La buena vida

Hola from Ecuador!
It all seems very odd that we are here in South America right now...how did that happen??  I know, obviously we got on a plane and arrived here, but it seems a bit surreal!  A bit like we are in a dream...
Had a cool time in San Fran just before flying out here. Battled the ridiculous SF traffic (see pic) to get to Half Moon Bay, where our newfound mt biking amigo, Marika, lives!  An absolute gem, she very generously offered for us to stay at her place for the few days before we

flew out.  This gave us the opportunity to clean the neglected (and decidely grotty) van, and also dismantle & scrub the bikes.  Brent did a meticulous and excellent job of cleaning the well-used bikes, so they are boxed up and ready for us to take to Hawaii now!  We also got a chance to catch up with Marika's friends - the group of people who we met on our 1st mt bike ride in the States - had a lovely meal out with them, to the Half Moon Bay brewery, where we had a good ole chinwag (mostly about bikes haha).  The beer and wine were mighty fine too.
Marika was away during our visit, so we ended up house sitting and looking after her awesome dog, Sophie!  Didn't realise how much we missed being in a proper house, rather than the small confines of good ole Alby, or a non-descript, boring motel room.  The joys of cooking on a proper stove that has 4 whole hobs! Wow!  And using a proper sharp knife rather than a pocket knife, and drinking water out of a glass rather than a plastic bottle! She had a stunning house and we're super grateful to Marika for letting us stay!!

The trip to Ecuador was pretty epic and long, although we stayed in good spirits as we were excited about visiting a brand new country!  Arrived in to Ecuador airport to be welcomed by possibly the longest queue (at customs) that we have ever seen.  Midnight til 1.30am we were standing there.  Oh the joys of travel! 
The hotel is lush -in a nice part of town, and is a nicely renovated old villa with creaking wooden floors and tasteful decor, and has friendly reception staff who recognise us and know our names.  We like!
First day here was basically in a sleep-deprived zombie-state, so pretty boring and involved the planning of our week here, which took forever (nothing happens quickly here, we've discovered).  Got some exciting tours coming up...one to Mt Cotopaxi for a day trip (the highest volcano in the world, at 6000 m altitude), and the other to the Amazon jungle for 4 days :-) Staying in a hut in the Cuyabeno region, which is a short flight east of Quito.  Going to check out

the famous wildlife there - macaws, parrots, monkeys, freshwater dolphins, giant ants, tarantulas and oversized mozzies.  EEk!  And maybe eat a few grubs.  Look out Bear Grylls, you got competition!!
So, today, we went for a good old explore around Quito city.  Definitely exudes that noisy hustle & bustle of a city in a more developing nation - heaps of tiny smoke cafes and loads of street sellers and people trying to make a few cents.  They will sell anything here.  Saw an old man (must've been about 80) who had only a few chupa chups lollypops to sell, so we took pity on him and bought 2 for

40 cents.  The Ecuadorians seem like proud hard workers - only seen 1 person begging (and he only had 1 leg)!  Loads of shoe shiners on every street corner, people selling bags of apples, people selling sunglasses (they're real Oakleys, honest), people with carts of ice cream...anything you want, and it's here!  Went for a walk to the historic part of town (a UNESCO World Heritage Site) with its narrow, cobbled streets, cathedrals and lovely buildings.  Also hiked up to a city religious monument via a poor (and very interesting) residential area (oh, and we discovered when we got to the bottom that there was a sign saying 'Warning. Tourists do not enter - this is a robbery area'. OOPS). It was only about a 500 foot ascent but we were knackered at the top.  This is the 2nd highest city in the world, so we were at about 3000m altitude today, and feeling the lack of oxygen!
Services, food, drinks, accommodation are all a lot cheaper here.  You could get a shoe shine for a dollar!  And a bikini wax for $3!  And a haircut for $4! Might get a haircut and see what I come out like.   English isn't very widespread (don't think they get too many tourists here), and my Spanish is ok but is more like Spanglish, so have had a few interesting conversations!  Anyway, we are enjoying our visit to beautiful Ecuador, enjoying the new culture, friendly people and new flavours/smells/sights and sounds.  Will report more soon.  Adios amigos and hasta luego. x