..leaving Ecuador after all..

first of all, I totally forgot to mention that I also visited the local waterfall close to Baños and spent an hour there practicing martial arts :) ..it´s a fun way to keep yourself (a bit) fit and flexible and I found that over time I got quite a bit better at it ;) listening psy-trance and swinging sticks and balls around! =)
after that visited the zoo on the way back.. didn´t take any pictures.. feel sorry for the animals, but then I think, what do we know? and too many aspects on both sides in Pro and Contra.. so I´ve seen some Condors and big cats and was thinking about Zoos and how they impact on both sides..
getting out, I was shocked when I didn´t find my helmet and gloves (another bike that was parked next to mine was gone) and got sad for two minutes (beeing betrayed in my faith into people), before I figured out that the lady took it that owns the parking.. didn´t realize that I have to pay a dollar for the parking, but was happy to have my stuff back ;) ..jaja.. should never worry too early ;) hehe ;)


this is my last entry in Ecuador, tomorrow early morning I cross the boarder to Peru. They said my, it´s kinda similar, so I´ll see ;) hehe ;) but got already spots along the way to stop on my map (finally I hit the area of one of my maps that I brought from home ;) hehe ;)

so the jungle thingy was not too stunning.. made it close to Tela and just spent a night in a hotel, being pretty much the only guest there. Nice were the little monkeys on the beach, hanging out on branches and bothering each other ;)
Some people go on jungle tours, but they are pretty expensive (has to be group) and then I didn´t feel in the mood.. almost did a auto guided hike in a botanical garden, but left it out, instead drove a long day to Cuenca. Felt as moving on south and felt good to hit the road! :) ..just took me very long to get over a mountain with lots of unpaved road and road construction! got lately some drops of rain while driving, but then I always outrun then, just small grey clouds, dripping locally.. nothing that would make me stop ;) hehe ;)
dogs can be pretty annoying.. not that they would bite, it´s just unnecessary that they run after you and bark, because when I stop they stop too (don´t come too close) and when I turn around and chase them on the bike, they run.. cowards!!! ;)
was probably also because I got a bit tense after riding for hours. Always helps to make a little stop, drink something and take a deep breath ;)
was getting dark though when I arrived in Cuenca and was glad to find quickly (after driving through half the town :P a nice play to crash for a night (breakfast included and great parking! :)
..eat probably a lot of dust during this ride, but got fantastic views and nice temperatures! :) ..that´s not always the case here in the mountains, but I think for future rides I get the thermo layers inside my gear :)
so from Cuenca, just passing Loja, short stop in and out and going to Vilcabamba, a small town in the mountains with great hiking opportunities! :)
this is also what I did three days in a row.. different hiking routes, where the hosteria-place where I stayed offered nice hiking maps with good descriptions on marked trails! outstanding!! :) I had four to six hours self guided hikes with lots of water and a bottle (box) of wine and it was really fun! :D (my so called wine-walks ;) ..my mother had a saying sticked to the fridge: "Wasser macht Weise und froehlich der Wein, darum trinke sie beide um Beides zu sein!" :D ..haha.. how true! :) the first of my hikes was the most thrilling one.. quite a long part along a ridge with steep slopes on both sides! :) but seems that after many experiences like that, I handle it quite easier than I did in the beginning ;) hehe ;)
..once more: it´s all mental!
a wonderful experience, to go back to the nature and connect for a few moments. Was daydreaming a lot (seems to be part of my vivid fantasy ;) hihi ;) was thinking about life and the universe and all kind of stuff.. just letting my mind flow, making breaks to enjoy the moment and the view and doing some excercices with my fancy kung-fu-weaponry out in nowhere along the way! :) ..ahh.. what a life!! :D
met quite some German speaking people (must go with the fact, that the owners of the place are Germans), but was a really nice place to stay, was in a dorm (supportable) for 10USD with breakfast and had all in all great times!! :D didn´t really go out at night, but very active days, a massage inbetween (to recover my back and legs) and got my plans ready for Peru :)

oh.. and break pads seem to be more expensive than expected (as almost always with BMW parts ;) hehe ;) but keep negotiating with the guys in Lima.. they ordered it for me and it´s gonna be up to 100 USD more expensive than in Colombia :P but it´s definitively not the part you want to save ;) and even if I could make it in one day to some place here in Ecuador, the time (and money I spend for a day back and fourth) evens it out.. same with getting a parcel from Colombia or so.. too stressful to get it done and probably still with delays. So I´ll bite "in the sour apple" ;) hehe ;) and get the parts changed in Lima, where hopefully also some paragliding can be done! :)
it´s one of the usual organizing-stuff-tasks that have to be done along the way :) some phone calls, some emails, nice words and things are happening! :) it´s just amazing how we influence our life! :D
..so, it has been done. Just wrote to my friends in Bolivia and let´s see who´s still alive and who I gonna see again after five years :) (I´m looking forward to that!! :D
oky.. hear from me out of Peru :)