The Adventures of the Tober-Zambrano Family

Friday, July 10, 2009

Cycling the Ecuadorian Pacific Coast

While Ramon was learning how to ride his 1st 2 wheeler in Pasto, dad decided he needed to do a bit of riding himself. So I simply hopped on my bike and pedalled from Pasto to the border, then the big downhill to the NW Pacific coast of Ecuador and all along the ocean to the end of the Ruta del Sol...The Sunshine route, in Salinas. I had expected a friend to join me, but unfortunately his wife became ill and he got Dengue fever, while being a judge on the tour of Colombia a few weeks ago.

Here is the start of the coastal route. Very light traffic all the way down.

Unlike Colombia, one doesn´t see many cyclists in Ecuador. These were the only two I met on route.

But there were a few friendly and not so friendly critters along the way.

¨Slow down....Monkey crossing¨ In another area I could hear howler monkeys, screaming in the forest. Don´t get that on a tour bus or car!

And of course, some fine beaches.

Lucky for me, it was cloudy most of the time....so it never got hotter than about 30.

Bringing logs out of the jungle to the coast.

Reminiscent of the Oregon coast.

The Ecuadorian fishing fleet :)

I had a wee bit of a food fixation on this trip. Going back to being a veggie-vegan hasn´t been difficult until now. With all the calories I was burning up, I needed to order two full meals a night!

I just go into the kitchen to see what they have and order up what I like. This has the added advantage of having most of the food cooked fresh.

An Incan runner-messenger logo on the plate.

Mile 0......Ok so I did the route backwards....but the ocean was closer to me on the RHS of the road. 1150 kms from Pasto in 9 days. Zero flats, 1 broken spoke.

Salinas is Ecuador´s biggest, fanciest and most expensive resort. I didn´t linger long. Caught the night bus up to Ecuador. $10 USD (which is the currency the have adopted here, after the Sucre crashed about 10 years ago) for a 10 hour ride up to Quito.

Flying my own flag here! After burning so many calories and fat...the jersey actually fits me now, without embarrasing myself :) Now it´s time to do some riding around the Pasto area with Ramon in the trailer.

Friday, June 26, 2009

Chao Bogota

Well it's time to say goodbye to Bogota, after 2 years in this massive city. While there have been many positives, like the ciclovia, bike paths, the school CGB and the towns and country surrounding the capital, we've had enuf of the high density, concrete jungle living and the ride to work on a packed, snail paced, fume choking hiway. Maria and kids flew to Pasto yesterday....I leave tomorrow morning. Some cycling and climbing over the holiday and then off to a new adventure in Quito (or rather 30-40 minutes outside of the town in Tumbaco) starting August 11.

It's been great to have the Buitrago family nearby and we will surely miss them :(

A single baby jogger, converts easily to handle 2!

Osita....little bear

Carlita bring home the veggies.

Gettin' a wee bit cramped in here!

Nothing beats a good days walk in the country. Ramon managed about 6km! then soaked in the hot springs, fell asleep in the bus and woke up with leg cramps! Nothing a quick massage couldn't fix.

Playing with the ever-popular blocks that tia Karen brought.

His fave stuffed animal...."Piggy"....no raincoat for him....both of 'em will take all the mud they can get!

Local road race....Maria was about 10th....we didn't stick around to find out.

Dad leading the pack....or at least the photographer makes it look that way!

Monday, June 1, 2009

US Embassy 5 mile XC race

Maria showed up with her Canadian running jersey and showed the yanks how it was done. She was second overall (male and female) and almost came in first, but her short, little legs just couldn't hold her in 1st place down the steep hill and was passed by a 17 year old college runner near the finish.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said for the other Canuck....he got whupped by the US ambassador, who just happens to be 10 years older, by a full 2 minutes!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Brownfield

He joked that Maria must have taken some performance enhancing drugs and would have to undergo a drug test :)

Chatting with one of his numerous bodyguards, I was informed that he loves to do up to 5 hour runs! (ultras) in the hills above Bogota. I'd love to run there myself, but it's generally a dangerous area.....the bodyguards who accompany him must be in great shape!

The US ambassador looking very unnofficial in his running gear.

Yup....this is how he gets to his runs and other less important events :) with motorcycle cops front and back too. We got a ride out here in a bullet proof Jeep....you get a workout just opening and closing the doors on these beasts! You'd think you'd be quite well protected in an accident, but the bullet proof, front windscreen is not exactly saftey glass!

Her prize? A coffe table, photo book of Pasto! a gift from the govenor of Narino (Maria's home province) to the US ambassador.....guess he gets too much of this stuff and just passes it on.