While I had been very much hoping to get to go kayaking in Ecuador during the couple of days I had off in between my Adventures by Disney trips, that didn't happen due to my kayaking friend in town getting sick. So instead I decided to spend my two days off in my favorite place here and the town in which I have spent more time in Ecuador than anywhere else, Banos. I had no real plans except to spend the night and say hello to my friends that live there and hopefully get into some type of adventure.
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| Me at the shop before the ride (pre-mud) |
So, upon arrival I stopped into a motorcycle rental shop (there's a ton of them in town) and see if I could find a tour or a guide to go with since all of my friends in Banos were working. At one of the shops, the manager mentioned that there were a couple of guys from Quito riding the next morning and he called them to see if they wouldn't mind having me along. Keep in mind I had been honest that I wasn't exactly the most experienced rider, but I assured them I was a fast learner and used to doing similar style activities. The guys were a bit unsure, a little worried I would hold them back, so I offered to pay for us to rent the motor bikes for a half an hour that afternoon so they could see how I was before committing to having me along on their more epic ride the next day. Well, I guess I proved worthy enough during our little test/practice ride because they said they would love to have me come along the following morning.
I spent the rest of the evening playing pool and foosball with my friends from Banos, enjoying the nightlife, but staying away from any drinking because I wanted to be in good shape for my ride the next morning.
I met my new friends at the shop in the morning and off we went up the mountain towards the Tungurahua volcano. After about 45 min. of charging up the volcano and right as I was starting to get used to the bike and feel really good cruising through the rocky terrain, we came around the corner to find a land slide had caused 50 yards of ankle deep mud. Initially I tried to step around the deep spots and stay relatively clean as we moved the bikes through the mud, but that thought went out the window quickly when we realized it would take all four of us deep in mud to get all the bikes through. After lots of pulling and pushing we finally made it to the other side.
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| Pushing the bikes through the first mud patch |
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| Almost through! |
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| David excited to be done pushing the bikes (for the moment anyways) |
We were stoked to finally get through the mud and excited to get on with the rest of our ride. Little did we know it at the time, that just a mile or so away we would encounter yet another stretch of mud. This time is was knee deep mud and once more we all started pushing our way through it. Fortunately, as we were about half way through some locals walked by and warned us that this was just the first of many more land slides ahead and that the others were even worse. After hearing this we decided to turn around and take a different route that would take us down to the town of Patate and then we could return to Banos from there. The locals assured us that this other route was open and good to go.
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| Plan A officially not happening |
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| Me almost finished getting the bike back out of the second mud patch |
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The result of all the mud
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Turns out it the other route "was" good to go, before the heavy rains of the previous night caused the biggest land slide we had encountered yet and one that was simply impassible.
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| Adrian realizing that plan B was also a no go |
So we took the only option we had left which was to turn around and head back down the mountain the way we came. Fortunately the route we came from was lots of fun, but unfortunately it meant that we would have to push the bikes through the first mud patch yet again. This next time we were a bit more prepared (and were going downhill) so it wasn't as bad as our first pass at it.
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| Me post mud headed down the mountain |
After an hour or so of riding down the mountain we arrived back in Banos tired but loving the adventure we'd just had and not ready to get off the bikes yet. So off we went down the road to squeeze in a little more charging, this time on paved roads with little chance of encountering mud. This was fun because it gave me a chance to really get the bike up to speed and feel the power (and yes, I'm hooked).
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| Adrian giving the thumbs up to an awesome adventure |
After the ride, I quickly returned to my hostel where I had 10 min. to pack up and shower before checking out. Lucky for me, it turned out my riding companions were headed back to Quito and offered me a spot in their car. So instead of being stuck in a bus for the rest of the afternoon, I got to ride back to Quito in a car with my new friends. It was just the adventure I needed before going back to work on another Disney trip.
Thanks Adrian, Julio and David for letting my join in on your adventura en Bano. I can't wait to go with you again next time I'm back!
