June 15th 2024 – Quito, Ecuador

Our last night in Colombia was celebrated with Bandeja Paisa – the closest thing to a national dish in the country. The combination of ground beef, fried pork belly, chorizo, fried eggs, beans, rice, guacamole, baked plantain and an arepa made it one of the heaviest and richest meals I’ve ever had.

After dinner we managed to waddle to a funky nearby cafe and enjoy yet another cup of delicious Colombian coffee. Walking around Ipiales in the evening was a strange experience. The otherwise bustling place turned into a ghost town as soon as the sun set. The few places still open operated behind locked doors and security grills. When we entered a restaurant or cafe the door would be locked behind us. The locals seemed anxious.

It was only 3 km from our hotel to the border.
We arrived early in the morning and found a quiet parking spot right next to the Colombian immigration and customs buildings. A friendly old man came up to us and exchanged our last pesos to dollars. He offered to keep an eye on our bikes. We preferred to do that ourselves and took turns being processed. Getting out of Colombia went like a breeze. No lines and friendly officials.

The Rumichaca International Bridge delivered us to the Ecuadorian side of the border.

Immigration took about 5 minutes for the both of us. Customs was a bit more time consuming.
After handing over the papers on the bikes, we waited maybe half an hour before getting called back to the window to have the paperwork done. We spent the time talking to the other travelers in line.
There was a nice and relaxed atmosphere at the border.
At one point a police officer came over and asked if we had a minute. We followed him to a group of police officers standing nearby. It turned out that they just wanted to welcome us to Ecuador, reassure us that it was a safe country and to let us know that the police were at our disposal if we ever needed help of any kind.
The crossing took 2 hours in total and was a very pleasant experience.

We celebrate the successful border crossing with a visit to Tulcan Cemetery. An old lady let us park the bikes in her courtyard opposite the entrance to the cemetery for a dollar. We left our helmet and jackets with her as well, and crossed the street to visit the dead.

What makes Tulcan cemetery’s  8 hectare unique are not so much the 13.000 corpses entombed in niches, burial mounds and mausoleums as it is the gardens with +300 figures carved from cypress trees in shapes inspired by Ecuador’s flora and fauna as well as Roman, Greek, Egyptian, Inca and Aztec culture.

Back in the world of the living we followed the main road towards Quito.
The riding and the scenery was spectacular.

We left the highway at Laguna de Yahuarcocha and followed the lake’s northern shore. The 10 km road around the lake used to be a racetrack. After a couple of events back in the 60s with race drivers crashing and subsequently drowning in the lake, it was decided to build a more modern and safer racetrack.

The Autódromo Internacional José Tobar – the closest FIA-graded track to the Equator –  was the result of that. The track facilities have not been renewed since around mid 1990s and are outdated. You can rent the track for $25 per hour which makes it very popular for track day events.

When we reached the track it was crawling with motorcycles. We pulled over and climbed an old spectator stand outside the fence to have a look. The track layout looked awesome.
From 2003 and 10 years onwards I participated in several track day events. Seeing the guys pushing it on the track reminded me how much fun it is. Maybe I’m not as done with that as I thought..?

Our destination Finca Sommerwind was located on the hillside behind the race track.

Up until May 24th this year, as a result of the unrest the country has experienced during the last 6 months, you needed to be on “The list of the Ministerio de Turismo de Quito” to get a 90 days visa to Ecuador. Hans who owns and runs Finca Sommerwind could get you on that list.
We had decided to stay at Finca Sommerwind to thank Hans for offering to get us on the list if needed.

Hans, who is originally from Germany, bought the land 14 years ago. Back then it was just a piece of desert with no buildings. He started out with a small cafe that only opened during the weekends. That evolved into a German Restaurant/Biergarden and from there to the overlander haven it is today.

Katrine and I rented a small cabin located up the hillside with an amazing view of the finca, the race track, the lake and the surrounding mountains.

The restaurant is still the heart of the place. It was where Katrine and I spent most of our time, sampling the menu, while talking with Hans, Florian and Corina – the last two a lovely German couple who had been stranded at the finca for 5 weeks with engine problems. They paid for their extended stay by lending a hand.

Everything about Finca Sommerwind was top notch. I recommend anyone passing through to stop by – at least to have a meal at the restaurant!

It was late morning the following day before we were ready to leave Finca Sommerwind.  We started out by completing our circumvention of the lake on the old race track before following a route south Hans had recommended.

The route offered us a great view of Volcano Cayambe. At 5.790 meters it’s the 3rd highest mountain in Ecuador. Cayambe, which has a permanent snow cap, last erupted in March 1786. At 4,690 meters (15,387 ft), its south slope is the highest point in the world crossed by the Equator, and the only point on the Equator with snow cover.
A short while later we entered the southern hemisphere by the Quitsato Solar Clock. We have both crossed the equator before but never on motorcycles. It was a significant moment.

Quito greeted us with blocked roads, detours and chaotic traffic. Eventually we arrived at our hotel near the Historic City Center. The hotel was a huge old colonial style building with 17 rooms. The place only had one employee, Sandra, a young woman, who lived at the hotel. We have been the only guests during our entire stay and have had full access to all the facilities such as a lounge area, dining room, kitchen, laundry, a rooftop terrace and not least a garage for the bikes. Damn good for $21 per night.
We had originally only booked 2 nights but have now stayed for 6.

Our first full day in Quito marked the anniversary of our departure from Denmark.
After breakfast I posted a summary and some thoughts about our first year on the road.

The next order of business was to get SIM cards for our phones. We had been without coverage since Colombia. Über took us to the nearest CLARO store at an enormous shopping mall 3 km from downtown.
Even without lines at the store it took over an hour to get the cards installed and activated because of slow IT. Luckily we were served by Dayana. She was fascinated by our journey and spent the waiting time asking questions about the journey and Denmark or recommending places to see in Ecuador. She even provided us with her phone number in case we had further questions or needed any kind of help.

While we were at the mall Katrine decided to use the opportunity and look for a new pair of shoes. The ones she had brought with her from Denmark were completely worn out. It’s not easy to find something that works both for walking, running and as your “nice” shoes, but eventually she found a pair that fitted the bill.
Besides new shoes for Katrine we also managed to dig up a delicious lunch before leaving the mall.
We walked home to get to know the city better.

In the afternoon we visited the local gym to build an appetite and later we went out for dinner at a very cozy Italian restaurant in San Blas, an upscale neighborhood east of the Historic Center.
It had been a great day and a nice way to celebrate the anniversary.

We spent the next couple of days trying to decide if we wanted to visit Galapagos or not. We had initially ruled out the islands because of the costs involved, but Dayana at CLARO had suggested that it could be done at a reasonable price.

We learned that a trip to Galapagos from Quito could be done for a reasonable price if we were content to visit one of the islands you can fly to from the mainland and see what there is to see there. It would be like a beach holiday spiced up with exotic animals while surrounded by tourists. Aside from the animals it sounded like my version of hell.

If we really wanted to explore Galapagos away from the crowds it would involve a lot of sailing between the islands and multiple day hikes that require a guide. Katrine has no sea legs. Last time we spent a significant amount of time on a boat was in 2019 when we visited The Great Barrier Reef in Australia. Katrine threw up for 3 days straight. She has no wish to repeat that experience. We would need to hire a guide to go anywhere as you are not allowed to explore on your own.
The costs for a week-long trip like that would equal at least 2 months travel for Katrine and me.

None of the options sounded tempting and we eventually decided against going to the islands.

While contemplating the above we did a lot of walking around the central neighborhoods of Quito in search of good places to eat or just to explore.
It’s an interesting and very diverse city. The Historic Center is beautiful with charming old buildings. It is very lively during the day but almost deserted after dark. Some of the surrounding neighborhoods are pretty rough while others are rather posh. Sometimes we passed from one to the other just by crossing a street.

The police presence is massive in many areas.
Apart from a few hustlers, drug addicts and mentally ill, we have been met with nothing but friendly curiosity, helpfulness and generosity since we arrived in the city.
Let me give you a couple of examples.

One day we dropped by a store with outdoor equipment. We didn’t buy anything but had a long conversation with the owner about gear and left with a free survival bivy sack.

Another day we visited a small shop in search of oil to lube our chains. They had just what I was looking for and refused to accept payment for the small quantity I needed.

One evening we experienced something touching at a small Italian restaurant where we had dinner. The place was a one man business run by a guy who introduced himself as Tony. It was, as I said, a one man business – but Tony had a helper. It was a slender, middle aged man – let’s call him Carlos.
Despite a nice set of clothes and a new haircut, I recognized Carlos as someone who had gone through a rough patch recently.
His primary function was to stand on the street by the door and keep an eye out for potential customers. He appeared shy and awkward. If someone came up to him, he would fetch Tony and let him do the talking. Carlos also ran errands for Tony during opening hours. He needed very clear and specific instructions.
Tony was very kind to Carlos and we gradually came to understand their relationship. Tony had taken Carlos in and offered him a new chance in life. He had made him presentable, given him a job/responsibility and let him sleep in the restaurant after hours. The restaurant’s restroom was Carlos’ bathroom. We gave Carlos a tip when we left. Tony saw that, got a bit emotional and expressed his gratitude while Carlos carefully tucked the money away in a small plastic bag where he kept his meager fortune.

We have really enjoyed our time in Quito but are now ready to move on and explore the rest of the country.