only about 30 miles from the Ecuador border, in a lively town full of motorcycle taxis and small restaurants. It feels like a rest day because we got here at 1 pm, so now we are ready for an early start tomorrow. We’ve been told the hills in Ecuador are vastly steeper than those in Peru, so we want to give ourselves plenty of time to make it to our first real Ecuadorian town tomorrow.

Last dinner in Peru: Bistek a lo pobre

Like always, I am both excited and nervous for our next country. Ecuador uses the US dollar as their currency (crazy, huh? Since 2000!), so at least that will be familiar. Peru has just been so wonderful to us that I am a bit sad to leave it. Where else can we stay in a decent hotel and eat every meal out without spending more than $30 a day?! But… it’s time to move on. Ecuador here we come!

Canyons, mountains, heat, and altitude.

After our hike in the Huayhuash it took us two days resting in Huaraz before we were ready to hit the road again. Huaraz is a modern, hectic, Peruvian town with just enough American style restaurants to make us want to stay even longer. We also had made friends in town, which was exciting in its own right. Adam and Tarunya met up with us twice for lunch, and we met up with Bala (another Pan-American cyclist) for a home-cooked curry dinner. Thank you to all three!

Upscale eatery in Huaraz. It was so fun to meet friends for lunch!

One last glimpse of the snow as we leave Huaraz

Our route from Huaraz took us from 10,000′ all the way down to 1,000′ over 3 days. You are probably wondering why it would take us 3 days, it was all downhill after all! Well, the road surface was awful for two of those days, and we spent an entire day bumping downriver at about 6.5 miles an hour. The upside, of course, was the scenery: we were in a massive, deep, and narrow canyon. We passed through more than 35 hand-carved (and unlit) tunnels!

The Canyon del Pato begins.

Canyon goes crazy!

It is dark in here!

Finally opning up again, on a nasty bumpy dirt road.

Those little kids are holding bags of fish.

We hit bottom, and pavement, in the tiny settlement of Chuquicara. Population 100. There was a single hotel, three small stands selling mostly out of date food items, and a couple of restaurants. It was enough for us though. The next day was to be a big one: we had to climb up all that elevation we had just lost, and in a single day.

We spent a very very long day climbing back up those 9,000′. At first it was easy and gentle along a river, but then it was straight up all afternoon. Traffic was non existent, so we listened to a book on tape and crawled up to the town of Pallasca. This town was built at the very top of a hill, and we loved their plaza which was packed wih topiary animals. We spent an exhausted night here before continuing on our up and down road.

Some sections of road seem not so trustworthy.

We started way down there at the river.

Getting near the top now!

I got hugged by a topiary bear.

Typical place where we sleep and eat.

For the next few days we went up and down over and over again. At the top of each climb we could literally see the next town just across the valley. Each time though, it was 20 tortuous miles down to the river and back up again. We slept in little hostels, watched elementay school marching bands, ate popcorn on the street, and crawled along roads that were sometimes dirt and sometimes brand new pavement.

Yesterday, on our way into the town of Cajabamba (where we’re resting now), we were forced to stop where a group of vehicles were gathered. As we approached we were concerned it was some sort of accident or protest, but we soon found out the truth. A very small bridge (less than 15 feet) had fallen over a week ago, so anyone travelling through here was forced to get out of their cars, walk down to the stream and back up, then find a new car on the other side. Of course, we had no problem getting the bikes across, but I am reasonably sure that everyone there had a blast watching the gringos pushing their bicycles!

Broken bridge back-up

I couldn’t resist including this welcome sign….

Now we are taking one final rest day in Peru before setting off again. In less than 2 weeks we will be in Ecuador! There are a few more tough climbs left, but we think that the craziest parts of Peru are behind us. We are really looking forward to spending a few days in the Amazonas region, and getting a glimpse at the more lush, jungle side of this country. After that, country number 8!

Typical one room store here.

The Philtrons

Cycling South America in 2026 with kids

Author Archives: Daisy

Welcome to Colombia!

Welcome to Ecuador!

Down to the jungle: our last post from Peru

Canyons, mountains, heat, and altitude.