At the end of May, Roman and I took our last trip to a different part of Ecuador before our 2 year adventure was finished. Ecuador is comprised of 4 very unique regions: the Galapagos Islands, the coast, the sierras, and the Amazon rainforest. We had traveled to all of these places while in Ecuador but only got to the outskirts of the rainforest. For this trip, we traveled deep into the jungle to the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, located on the equator in the far northeast corner of Ecuador. This reserve has the highest biodiversity in the world with the greatest number of plant and animal species per hectare.

We began our journey with a short flight from Quito to Lago Agrio on Friday morning, followed by a 2 hour drive to the river, and finally a 1 hour motorized canoe ride to the Cuyabeno Lodge. As we floated along the river, we saw several species of birds, including parrots and macaws, and monkeys.

The next 3 days were filled with motorized canoe trips along the river, swimming at sunset in the Cuyabeno Lake, a night hike through the jungle, and paddle canoe trips along the banks of the river and lake. We saw 7 species of monkeys, parrots, macaws, a young anaconda, pink river dolphins, caymans, turtles, tarantulas, a poison dart frog, zombie fungus (my personal favorite), and many species of insects, spiders, and plants. I will let the pictures speak for themselves – it was an incredible place.

Up early, I was able to start riding before the persistent rain started. For over an hour the rain came down but I was prepared. Rain jacket and pants combined with a fist full of pastries allowed me to enjoy the experience.

Once in the country, the rain gave way to dry, but cloudy skies. Villages of farms had farmhouses as old as the land. So many differing periods of construction allowed for an endless combination of building compositions.

My-post camp ride, earliest so far, let me get to Chateau Saumur before it closed.  Built in 962, the enormous castle has had a rich history. Built for fortification, it even has narrow slits in the walls for archers to shoot arrows at intruders from a protected position.

Gathering items for dinner, I purchased some sausage and vegetables and even breached my cheese comfort zone at a specialty store. I still can’t wrap my head around a lot of what I see.

Excited for another adventure, I decided on touring France for two weeks, solo camping along the way. Arriving at 6:30 am 7 time zones ahead of Quito made assembling my bike a challenge. Although I had been expecting many curveballs during the trip, I was hoping to make it away from the airport before dealing with my first one. The airline baggage team did their best to ruin my borrowed bike; a critical pannier rack bolt shook loose and found its way out of the many newly formed holes in the bike box. Thanks to Josh’s (the bike owner) legendary organizational skills there was an extra bolt in the spare parts bag and I overcame my first trip challenge. The bike was fine and I was on my way.

Challenge two was met not far from the airport. The train connecting the airport to the train station shut down one station early because a suspicious piece of luggage was found on the train. This resulted with me having to pedal on the main road adjacent to one of the runways to get to the train station. I might as well have been riding my bike around Newark Airport on the Garden State Parkway. Several merging ramps, elevated roadways, and a tunnel later I made it to the train terminal. With my ticket to Nantes purchased I merely had to pass four hours having a snack or two, paying astronomical money exchange rates because my bank card wasn’t working, and basking in the funkiness that happens to a body when it travels internationally.

Arriving at my train, I was informed my bike was not welcome, even though I told the ticket agent I had one. A very helpful SNCF employee assisted me in transferring my ticket to a bike friendly train three hours later. My bike would need a ticket too. Although the train station was nice, seven hours there was enough. I was ready to get out of the city.

An ice cold tallboy and broken air conditioning helped me sleep most of the three hour ride to Nantes. Nantes is what you would expect a rural, but larger, French town to be like; old and and contemporary buildings mixed together; cafe and pub lined angular alleys; and the bike-friendliest atmosphere ever. Having an hour to the 9 pm sunset provided me with enough time to ask for directions to the camping area, find it, and buy some provisions along the way. Josh was right, a bottle of wine does fit in the water bottle cage. After finding perhaps the nicest campground I’d ever seen I spent the early evening setting up my tent and enjoying some local Vionier and a Camanbert and ham sandwich on baguette. The shower facilities were like nothing I’d ever seen and private shower rooms and sinks specially designed to wash clothes in were just what I needed.

More bumps are expected along the way but I’m here and I cant wait to dig in and put in some miles.

For my spring break at the end of March, Roman and I traveled to Chile to explore Santiago and a wine region about two and a half hours south of the city.

Our first stop was a town called Santa Cruz in the Valle del Colchagua, a region known for their Carmenere wines. We stayed at a quiet and comfortable bed and breakfast for 4 days and explored several vineyards via bicycle. Our first day, we rented bikes and rode the larger of the two loops on the Ruta del Vino, taking us to the Laura Hartwig and MontGras wineries. The scenery was beautiful and we had a lovely time learning about grapes and the local wines from our guide.

We visited the Santa Cruz vineyard on our second day and enjoyed the ride up the teleferico with views of the surrounding landscape. Our day ended with a visit to the Estampa winery and a nap for Roman on their patio.

On our third day, we did the shorter loop on the Ruta del Vino, visiting the vineyards of Lapostolle, Montes, and Neyen. Each winery had something unique to offer. The building that houses the wine making equipment and aging rooms at Lapostolle was built into the side of a mountain and had the most amazing architecture of any of the wineries we visited in the region. At Montes, we enjoyed a delicious lunch at their cafe and a nice driving tour around the vineyard. We ended our day at Neyen, one of the smallest vineyards we visited on our trip, but not to be outdone with the quality of their wine; they only made one varietal of Carmenere and many of their vines were over 100 years old

We headed back to Santiago on Thursday to spent a few days in the city before returning home to Quito. On Thursday evening, Chile played Argentina in a world cup qualifying match so we headed down to the stadium to try to buy tickets. This quickly became more difficult than we anticipated, given that you had to have a Chilean id in order to purchase your ticket online. We walked around for quite a while holding 2 fingers in the air but no one seemed to understand this very American way of trying to find tickets; a miracle did not come our way. Around game time, we gave up and headed back to the neighborhood of our hotel to watch the game on t.v. at a local restaurant.

The next morning we went on a walking tour of Santiago with Tours 4 Tips. We went to some of the local markets and ended the tour in the cemetery of Santiago. We learned a lot about Chilean history and culture from the tour. That evening, we met up with two friends of ours from Academia Cotopaxi, who happened to be traveling in the area at the same time, for a nice dinner and drinks at a local jazz club.

Roman ended up renting a mountain bike on our last day in Santiago and went for a ride on one of the hills near the city. Later, we had an amazing meal at Bocanariz. That night, we headed back to Quito after another memorable trip in South America.

The day after the Super Bowl, Betsy and I parted ways. Her break was ending so she needed to head back to Quito. Knowing I would have the unique opportunity of being in far South America, I had done some planning and set up a fly fishing excursion in southern Chile.

I flew from El Califate to San Carlos de Bariloche where I stayed for the night before taking a 4 hour bus ride to Esquel. My guide, Sr. Adrian Adriazola, picked me up at the bus station. We then drove in his vehicle to the border of Chile. Once over the border, a special feeling grew knowing I was in a remote place about to embark on a unique experience. Adrian has been guiding for many of his 60 plus years and it was obvious he would have everything dialed at every turn of the trip. Each day we had a proper river-side lunch; Pickled vegetables, sausage, cheese, salad, a pit grill for steaks, and Chilean wine was our midday meal for the next three days. I felt very special.

Approaching the town of Futalefu, I could see why the hard to get to and rugged region had earned the reputation of being a legendary recreation area. The huge mountains, reminiscent of an unpopulated Alaskan landscape, feed the Futa River with snowmelt which produces sections of nearly unnavigable water. Additionally, the lack of mining in the area combined with low population numbers create a fantastic fishing environment.

Adrian had secured two rooms in a newly finished lodge, built by some family friends, close to the shores of Lago Yelcho, the mouth of the Futa River. The hosts were very nice and the matriarch of the household put together great meals.

Our first day on Lago Yelcho was eye opening; the scenery could not be more beautiful. However, the fishing was difficult. My skill level, combined with very clear water and the lack of any wind to affect the surface of it, made for some very hard fishing. Many times I watched a large trout casually inspect my fly only to slink by it uninterested. I realized quickly realized that my goal was to learn and not just try rip fish out of the water.

Day 2 was on the Futa River. Practicing new skills, my technique progressed. I had a great time relaxing and enjoying the seemingly unspoiled surroundings.

On day 3, we moved to the Palena River. Needing to take a barge across the river to the put-in I figured the area would be less traveled. It would turn out that once we put on the river we wouldn’t see one other person until we took out.

The motor boat we were on was built for the Palena. Its low profile and propeller-less propulsion let us easily move over the shallow river. We often stopped to fish shallow rocky sections on foot. As the rain fell I really started to get into a rhythm and was catching fish. Many times I took a moment to realize where I was at and it was very exciting. At the end of the day, my arms and shoulders were sore, my hands were blistered, and I felt I learned and improved upon some skills. I was excited to fish again.

The next day Adrian drove me back to Esquel, Argentina where I began the long route home. I would very much like to go back.

During Carnival break in February, Roman and I traveled to Patagonia, Argentina. We arrived in Buenos Aires and quickly made our way to El Calafate in southern Argentina. We spent two days in El Calafate, exploring the Perito Moreno glacier in Los Glacieres National Park. This glacier is part of the Southern Patagonia Ice Field which is the 3rd largest reserve of freshwater in the world. Another interesting fact is that this glacier is only one of three Patagonian glaciers that is still growing, not receding. There were building size pieces of glacier calving off and the biggest of the day was a tower 150′ tall.

From El Calafate, we took a bus to El Chalten, a small town to the north that would be the start of our trekking tour around Monte Fitz Roy. We met up with our friends from Colorado, Meghan and Peter, for a few days of exploring. The first day, we hiked to our lodging at El Pilar, a 17 kilometer hike that had spectacular views of Monte Fitz Roy and the surrounding valleys and glaciers. The second day, we hiked to Laguna de los Tres which offered the most beautiful views of Mont Fitz Roy.

Meghan and Peter headed north on their journey on the third morning while Roman and I continued exploring the areas around El Pilar. We headed out with plans to go to Lago Electrico but ended up at Laguna Azul where the water was so clear blue that you could see the fish swimming around in the lake. On the fourth morning, Roman and I hiked to Loma del Pliegue Tumbado. This hike was our favorite and gave us amazing views of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy.

We ended our journey in El Calafate on Superbowl Sunday where we cheered on the Broncos from our hostel. It was a bit of a surreal experience.

Happy 40th Birthdays to us! This was the trip of a lifetime and a great way to celebrate this milestone.

For Quito Days (6 de Diciembre), we traveled with our friends, Vanessa, Nick, and John, to the town of La Esperanza to the north of Quito. We stayed at Casa Aida where the owner, Aida, told us stories and showed us pictures from the 1970s when Bob Dylan and members of Pink Floyd stayed there.

On Saturday morning, we got up early and hiked to the top of Imbabura, the local volcano. It was a cloudy day so there were not any views from the top but it was a fun hike with all of our friends and Lucy.

Over the Thanksgiving weekend, we revisited Mindo, a small town in the beautiful cloud forest of the Western Andes. We stayed at El Descanso where we were able to relax and enjoy some bird watching from the decks of the lodge.

We did some different hikes this time, including the Yellow House Trails and a guided night hike. We saw some interesting organisms on the night hike: tree frogs, spiders, different types of insects, and an owl. It was a little creepy walking through the cloud forest in the dark!