CicloVia

Well it's been 2 months since my last post.  I would say it's safe to say I'm a bit behind.  Juuuust a bit.  But before I can get into the thrills of Carnaval in Rio, beautiful islands, paragliding, 1950s cars in Havana, monkeys boarding our tour boat, and big ships passing through the Panama Canal...I feel the need to finish two run-of-the-mill posts that I started months ago.  And as exciting as Brazil and Cuba and Panama were, I also like the idea of updating you folks at home on our everyday experiences.  Quito is a great city and we've really enjoyed the weekends we've spent here as well!

Back in Feb (or maybe it was Jan...) Javier and I finally took advantage of a great opportunity Quito offers every Sunday.  Quito is a long city (North to South), with four main avenues running the length of the city.  On Sundays, the city shuts down Amazonas to automobile traffic and allows the bikes of Quito free-reign.  The road is called CicloVia.  At $3 an hour to rent a bike, we just had to feel the wind in our hair, sailing down the streets of the city.

Parts of the road took us a bit closer to traffic than I would have hoped, but you can see the many folks taking advantage of the available roadway.  (Also I dropped my phone and almost feel off my bike right after taking this picture).

Our buddy, Ashley, is a regular on the CicloVia ,so she was showing us the ropes.  Here we stopped at a water station in Centro Historico.

The road took us straight into old town and provided for some amazing views.  It looks small in my photo, but the Virgin of Quito was beautiful up on the Panecillo hill.

Look at this cool tree that grows through the sidewalk.  (And Ashley rocking her bike riding!)

We took the road around the Panecillo and ended up seeing some cool sights.  Including this staircase which puts the Georgetown Exorcist stairs to shame.

And this statue.  I remember the plaque said something cool about this guy, but now I can't remember.  Javier says that is said something about how if he had a balcony in every city and town, he'd be president (and then he was....we think).

Mostly we enjoyed the beauty of Quito's roads.  Ecuadorian streets have a look about them that I hope I recognize forever.

And views like this.

It was a wonderful morning full of Quito sights.

And on the way back we had a view of the Bascilica!

Wish we had taken advantage of this awesome opportunity earlier.  It was something special to see the city this way!