Bici Nueva!!

Went to Bike Stop on Eloy Alfaro/cross street Granados last Saturday - great shop!  We talked with the owner/manager who ended up speaking perfect English (he went to Colegio Americano for high school), great guy.  He had just come back from Denver where Orbea was introducing their new 2013 line.  We asked him if he had any mid-range bikes for me, used preferably, for use at Parque Metropolitano and on Sundays for the Ciclopaseo.  He showed us a Felt RXC Team hardtail - very lightly used, really a nice looking bike, decent components (much better than some of the other bikes we'd been looking at over the past few weeks)!  I took it out for a one minute long ride and realized right away that it rode amazingly well and was a great climber!  We went back and bought it this week after several strategic trips to the ATM over the course of this week to collect the pile of cash I needed to buy it. Of course, cash only.  I wanted to buy it this past week but was nervous about walking a mile with a ton of cash on me.  So today we split up, Sung with half the cash, he rode his bike, and then I took the other half and jumped on a bus for the short trip down Alfaro.  Learned yet another lesson after the first bus rushed past me without slowing down - you have to signal to them that you want to get on otherwise they won't stop!  Despite the fact that I'm standing in the bus stop and staring them down!!!

Anyway, back to the bike...so I researched it a bit more online and it looks like it's made for cross country riding and racing, nothing super technical, it's definitely perfect for me! Frame is scandium (which I had never heard of) and a tiny piece is carbon in the back.  The other components aren't super high end but this bike should be perfect for me.  Who knows, I might even ship it back to Denver when we're done!  Super psyched for Ciclopaseo mañana!!

A Visit to Cumbayá

We decided a day trip to Cumbayá might be nice for a Saturday afternoon.  On our way there we stopped at Bike Stop and I found a really nice used Felt hard tail that I'm going to buy on Monday.  The sales guy spoke perfect English - turns out he had gone to Colegio Americano!  And he had been in Denver to see the new Orbea 2013 line a few weeks ago.  I'm psyched for my new bike, I can tell from a super short test ride that it's gonna be a great climber.  I might even take it back to Denver at the end, we'll see!

So after test riding my bike we hop on a green bus heading to Cumbayá from the corner of Eloy Alfaro and Granados.  We had no idea where to get off so we stayed on thinking we would see the reservoir and know that it was time to get off.  Nope, that didn't happen.  Sung asked a couple of teenage kids and they told us that we were way beyond Cumbayá so we immediately got off.  But as we got off the dude that we were supposed to pay had disappeared so we handed the driver some money.  We weren't sure how much it was so we gave him $0.75. He drove away so we figured it was close enough.  As he drove away the guy who was collecting money ran and jumped back on, who knows where he had gone?  Things like that always seem to happen here.  So we cross the street and decide we should just grab a cab back to Cumbayá since we didn't want the same thing to happen twice and end up back in Quito.

Of course the cab that pulls up is unmarked so we're a little hesitant to get in.  He says $2 and we say sure, okay.  Turns out he had lived in San Francisco for 25 years but was originally from Ecuador.  He gave us a free tour of Cumbayá and was super friendly.  He showed us the rails to trails path that I'm planning on using for some of my longer runs.  He also showed us the park and finally brought us to 'La Esquina' which is this open air place with a bunch of restaurants, coffee shops, and of course a pirated DVD store.

This is the trail head of the Chaquiñan (means 'trail' in Quechua), it's located right near the parque central which is surrounded by bars and restaurants. They rent bikes right there ($5 for an afternoon).

We also stopped by the park - nice open space, it was a beautiful sunny day!  With just enough breeze to keep us cooled off.

We were thirsty for some dark beer (as we always are) so we headed into the English pub for a pint.  It was PRICEY!!!  $6.25 for a pint, $13 for a burger.  Happy hour is 2 for 1 on 'cerveza de barril' (which I think is their microbrewed beer) and coctails, starts at 4, not sure how late it goes though...

Dark beer!  It was decent, not as good as Turtle's Head in Quito though.

European football

Turtle's Head was closed even though it was after 5 when they were supposed to open.

We headed to La Esquina to a sushi restaurant called 'Yoshi San' which turned out to be just okay.  The spicy tuna roll was good but our specialty Kamikaze roll was really bad, the crab was all watery and the outside wrap was some mysterious green leafy plant that didn't resemble the normal seaweed outside.  Strange!  The gyoza was disappointing also, it was deep fried and again - strange!

We had a super easy time getting home, jumped on a green bus heading back to Quito and paid the guy $0.35 each when we got on.  We successfully jumped off at Eloy Alfaro and got on another local bus who dropped us right at the bottom of our stairs.  We were proud of ourselves for navigating that! 

Below is a map for reference on Cumbayá, it should help with knowing when to get off the bus.  We couldn't find a single tourist map of Cumbayá online so I figured I'd create my own mini one.  So the bus will descend down and down and down into the valley.  The bus will probably stop at the Megamaxi and then it will keep going past the large traffic circle.  After the traffic circle get off at one of the next stops.  This will get you close to the park, the trail head, and to La Esquina.

Overall I liked Cumbayá, people were super friendly, it seemed safer (I know, that's exactly when pickpocketing happens, when you let your guard down), a great little day trip.  Excited to do my long runs and then finish with a dark beer at Turtle's Head, I'll just have to time it right so I finish well after 5!

No Ordinary Run in Parque Metropolitano

A run in Parque Metropolitano Guanguiltagua - try saying this 5x fast - this is how we have to ask cab drivers to get us home every single time since we live about a block from the park entrance - it's quite the challenge!  Anyway, notice the llamas on the sign - but I'll get to them later...

But first - fires.  Fires have been the theme as of late here in Quito.  This past Sunday I was running down the trail when it started to get really smoky and I spotted a wall of flames burning about 100 yards from me.  I ran full speed in the other direction and didn’t stop running until I got home.  And then last night the park was burning yet again and this time it was much bigger because the entire city was covered in a cloud of smoke and there was ash raining down on us as we walked to go climbing.  The smoke was strong and thick in the air.  We watched as a water truck filled up from a city hydrant and headed back up the hill toward the park.  We hoped that they would contain it soon so that there would still be trees left in the park!  Based on today's run it looks like they got it under control. I didn't get a chance to see the damage that it caused but over the next couple days I will get back to that area to check it out.

So today before I headed out for my run I noticed the smoke smell in the apartment again but I looked outside and it was clear.  So I figured the fire must be further off and not in the park today.  As I’m running I start to hear helicopters overhead and I notice that the helicopter has a basket hanging from it.  As I continue my run I get over toward the water treatment plant and realize that they are filling the basket with water from the plant and then somehow dumping it on the fire, wherever the fire was.  I was taking pictures through a chain link fence so they aren't the greatest but you get the idea...

Fighting forest fires in Quito:

Helicopter with basket

They were literally just dunking the basket into the water and letting it fill and then flying off again

I realized where it was as soon as I started heading back down toward my house – it was on the other side of the city nestled in the opposing hills from where I was.  Thankfully it looked like it was contained solely in the woods and wasn’t super close to the houses.

Now for the llamas...I brought my camera on the run so I could take some pictures of the llamas – Sung still has yet to see them!  Maybe they’re only out during the day which is why I see them almost every day I’m there.  I didn't see the shepherd guy today but I'm sure he was there, he carries a staff and herds them all around the park so they can have fresh grass to graze on. 

The baby has to be my favorite - so soft and fuzzy!!

I decided to go to all my favorite places within the park since I had my camera with me:

The Mirador of Cumbayá - beautiful views to the nearby suburb of Cumbayá, a lot of American expats live there, it's supposed to be safer than Quito

Random dog walker - that's a lot of dogs!

This rock/grass/dirt sculpture reminds me of the pictures in the Andy Goldsworthy book - they call this sculpture apacheta which means cairn:

Zipline!  I need another person to hold the rope thingie while I climb up on the platform though - Brandon and I tried it when he was here visiting - it's fun but you get jerked pretty hard at the end.  They would never allow this in the US for liability reasons!

 

This is my outdoor gym.  It's not the best but it's something!

Sculpture with tortoises crawling toward a giant chair!  Kinda strange!

Stores where you can buy snacks and of course - ice cream!!

 

 
After a month of running after 3 years off my legs are FINALLY feeling springy again.  By the end of 2 years hopefully I'm hoping to be good at running uphill!

The beginning of the up and up and up...

This might be the only flat trail at the park!  At the end of this trail there's a random set of pull up bars (in the middle of the woods!) that I like to attempt at least once a week.  This is definitely my outdoor playground.

Beautiful day for a run - and lots to distract me!  My mom will be happy now - she'll be able to envision where I spend about an hour of each day.

Hiking Loma Lombosí

Road up to the top - am I there yet?

So from what I can find online there is very little information about this hike.  The only information I could find about it is what was in my guidebook (which in my opinion was very much lacking).  So I will do my best to sum up the hike and add some additional details which I would have found helpful.

Let me first set some expectations for this hike:

1. You will not see any other hikers or tourists on this hike, people will look at you like you are crazy and be prepared to receive attention from school kids and locals who will just stare.  I am used to this because I have blonde hair – I expect to be a spectacle so it’s really no different than any normal day.
2. You are not on trails; it is majority on roads so if you are looking for peace and quiet you will get some but be prepared to share the trail with cars. It is through a bunch of little villages and I’m sure I was on people’s personal property (but there is no way to avoid this unless you take the roads the entire way)
3. There isn’t much shade so bring ample water and make sure to wear sunscreen
4. Total climbing ~2200 feet (I wouldn’t classify this as easy by any stretch of the imagination, I know this goes against what the book says).  This is not meant for a morning ‘stroll’ like I was envisioning originally.
5. Total distance (including detours and the walk up from Orellana) ~ 6 miles, a little less
6. Total time ~ 2 hrs 40 mins
7. Some positives: Great views of Quito, feels like you are a world away, in the middle of the country with farming and livestock and a different pace of life.

I found what looked like an easy little hike in the Ecuador Climbing the Hiking Guide called Loma Lumbisí.  I figured it would be a nice morning walk, a break from my school work for a few hours.  I decided to do it in reverse order from how they recommend in the book.  I wasn’t sure I would be able to successfully take a bus from the La Marín plaza to the Via Oriental interchange; I was worried I wouldn’t be able to recognize the intersection and I would miss it altogether and end up who knows where.  So instead I started from the Mirador del Guápulo in González Suárez.  I took the Ecovía to the Orellana station and walked up Orellana until I got to the traffic circle.  Be really careful at all these street crossings – people drive fast and they don’t wait for pedestrians.  Now, at the traffic circle make sure to turn left onto González Suárez heading northeast (if you head straight you will end up taking an extra detour like I did).  The road curves north and you will see Hotel Quito on the right hand side.  At the next street take a right and further down the street you will see the Mirador del Guápulo overlooking the valley.  Take a moment to look down and see how far you will descend before you start hiking up.  Make sure you are ready for at minimum 1000 feet of climbing on the other side to get to the very tippy top of the ridge on the other side.  You can turn around at any point (which was my plan) HOWEVER the hike down to the river requires walking along some narrow busy streets (not a trail for the majority of it) which I didn’t love so I decided to do the entire one way hike.  In addition there are so many twists and turns and streets and stairs that I wasn’t confident I wouldn’t get lost trying to get back.  My map that I printed quickly in the morning left much to be desired as I quickly learned.

Mirador del Guápulo

 Okay, so once you are at the Mirador you want to:

1. Make sure you have a few hours of spare time and at least $0.25 in change to get you back to Centro Historico at the end of the hike
2. Take some pictures
3. Find the stairs just to the left of the main sign (green railings)

Start walking down the stairs and continue to follow them until you get dumped out onto the road. 

The stairs going down from the Mirador

Continuation of the Stairs, descending into the valley

Stairs ending in windy road

 

Cool narrow roads and alleyways

Follow the road until you see short cuts down (like the one above, usually with more stairs) and follow those until you get back to a road.  Your goal in all of this is to find De Los Conquistadores and the main town plaza (small but recognizable as a plaza/open space).  If you see the Spanish embassy do not take the stairs next to it – this will take you on a detour.  Instead you want to continue down the street.  If you see a traffic light this is a good sign, you want to go on Conquistadores at that point (there is no sidewalk on either side of the street but have no fear, you are close to the square).  On Google maps it is right underneath the words Unidad de Policia Cominitaria de Guápulo.   You can also see on the map below how the road zig zags down into the valley

View Larger Map

From the main square you will find a trail which you follow until it turns into a road.  This road will bring you to the main road where you will turn left.  Follow this road all the way down to the bridge.  As you are walking down the road you will see the trail on the other side of the bridge (yes, an actual trail)!   

If you look closely you can see the trail going straight up the hill

The Bridge

Taking a break, he just sat there like a statue, barely noticed I was walking by

After the bridge take the trail straight up for a while until it ends in the road.  Cows along the trail…

Continue on the road for a while which eventually becomes a dirt road.  Take that up to a white house where the dirt road seems to end.  Off to your left there is a tiny trail that cuts back across sort of the direction where you just came.  Take that and then you will be back on the main road.  Continue to climb up and up and up until you get to the very top.  From here you should celebrate because the hard part is over.  Enjoy the views of Quito – they are fabulous!

Continue to follow the road until it forks.  Bear right and continue down.  Off to the left there is a small path that will cut down to the road again.  I followed locals all the way down which made it easy!  Continue to follow the road (Sicalpa) until it dead ends into stairs.  


View Larger Map

Take those stairs down and turn left on Carlos Polit.  Follow Carlos Polit all the way down to the bus stop on the Pan Am Highway.  From here jump on any bus that says ‘La Marin’on the front of it.  It should cost $0.25.  Once you are at La Marín you can take any number of buses to get you back home/to your hotel.