Cycling from Reventador to Puerto el Carmen....with Ramon

Cycling with my boy! 350k in 7 days, 6 of which was spent cycling to Puerto el Carmen, "famous for being the easternmost city/town in Ecuador, accessed by road." Details at the end of the blog.

Rio Aguarico....weeeeeeeee! Ramon just loving it.

Local kids on the Rio San Miguel, where it meets the Rio Putumayo, at Puerto el Carmen.

Tame Tapir

Tilapia

Boa?

This one's live.

Night tour by canoe...3 metre cayman...good thing Ramon or dad didn't panic....we were only a couple of metres away. The guide was snapping lots of pictures...and he'd been working there for 9 years. Stayed here
http://yarinalodge.com/ 45 mins by boat down the Rio Napo from Coca. (50usd for the boat, night tour, dinner, breaky and lodging)

For 2usd...

For about a 5km stretch, we found tomatoes about every few hundred metres....fell off the truck I guess.

Cocoa pods....A parent from last year's class gave us a tour of his huge plantion. Thanks George!

Chocolate trees!

...and the beans

"Canadian wheat makes it good/better." Well...I'd argue that whole grain flour makes it better...but that won't last the long journey to the Amazon.

Ramon counting the numbers as we go by.

Taking a fridge to down river.

The new bridge in Coca...about to be completed.

God and country.

Black gold being piped to the port in Esmeraldas...90% of which is sold to China.

PU or peeeyuu?

That smells better.


Thurs Dec 29 4 hour? Bus to Hosteria Reventador
dec 30 ..bike to Lumbaqui 48k
dec 31...bike to Lago Agrio 58km
jan 1...bike to Pacayacu 46km
jan 2 ....bike to Tarapoa 36 km
jan 3...bike to Sansahuari 52 km
jan 4...bike to Puerto el Carmen 55km
Jan 5...bus 3 hours to ferry over Rio Aguarico and ride to Shushufindi and down to Limoncocha and Pompeya on the Rio Napo 55km
Jan 6....bus to Los Sachas....tour Cocoa farm...Boat ride down Napo from Coca to Yarina Lodge
Jan 7...Boat back to Coca...9 hour bus to Quito (should have been 7 hours)

We usually finished cycling before noon, to beat the heat...got alot of sunny days. So we were usually at the local swimming hole in the afternoons. Very light traffic. Got down to 260 masl at Puerto el Carmen and took a boat over to Puerto Ospina in Colombia...no cars or airport...great little place!
...and Ramon never missed his mommy....

Next on the horizon is a tandem with Ramon as the stoker...with the tag a long connected to it with Carla bringing up the rear.

Xmas at the beach with the Zambrano-Benavides

10 awesome days at the beach over Christmas. Parents of a child in my class, generously gave us use of their beach house. So for $6.50 each, we simply jumped on the bus for a 5 hour ride down to the Pacific.

We were joined by Carlos (Maria's brother), his wife Cristina and their daughter Mafe.

Spiny, puffer fish.

Guitar fish.

Prawn.

Many different varieties of crabs.

The beach house on the right. This photo taken from the top of the Arco de Amor...Arch of love....

Ramon's 1st time with a boogie board...no lessons required! Mafe's first time at the ocean.

Charlis y Cris

John and Paul, secondary teachers at the British School, brought 14 shoe box presents that we handed out to some poor families on the beach. Parents put about 300 of these together for various needy communities in Ecuador.

Who's the monkey?? Saw 3 in the trees, just behind this place.

This goat followed me home from a run, along with 2 dogs. I dragged him back along the beach and we butted heads a fews times.

Carlos and Cris' new store??

No electricity in the house....no need for it really....much cozier playing cards, checkers and chatting with candle light.

Carla the beach bum.

Tasaste...name of the 15 house town 1km down the road or beach. This location has it all....private, peaceful, empty beaches, run for 2 hours in each direction, lots of fresh seafood from the fisherman next door and your own rock arch right out front!