Distance to Date: 9654 km, 5986 mi

After a little relaxation in Mancora, we continued north along the Peruvian coast to Tumbes and then crossed over into Ecuador. We are currently in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, and will continue north into Colombia in a couple of days. Wow, Colombia will be the last country in South America! All is going well and we are having a blast! Wow, if you have the time and budget to do something like this ...do it!!! Well worth it!

The road to Ecuador after the coast is flat and smooth. Tauru takes a break and notices the sign. Wow! Ecuador! We stay in a nearby border town where there's Krusty Burger. They do exist. Onward we go. We take a lunch break here along the side of the highway. The kitchen and standard asado (grilled meat). Back on the bike with a full tummy for $2. Ecuador actually uses US dollars as their currency, so conversion is easy. At a roadside break, Tauru takes the opportunity to do some trimming. We stay in Santa Rosa for the night. With hotels so inexpensive, it is hard to not take them. $8 to $10 per night for two people makes it really affordable. Lunch break. We arrive in Quito on a Sunday. And to our great surprise, 26 km of road is closed off for bikes only! Apparently, this happens every Sunday. Everyone comes out. Families, too. Our trailer tire blows out. Luckily, there is a bike shop nearby. Bands of cyclists ride by as we replace the tire. Not sure what happened. Perhaps just wear and tear, or poor quaility on the sidewall. What a great way to splend Sunday morning. Dad rides behind to make sure his son's practice with training wheels goes well. That would be cool for cities all around the world to have blocked-off streets dedicated for bikes only every Sunday. Get out and ride! Tauru takes an opportunity to talk to these chicas about the 2B2R project. Stands are set up along the 26 km route to educate people about health and fitness. Quito is nestled in a valley some 20 miles long and 3 miles wide. During a break, we meet a family and talk to them about our project. We were actually riding alongside them but didn't know this (something about not being able to see well). When we tell them we are legally blind, they realize why we were riding so slowly with them. Good folks. They really like what we are doing to promote the abilities of the visually impaired. Ahhhh... We usually walk the bike in cities; but here, absent of cars, we are free to ride. Events are set up in the center of the city. This one is a rap and hip-hop concert. It is tempting to ride since it's so open, but we walk instead because it's a beautiful day and downtown Quito is gorgeous. Plaza Santo Domingo. Don't have a bike? Rent one for the day. For $12 (per night for two people), this is what you can get in downtown Quito. For dinner, Tauru sniffs out a Chinese restaurant. It's his nature. A plate of fried noodles, veggies, shrimps, and pork for $3.70. Yummmm, he's one happy tourist. Okay, this is an interesting pair of boxer briefs. It says "Rompeme el corazón... pero no las pelotas!" Translation: "Break my heart ...but not my balls!"