San Juan – Tulcán – El Ángel- La Concepción – Buenos Aires – Paramo Piñan – Otavalo – Perucho – Nanegalito – Mindo – Parroquia Nono – Quito
3 rest days | 11 cycling days | 558 kilometers | 15.400 meters elevation gain
In the south of Colombia I’ve met two other cyclists, Gaetan and Dea. They’re a couple from Switzerland and they’re cycling from Colombia to Argentina. We decided to start cycling together. We don’t know for how long. We just go with the flow as long as we still like cycling together. It’s been since Nicaragua that I’ve cycled together with someone (with Fernanda) and I was actually looking forward to meet some fellow cyclists again.
So today is our first full day on the bike together. I couldn’t be more excited. We have breakfast with bread and coffee from the local bakery. After that we start following a beautiful gravel road towards the little town of Potosi, where we have more bread and coffee. After that we climb towards the Las Lajas sanctuary, a beautiful basilica that’s build on a bridge between the two sides of the Guáitara river.
After that we make our way to the Colombian-Ecuadorian border. Everywhere we look we see Venezuelans that are trying to make their way south. They all stop to beg when they see us. It’s a bit harsh.
We do give some food to some and Dea and Gaetan give some money to a family, but we cannot help them all, they’re simply with too many.
All the shops and buildings in this area are locked. When we try to buy some groceries from our last Colombian money I ask the shop owner why his shop has a big lock on it and his answer is simple: “Venezuelans”. I guess they’re afraid that the migrants are trying to raid their stores, or maybe it did happen in the past. Thing is that it makes everything a bit unpleasant and dark.
The border crossing is easy and before I know it I’ve touched base with the fourteenth country during this trip: Ecuador!
We make it to the closest big city Tulcán and check into a hotel. Our first impressions are not that different to Colombia, the way the people look, the way the cities look, the food, etcetera. We only notice small differences: street lighting, parking bays and we think to see that the people dress a bit wealthier. The hotels and food are also a bit more expensive.




I notice that Dea and Gaetan are way better prepared than me when it comes to the route they want to take and the highlights of every country. To be honest I don’t really know the highlights of Ecuador, but my tactic is always to talk with people to find out nice places. And otherwise I just get lost and stumble upon places that are not touristy at all, which I like maybe more. Anyway, Gaetan and Dea want to follow the Trans Ecuador Mountain Bike Route. I know these routes. They are invented by real ‘bikepackers’ from bikepacking.com and, just like the name says, are made for lightly packed mountain bikes with big and wide tires. I followed one of these infamous routes in the States with Jacko (The Great Divide) but after a week we abandoned the route because it was to hard to do with our bikes. I am simply too heavily loaded and have 26″ small tires. Anyway, I’ll still start following this route with Dea and Gaetan tomorrow, because at this point having the company is more important to me than the kind of route. It’s going to be tough, but probably also very pretty.
Something that’s new for me these days is putting an alarm clock. We decided to meet at 07:30 downstairs at the hotel lobby. Since I feel like I’m joining the Swiss I don’t want to be the delaying factor. So at 07:25 I’m ready downstairs. Something that doesn’t happen to me frequently, because normally I’m always late.
After having breakfast in one of these little stalls on the streets we set off. It’s not long before we leave tarmac and our wheels are crunching little stones and earth on a gravel road going up. We are joined by an older man that’s on his weekly mountain bike ride up the mountain. He joins us for a good hour but then has to turn around to descend back to Tulcán. We wave him goodbye and make our way further up the mountain. The scenery is changing quickly now.
We are reaching 3.000 meters and the green plants and trees are slowly disappearing. The mountains are getting more bare and typical high-altitude plants like frailejones are showing themselves in high numbers. It’s a cold landscape and it looks like we’re cycling in a different world. I have been waiting for a change of landscape already since Central America and finally I get my way.
Not only the landscape has changed, the road has changed too. And not in a good way. This part of the road is not suitable for cars anymore and thus not maintained. We have to push our bikes through thick black mud where our shoes disappear. Ride through puddles that are so deep and wide that our feet get wet. We have to overcome landslide after landslide. It’s a cruel beginning of the Trans Ecuador, but luckily the views make up for a lot.
We reach the refugee of the National Park El Angel. Here we have lunch, walk up to some lakes and get a chance to clean our bikes from all the mud. The road after that is a bit better but this time we have to ride over cobblestones. After a very bumpy ride with amazing views we reach asphalt and the town of El Angel. Here we make some last groceries before heading a bit further to find a camp spot for tonight. We could’ve checked into a hospedaje in El Angel but Gaetan and Dea were looking forward to their first camping experience. We find a back road but cannot find any suitable camping spots. The sun is almost down and we decide to knock on the gate of a cow farm. The friendly Ecuadorians that are working with the cows let us put up the tent on their terrain. We set up the tents, slide into dry clothes and make dinner on our stoves. Sharing a camp spot is so much better and more fun than being alone!









I wake up from zipping tents and softly whispers, which is a very nice and comforting feeling. I show Dea and Gaetan my usual breakfast with oatmeal, nuts, raisins and bananas which they love. After packing in and having another nice conversation with the guys from the farm we make our way over asphalt to the village of San Isidro. After some coffee and bread we take another gravel road which goes up a mountain. We meet another cyclist that is following the Trans Ecuador. His name is Eric, is from The States and has the proper bike for these terrains. With the four of us we take a very fun single-track downhill with amazing views over the valley and all the other mountains that surround us. What follows is a road full of cobblestones. I hate cobblestones. In the town of La Concepcion we have a meal in what seems to be somebodies living room. We skip a little bit of the Trans Ecuador and take an asphalted road parallel to it and try to find a camp spot there. Eric will continue the off-road Trans Ecuador route and we’ll see him again tomorrow.
We go pretty fast downhill when suddenly I hear the sound of a slack tire taking a corner followed by a big bang. When I look around I see that Gaetan has crashed. I pedal back to see how he is. He hit the asphalt hard and he has blood on his hands, elbow and hip.
He has to lie down because he doesn’t feel good. After a while we help him up and make it down to a bus stop where we further inspect the damage. His right brake lever is broken and he has a lot of pain. I try to fix his bike but I cannot. They decide to take a bus to the first big city which is Ibarra. To fix the bike and recover from the crash.
We say goodbye. And then suddenly I’m alone again. It hits me hard. Everything went so fast that I need some time to process this as well. I was so happy to cycle together again and already had in my mind that I would be cycling together with them for weeks. But after three days it’s all over suddenly and I don’t know if I’m going to meet them again. I really don’t feel like camping but the sun is setting and there’s nothing around.
I find a really pretty camp spot and after setting up my tent and cooking my pasta I have some time to think. Will I continue this grueling Trans Ecuador or should I pick up my own route (with more asphalt and less cobbles) from this point on? I’ve heard through the Swiss that a real highlight of the route is coming up the next few days, so I decide to follow the route for a few more days. After that I will re-evaluate.










In the morning I cannot enjoy my process of slowly waking up and sitting in my camping chair, because I’m overwhelmed by little biting mosquitoes and lots of cockroaches that like to fly into my face. So I pack up quickly and start pedaling.
The Tour de France has officially started today and after an hour on the bike I find a breakfast place with WiFi so I am able to watch the finale. After breakfast I find another cockroach that was hiding in my helmet. By now I’m pretty used to “live amongst insects, bugs and other creepy crawlies” but this sends some shivers down my spine. Brrr.
The day before yesterday we were sleeping at 3.000m altitude and yesterday at 1.300m and the difference couldn’t be bigger. During the night the difference was exactly one sleeping bag. This morning the sun is beating down on me, it’s boiling hot. I have the feeling the sun is three times more powerful here.
After some more asphalt I turn left into a dirt road. In the booklets the climb that will follow is described as “an Herculean climb”, in my own words: a real bitch. So better get to it. A few kilometers in and a feel like a wet towel, the sun is pulling all the energy out of my body. The road is steep and annoying, loose rocks on a bed of earth. For every pedal stroke forward, my wheel slips back half a stroke. I crawl up with speeds around 4 to 5 kilometers per hour. It’s going to be a long and though day.
Every three kilometers or so I look for some shade to rest for a bit. The climb is 24 kilometers long. So, do the math. This will take me some time. This is pure self-flaggelation.
Countless times I hang over my steering wheel, totally exhausted. Halfway through I get cramps all over my body. I am dizzy. But I reach the top. Like always. You just got to keep fighting. Mentally I think I’ve became a beast this last year: I know I can do anything, no mountain is too high, never a towel thrown into the ring. I wonder if tomorrow I’ll have muscle ache in my jaw from the painful grimace that I make with my face these last hours.
It’s 17:40 when I reach the town of Buenos Aires. The town feels like a ghost town, there’s thick mist hanging in the streets, I see wild horses roaming the streets, all the wooden houses seem empty and there’s few people outside. I inform for hospedajes and apparently there’s two. I check into the first one I encounter and I meet Eric the bikepacker there. I am completely wrecked and can feel that my body took a big hit. I really have to pull myself together to take a shower and change clothes with the last energy remaining in my body. When I inform at the reception slash kitchen of the hospedaje for a towel, the lady from the hospedaje turns around from the stove and suddenly has some kind of grilled little beast on a stick and points it in my direction. With a big grin on her face she tells me that it’s a rat, “es rata, es rata!”. When she sees my shocked face she starts laughing and tells me it’s “cuy” or guinea pig. It’s a delicacy here and she gives me some. I am so hungry that I eat all of it and don’t think about the fact that I’m eating guinea pig. It’s actually not bad at all. After meeting up with Eric for a bit and having some more dinner in town I retrieve to my room to have some rest, I really need it.



Me and Eric have breakfast in the Wild Wild West village. I feel recovered from yesterday. Amazing how fast the human body can recover from such a big effort. Luckily it did because today is going to be another hell of a day. We set off on another terrible gravel road. I have to get off my bike many times to push over sections that are simply unrideable because of all the loose rocks. I swear at the road many times. Not Eric. He is the most calm and coherent person I’ve ever met. When he speaks I have to listen carefully because it’s almost at a whispering volume. He doesn’t get frustrated or angry at the road like me, but also does not get super enthusiastic when the scenery gets amazing, like I do.
We make it to the last hamlet before we ascend to a high altitude plane called Piñan. There is one little shop where we buy some soda and ice cream. We watch the kids of the hamlet, probably all of them, play some kind of game where they have to bump each others marbles.
Who needs PlayStations and iPads to have fun? We move on. Sweating and puffing, swearing and pushing. We finally make it over the last top. We are around 3.900m now and the landscape has drastically changed again. Bare mountains with only one type of vegetation, a beautiful moon landscape. We find a flat area where we can put up our tents. Next to us around 20 nomads are busy saddling up horses.
It’s incredibly cold and we have to put on all of our clothes to get warm. Eric has less clothes than me and the only way for him to be warm is to get into his sleeping bag. He wants to skip dinner. But I insist that we need to eat. I quickly make a pasta and some tea. Than it’s time to get into our sleeping bags. It’s only 8PM but we have no trouble sleeping because we are exhausted. We sleep amongst the sounds of neighing horses. Hats off to my sleeping bag because it is able to keep my warm in these harshly cold circumstances.









I’ve slept fine, which is pretty admirable at this elevation and with this cold. In the morning it’s hard to get out my warm sleeping bag because outside the cold awaits again. We have a slow breakfast and the watery sun that shows itself now and then is absolutely genius. We let the tents dry and then pack up.
One thing I’ve learned from my Swiss friends is that you cannot just poop in the wild. I was never aware, but apparently the human feces have many bacteria that are harmful for nature. So what you have to do is the following: dig a hole on a sloping hill facing the sun, not in the vicinity of any water source (river etc.). Eric carries nothing with him, not even a stove, but what he does have is a little spade for this purpose. Just like the Swiss, they also had a little spade with them. I feel so ignorant, never knew about this. I’ve pooped many times in the wild without digging a hole or any of these other precautions in mind. I guess ignorance is bliss.
In the meantime a true spectacle is taking place next to us. The twenty nomads/cowboys that we saw yesterday apparently also slept in tents next to us. They tell us that today is a big day because they’re going to find and chase down the roaming bulls on the plains here. They look wild, with spurs on their boots and lasso’s in their hands.
Off they go, and we follow their tracks a bit later.
First we climb a bit more to 3.950m, it’s the highest I’ve ever cycled. Then it’s time to descend back to society. Descending on these roads full of loose rocks sometimes really feels like skiing. But instead of skies I have 45kg bike under my ass which is a little bit less suitable for skiing. I slip now and then but no big crashes and I manage to keep my bike in control most of the time. As we descend further we reach a point where we can take off our legwarmers and jackets. From a terrible gravel road we reach a terrible cobblestone road and we hobble on.
When we reach the first town again we indulge ourselves on a big and warm lunch meal. The route follows some more cobblestone roads towards the big city of Otavalo, but at this point I’m sick and tired of these roads so I decide to take the main asphaltized road towards the town. Not Eric, I guess he really just wants to follow the Trans Ecuador route, so we decide to meet each other again in the most famous plaza of Otavalo.
We arrive at the same time and celebrate with bottles of beer and dinner. We only cycled together for two days, but it was so intense that it seemed like two weeks. We check into a hostel. I need a rest day tomorrow.






One rest day become two rest days, because I can feel that my body needs it after the huge effort of the last days.
One day is filled with the usual chores. I find out that one of my spokes has broken and it sits on the side of my cassette, which I cannot fix myself, so I’ll have to get it fixed at a bike shop.
Otavalo is a nice city, but it’s the people that make it nice. There are a lot of indigenous people here. The women dressed in beautiful white dresses with colorful embroidery. All the guys have long, black hair tied into a ponytail. Their faces look feminine. A few times I think I’m talking to a woman, but after a response with a deep voice I notice it’s a man after all. The people here really look like the indians like you find them in the comic books.
Another positive discovery is Ecuador’s bread. It’s the best of all the countries in all the America’s so far! From Canada to Colombia: shit bread. But here it suddenly changed into ‘okay’ bread. I’m verry happy about this.
I also meat Dea and Gaetan again, we cook dinner together at their AirBnB. Gaetan has recovered a bit from his crash, they went to the hospital in Ibarra but luckily no broken bones.
Only his wrist still really hurts so he got himself a brace. Today they’ve cycled 25 kilometers from Ibarra to Otavalo to see how riding the bike goes for him. I think it went okay. They will rest some more in Otavalo and then make their way down southward slowly. It’s so good to see them again and catch up. Just like with Eric, we only cycled 3 or 4 days together but so intense that it feels like weeks as well.
After dinner I cycle back to my hostel. Traffic is standing still and I cycle alongside the cars. Then suddenly a little old grandma opens the back door of the taxi she’s in, right in front of me. I can’t avoid the door anymore because it’s too close to me. I hit the door and then the ground. I’m pissed! I start in Spanish but end my salvo in English and Dutch. I tell her that she has to look before opening a car door. There could be bicycles riding next to the cars, just like I did! To my big surprise her and the taxi driver start accusing me, they tell me that I should cycle slower. Ha! What a joke. I’m totally pissed off at this point. I start asking bystanders who’s fault it was and luckily they blame the taxi and the old lady as well. With some abrasions and little wounds on my hand and leg I make my way to the hostel where I disinfect the wounds and put some band aid.



Today I’ll leave the Trans Ecuador Mountain Bike Route for what it is. Just like I already thought: it’s too hard on my bike and on me. I will still do sections of the route further down south, but for now I’ll start creating my own route through Ecuador and try to find equally nice routes on better pavement.
It’s been exactly one year ago that me and Jacko watched the Tour de France somewhere in the US every morning over a freshly made cup of coffee and breakfast. And now I’m under the spell of the Tour again. Which means that today I only start pedaling around 11AM since I want to watch the finale of todays stage. After that I say goodbye to the incredible fun and nice people from the hostel.
It starts all good, but then I’ll have to take on a cobbled ascend yet again. I guess there’s no avoiding gravel and cobbles here in Ecuador. I end the day in Perucho and ask around for free camping spots. The police directs me to a viewpoint and when I go into that direction I meet some people and tell them I’m looking for a camp spot. Five minutes later I’m making up a bed in an uninhabited house together with the friendly couple. They give me the keys to the house and tell me I can enjoy sleeping in a bed tonight. What an incredible hospitality once again. Bed, shower, electricity, toilet, my bike inside: I am a lucky bastard.
After making use of the kitchen countertop once more and preparing coffee and breakfast I make my way down to the house of the friendly people and return the keys. After that I start ascending a lovely paved climb with beautiful hairpins. It is tough to get up but I enjoy it. Such a smooth ride compared to all the gravel and cobbles of lately.
After that I descend to a village, have lunch and pass the equator. Another milestone! After making some pictures I descend further over a big paved road. I’m back at around 1.400m and the surroundings tell me the same. Suddenly I am amidst the rainforest again. At the end of the day I can put up my tent under the roof of a restaurant, which is welcome because it is raining quite a bit.
The next day I make it to the town of Mindo. In the middle of the Mindo Cloudforest. On my way there I encounter a loud honking car filled with guys that are cheering me on. Later I see them stopped on the side of the road and we make a small talk. They treat me to two glasses of beer (it’s still morning), which puts a smile on my face. Today should have been an easy day with only around 30 kilometers on the clock, but the seemingly easy days always turn out to be the hardest ones.






In Mindo I check into a beautiful hostel, with hummingbirds in the morning and a rippling small river next to it. I take it easy, read a book, go on a hike with a girl from Luxemburg and basically just chill. On the hike we see lots of exotic birds, but a toucan is the highlight.
After relaxing in Mindo it is time to get back on the bike. I want to make it to Quito in two days.
The day starts with a big descent out of Mindo, after which I take the “old road” to Quito. It is unpaved but the gravel is really smooth and nice. I like it! And it goes straight through the rainforest. During the day I only see two motos and three guys with machetes, but that’s it. The sound of birds, crickets and frogs are everywhere around me. The sun is strong but all day I’m protected by two walls of jungle left and right of me. I climb and I climb, but I enjoy.
I was a bit mistaken about the presence of facilities on this road. Google Maps told me there would be some restaurants but they seem not to exist anymore. I am getting pretty hungry when suddenly I arrive to one of the restaurants that seems to be open. I am greeted by a lady and tell her I would really like to eat something. She tells me that the menu of today is lasagna or ravioli. Wait. Menu of today? Normally I just order “lunch” and wait with whatever the ladies in the kitchen have prepared for that day. No menu, no choice, love it. So some bells start to ring in my head. When I inform about the price she tells me that the lasagna is 25 dollars. Oeff!! What kind of place is this? I tell her that normally I pay 2-3 dollars for a lunch and apparantly she also notices my face got a little pale. She tells me she also has a sandwich for $8,50. I don’t have another option, I’m starving and I don’t know if there’s anything else further up the road. When she leads me to the dining room I find out that this place is some kind of high-end birdwatching resort. I see lots of retired and wealthy Americans having their lunch as well. I feel so out of place here, I’m dirty and completely drenched in sweat. Suddenly I’m amidst high-end tourists, jazz music is softly playing over the speakers and everybody talks on a whispering volume. After my sandwich (that almost took up my day budget) I quickly hop back on the bike.
I ascend more and more and more. I’m cold, completely wet and tired and I don’t really feel like camping anymore. I decide to push on to make it to the next village called Nono and maybe score a warm shower and a bed in a hospedaje. I arrive in the dark and it’s already way past dinner time. I inform if I can still get some food in the tiny village but the responses are not what I hoped for: everything is closed at this point. The people do help me to find a place to sleep. A nice lady and her husband open the gates and show me the luxurious bamboo cabañas that they have to offer. They tell me that the price normally is 20 dollars per night, but they offer it to me for 10. Clearly they can see I’m shivering and totally exhausted from the ride. I ask if I can get it for 8 dollars, they laugh but they say it’s okay. After a super nice warm shower I am completely knocked out on the bed. I’m a bit nauseous, I guess from a calory deficiency. Luckily I still have some bread, a can of tuna and some banana chips in my food-bag. I guess that will be dinner for tonight. The rest of the evening I’m just passed out on my way too big and comfy bed.
I’m still pretty exhausted from yesterday and I have a relatively short day in front of me. So I take it easy in the morning. I watch the Tour de France and I only leave my bamboo hut around noon.
Another big climb leads out of Nono but luckily I’m back on pavement. I take it super easy and have lots of breaks sipping warm coffee from my thermos. After the climb follows a descent into Quito.
Wow, Quito! Sounds so nice and exotic. Cannot believe I already made it to Quito, Ecuador. A burst of happiness overcomes me. A beautiful cycle lane leads me through the middle of the city and I see beautiful cathedrals, parks and neighborhoods. I cycle a bit past Quito towards the outskirts on the other side. Here I’m greeted by Paola. I’ve met her when I was staying in a hostel in Cartagena and I’ve asked if I can stay a few days at her place. After we made a perfect duo in the karaoke bar in Cartagena, of course she couldn’t say no.





Tjee, Marijn wat een avonturen weer! En ja fietsen in gezelschap is veel aangenamer dan alleen. De foto’s geven een goed beeld van het landschap én het wegdek. Man! Veel respect!! Hou je taai verder.
Wat een start in Equador Marijn , gelukkig weer samen fietsen maar dan weer alleen emoties gaan alle kanten op
Echt petje af hoe je omgaat met teleurstellingen en je jezelf weer herpakt
Stay save en enjoy
Hey Marijn,
Wat een avonturen en ervaringen! Ups and downs, letterlijk en figuurlijk 😉
Vet om je verhalen te lezen! Dit is niet voor iedereen weggelegd, respect man.
Hasta luego
Hey Marijn,
Wat een avonturen en ervaringen! Ups and downs, letterlijk en figuurlijk 😉
Vet om je verhalen te lezen! Dit is niet voor iedereen weggelegd, respect man.
Hasta luego
Brent! Zo leuk om berichtjes uit onverwachte hoeken te krijgen! Thanks man. Ups en downs, zeker waar, het is niet altijd makkelijk, maar gelukkig veel meer ups dan downs 🙂 Hasta pronto
Met kippenvel weer zitten lezen ….wat voor avonturen dat jij dagelijks beleefd. Vaak heb ik met je te doen maar als ik tussen de regels door lees hoe jij aan het genieten bent. Geweldig
Er wordt ontzettend afgezien maar gelukkig nog veel meer genoten. Het is één groot avontuur. Kusjes aan De Bus!