Quito is located at 2800 m above sea level. That’s already in the zone for altitude sickness, for those of us not used to high altitude. The hike we were intending to do would have been up to 5000m. We all had a cup of coca leaf tea to boost our energy levels. 

So we decided that persevering through the storm was probably not a prudent idea and also would be pretty pointless given the impossibility of a view through the hail and clouds. So… Our highest altitude of this trip turned out to be approximately 4500m, and we didn’t really have much of a hike. Even so, I could definitely feel it. It’s weird. My legs felt strong and reliable and I didn’t feel queasy or headachy at all, but my heart rate was way higher than normal and I felt out of breath in a way that felt a bit like bad anxiety. Anyhow, we had our bit of a hike and Javier skillfully turned the van around and we went back down to the lower part of the mountain and hopped on the bikes.

For the next couple hours we traveled on what felt like a slight downhill but must have been a slight incline, because the road was parallel to an irrigation ditch which was always flowing against our direction. I was quite baffled: you’d think by now I’d be able to tell uphill from downhill. We stopped to walk to a spot where a river comes out of the mountain. It’s considered good luck to put your feet in the water, and they say if you wash your face in the stream it’ll make you look younger. I didn’t care to get my feet any wetter than they already were, so I only tried the rejuvenation facewash.

Then back on our bikes for some pretty technical downhill riding. Jeannie says it totally counted as mountain biking, and I admit I was a tiny bit jealous of the bikes with shocks. It was about 4pm when we got to our lunch stop, and us bike riders were hungry, wet and cold. Javier was dry and toasty in his puffy fleece jacket and kept turning the heat down or opening his window letting in a freezing breeze. ! Dude!  Anyhow, we all survived, and were relieved to change into dry clothes and eat a hot lunch.

The hotel in Baños was beautiful, with a breakfast buffet almost as extensive as the Sheraton in Quito. Jeannie and I went out for snacks, beer and people-watching in the evening.

F