Old age endurance-Home to San Lorenzo on the mighty Iguana

Another weekend...another crazy ride. Rode to San Lorenzo on the coast, next to the Colombian border. 303km....17 hours saddle time; 19 hours total time(which doesn't leave much time for the potty and refueling). Meant to leave at midnight, but couldn't sleep, so I left at 9pm Friday and rode thru the night, under a near full moon, with no sleep. CBC Q podcast interviews on the MP3 kept me sane (although I'm sure 1 or 2 people might argue with my definition of sanity...or my own lack thereof). On and off drizzle was nice and for the last two hours a tropical downpour. Rolled in to SL at 4pm Saturday. BTW...the mighty Iguana is about to be retired in mid-March, after 15 years of exploring the planet. I broke the frame last year and I'm not sure how much longer the bike will hold out. Going for a German brand, Bulls...for $800 new...with disc/cable brakes.

Impossibly green.

Meeting of the waters.

A total downpour for two hours, helped to keep the body temperature under control. May be the last big ride for the mighty Iguana.

San Lorenzo bay....mangroves in the distance.

San Lorenzo bay....mangroves in the distance.

Whatever works for ya!

Another Tober death shot. The difference here is that unlike my usual suspects that are bloating in the hot sun, this poor doggie is rotting/melting in constant rain/dampness.

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.