We got picked up this morning by Dimitri and Roberto. We wanted to get an early start to beat the holiday rush. They drove us to Mount Chimbarazo about an hour away. Of course we had to stop for coffee and snacks - Gas Station coffee is very good. The plan was to hike to the highest point allowed without a guide. (Not starting from bottom, as it's a 2 day summit.) That point is at 17000 feet! Well above the snow line and definitely into tough-breathing territory. Abby and Peyton stopped around 16000 feet and Annie stopped at 16500. Altitude sickness took its toll. Headaches, nausea, and trouble breathing. Eileen, Simo, and Chris went all the way to Condor Lake, 16732 feet! Any further requires a guide and ice climbing equipment. Everyone regrouped at the staging area and got on our bikes.
The bikes were fantastic, high quality and well maintained. Each were fit for a particular person. After a few safety reminders we headed out. 40 kilometers later we finished an incredible ride. A little off road, some single track, some really rough dirt roads, and then nice pavement through at least 4 different climates/agricultural areas. Herds of vicuna, sheep, cows, indigenous Indians, incredible scenery; just an incredible ride. We ended in a little town where we had an entire restaurant reserved for us.
It was Good Friday and they served us Fanesca - a real treat because we wanted to try it.
Here is a description of Fanesca:
Fanesca is a very traditional soup from Ecuador and is a special soup or stew because it is only prepared once a year during Easter and Lent. This special soup is made with bacalao or dry salted cod, a mix of fresh squash and hard squash, fava beans, chochos, corn, peas, porotos or fresh beans, rice, onions, garlic, cumin, achiote, peanuts, milk, cream and cheese.
Sounds completely disgusting, right?! It was absolutely delicious! Everyone enjoyed it. (They made it without peanuts so Peyton could enjoy it as well.)
After a day of hiking and biking the HIGHEST mountain in the world, we were beat and had pizza delivered for dinner. I know you're all thinking that Everest is the tallest mountain in the world and you've never even heard of Chimborazo...true except Chimborazo is the highest, not the tallest. Due to the Equatorial bulge, the peak of Chimborazo is actually the closest place on earth to outer space!
Our big thrill of the day came when Dimitri told us we “did better than he expected!” We actually covered the 40 kilometers in good time and got up to some pretty significant speed in parts. Awesome day!
Wow! You're almost touching the clouds! How many miles was the downhill bike ride? Abby fits perfectly on THAT bike. Did you go up for sunrise?
ReplyDeleteSo did anybody “need the donkey” to finish the hike?
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