OK, I don’t have much new to show you so maybe it’s time you had a laugh at my expense rather than reading about how much fun I’m having…. so then, a truly ugly pair of legs (mine)… I was in two minds whether to even show you this as you may be reading this while eating your dinner or something… but anyway particularly for my non-cycling friends and readers, here’s what 20-odd years of riding bikes does to your legs, though the effect is slightly exaggerated somewhat after a hard day on the bike… so now perhaps you can understand why I’m often reluctant to strip off at the beach…
So, what news… well, I’m on way back north again. Can’t wait to get to Colombia so I’m back in Latacunga, groovy, friendly little town that so far doesn’t appear to feature much on the traveller radar which is a good thing. I had planned to stay at the same ‘pink palace’ as last time but when I cycled into town they were closed, so rode around a bit and completely lucked out with a very funky little place being run by a couple of Dutch folk. They’ve only been open a few weeks so aren’t known yet but it’s so good I’m going to give them a plug here.. (when I have time I’ll build a page of recommendations of places to stay that were good, places to eat and stuff). They know how to do a decent breakfast with good filter coffee rather than the instant muck that is so prevalent everywhere else, the hot water system is ace and the mattresses good. It’s very friendly and super laid back as you’d expect from a Dutch place… so, here is the plug.. it’s called Hostal Cafe Tiana, they have a website at www.hostaltiana.com and in short it’s brilliant. Latacunga is worth a visit IMO, the churches and squares are quite beautiful, the people are some of the friendliest I’ve come across in Ecuador and there is some really good food to be had.
Just washed my cycling kit (again, I’m not that smelly…) could have built sandcastles with the sand and grit from the road that was left at the bottom of the bucket…
So, from here… well I’ll spend a few days west of here riding around the little villages that surround Laguna Quilotoa, back here for a night then as I’ve ridden the Pan Americana from Quito I’m going to save some time and energy and sling my bike on a bus back to Quito for a night before zipping up to the Colombian border quick as I can, probably spending a night in Otovalo on the way…..
Adios!
Hey Mike!
I was just saying to Andy at the weekend that I was getting a bit concerned about how you’d gone quiet on the email front – little did I know you’ve spent more time blog writing than cycling! :o)
Looks like I’ve got some catching up to do….
Cheers
Rod
cheeky sod! blog is my day off and evening activity…
OK, so I only rode 750km so far but there’s been some big mountains in the way among other trivia…
Besides, can’t imagine why I would want to waste my $$$ emailing the likes of you… hehe!
glad to hear that you found your way to Hostal Tiana…very nice guys. I don’t know if the owner told you but he has another place on the Quilotoa loop. A couple of things to be aware of:
There is a fantastic ecolodge at Chugchillian called the Black Sheep Inn. It is run by a couple of Americans and does fantastic veggie organic food and free coffee. We ended up staying there for 5 days over Christmas. They also offer a discount for people arriving by bike. They also have satellite internet at reasonable price which is rare on the Quilotoa loop.
Secondly, the roads can be really bad if it rains, especially on the Laguna Quilotoa to Chugchillian section so be prepared.
Also, enjoy the cobbles…just think of Flanders…S
ello mikey, legs are lookin´ loverly!
rio is cool, settling in isn´t easy, you know how it can be with travellers sometimes, but i´m sure it´ll fine in time. safe travels & put the legs away!
salx
Hey Si, cheers for the tips! It’s sunny today, with a bit of luck it will stay that way!
Those are some serious veins, and just another fun part of cycling.
oh god, I forgot I posted that pic back in January..