I rode down to Peru from Cuenca in two days, lots of down hill.

I continue to have interesting expereiences like havin a lift with a couple of drunk guys who where on a mission to get to the place far to quickly.

I meet a Mr Fixit who ” helped ” me cross the boarder for a fee. I certainly stand out as a tourist so I guess that makes me easy pickings.

Peru will take a bit of getting used to , I think it is a lot poorer than Equador and the people are more likely to take your stuff.I have had a gadget which Lottie gave me knicked from my bags in the hotel- what a bore.

I plan to cycle down the coast via to Lima and see how this is.

I will have to fly from Lima to Santiago to meet Simon P  for the 22 nd November.

I have managed to find a hotel with hot water and a large bed for my long legs, things a looking good for tonight.

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I am having a week in Cuenca waiting for tyres to arrive.The customs in Guiquile are holding the package for an extra week. I am not to impressed.

I have taken the chance to become a tourist and join in a load of different things.

I went on a walking trip in the national park with a group of girls from the language school.

I caught a bus up to the local villages who specialise in handicrafts.

I have had a Panama Hat made and shipped to the UK. Cuenca is the place where they invented Panama hats , not Panama.

I have been to some more Thermal baths with some friends from a local bar – resturant in Cuenca.

I am chasing Fed Express to put pressure in the customs as it is only two tyres.

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I have been traveling through towns in the Andes for the last week . Some of the small villages are populated only with a very small Indian people. There was  Hostle that I stayed in which is also an educational center for the locals. They are trained on handicrafts, IT skills and there is a crech for the young ones. The revenue that they make from the B + B goes towards running the centre. You will see in the photos that market day was ehen I was there. The noise , dirt and range of things for sale was extensive. The locals could not believe their eyes when there was a Giant walking in their market , they were very friendly as all Equadorians are.

Cuenca is a lovely town and I am staying in a old style Hotel . Of to find the Fed Express office in town, tyres did not turn up yesterday.

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I have t echnical problem uploading pictures at the moment.

I am enjoying the high Andes, very special views, I am sorry that I can not show you all.

I have failed to repair the rear tyre to take my weight and all the bags. Every e morning I repair the inner tube and by the end of the day I have a flat. Two new tyres are due meet me on Friday.

The locals are very small and very different from us westerners. They all co0mment to me as I ride along, that beep their horn or call out.

I am in a very small town called Guamote ,which has one place to stay. It is cold at night as we are still at 3000 m , the day time temperature is great for riding.

Riobamba was a very old colonial style town and I stayed on the tallest hotel in Equador  with a great view of a volcano.

The village where I am sleeping has a big market tomorrow with the local indian people bringing all their animals and crafts in to town.

I work up yhis morning and felt that a day on the river getting wet would be good, so I booked a rafting trip. There is a very friendly company in Tena called the River People who are an Irish family who moved here 20 years ago and instead on running a window cleaning business in Ireland run a Rafting company.

Last night we had a very nice meal with a lady from the USA and from Finland who had just spent 4 days in the Jungle. I really enjoyed having the company over diner, and swopping a few stories.

I am staying in a small B and B which is very comfortable and has hot water. I have found a place that is close to town but not as noisy at Quito.

Last night there was a local music show in town where the local tallent got to strut their stuff.

I  collect a couple of spare inner tubes which I have ordered from Quito. The repair work to the back wheel will be tested tomorrow. I have lined the edge of the tyre with a section of a plastic drinks bottle and duct tape, the aim is to repair the side wall of the tyre.

The weather in the rain forest continues to change by the hour, every day they have a rain storm and it is always hot. There is also 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of sun. Strange things happen on the Equator.

I hope it holds for the next 1500 miles.

I left Quito after 9 nights in the same place, a record. I really enjoyed being a normal person and sleeping in the same bed for a while and getting in the Spanish tuition.

I left ready to take on the next adventure. The road out of Quito was very busy but I kept my head down and away from the lorries and cars and eventually I hit the countryside.

I climbed out to a spa town called Papallacta , hot thermal baths to rest the tired body.

I woke the next morning to find a problem with my new tyre from Vancouver, the altitude had expanded the air in the tyre and pushed out a bubble in the side of the tyre. I tryied to sort out the problem from my hotel but I needed to find a bike shop. The nearest was Tena , 70 miles away and a drop of 3000 meters. I hoped the tyre would hold util Tena as I went down hill fast.I had a number of attatcks some local dogs on the road,I was going faster then them, I am glad that I was going down hill. I ran over a Chicken that did not see me and flew in to my wheels. That was a first.

Tena is in the Jungle and is hot and rains each day. I will ride deep in to the Jungle on Sunday pm, and stay in a lodge for a night to experience this type of life style.

I have discovered  that they do not have tyres of this size in Equador, apparently it is not typical . I also wanted to us the same make of tyre which are puncture proof. I made various  calls and emails and decided to repair the tyre. I found a very helpful bike shop and we have reinforced the wall of the tyre. I will see if it holds tomorrow.

Yo aprendi todo el español en cinco lecciones!

Cuando yo regrese a Inglaterra voy a dar lecciones a todos.

Estudie en la escuela ” Cristobal Colon ” y mi profesora fue Roxana.

Si alguien visita Quito deberia venir a este lugar.

Mañana pondre en practica mi español mientras encuentre personas inesperadas durante mi viaja.

Mi nuevo pasatiempo ahora es jugar Scrable en español.

PHOTOS OF A TYPICAL WEEKEND IN QUITO.MORE TO FOLLOW ONCE I CAN WORK OUT THE TECHNOLOGY.

I AM HAVING A VERY GOOD TIME IN THE CENTRE OF QUITO LEARNING A FEW WORDS BEFORE I GET BACK ON THE ROAD.

THE TOWN IS VERY HECTIC AND LOUD, BUT YOU GET USED TO IT. I STAND OUT ( PHYSICALLY) LIKE A SORE THUMB. I GET A LOTS OF LOOKS AS THIS GIANT WALKS AROUND.

I AM HAVING LEASONS ON A ONE TO ONE BASIS WITH A VERY FRIENDLY AND PATIENT LADY CALLED ROXANNE. I WILL HAVE FIVE SESSIONS OF FOUR HOURS WHICH I HOPE WILL GIVE ME THE BASICS.

THE WEEKEND IN QUITO HAS BEEN SPENT VISITING A VOLCANO CALLED COTOPAXI.I ALSO PLAN TO VISIT A RESTURANT TO HAVE GYINIPIG .

I AM STAYING IN A ROOM WHERE THE MUSIC FROM THE BARS LASTS UNTIL 2 AM AND THE SUN IS UP BY 6 AM.

Arrived in Ecuador and have found it a great change from Vancouver. The altitude is an issue in terms of doing activity, I understand that you get used to it. This city is at 2800 meters and i will have to climb from here.

i am staying with a local family and taking a 4-5 day course of Spanish , it will be interesting to see if I can sit still long enough to learn any thing.

I am adjusting to the noise of the city and the heat , I am on the equator.

It is good to experience a different culture I am feeling a bit more comfortable with the life style here.

I think the key thing is to stay healthy,it is important to watch what you drink and eat.

My room is right over a number of local bars who play music until 2.00 am , so it is difficult to get any sleep. The contrast between the isolation of alaska and the livelyness of a large city is extreme. There are lots of “Gringos” in town to meet and talk to.

I am forcing my self to relax and stay put for about 5 days to give me a chance to learn the language and get used to the life in South America.