Day 10... Get a grip!!

Firstly, I apologise if Day 9's blog was hard to read... as you know I try and offer you a window into my thoughts and feelings whilst out on the road, and sometimes these are overwhelmingly negative. Such is life on the road...

You may be glad to know then, after a pretty cold night in 'Rose Cottage' (nope its not anywhere near what you are thinking), a night where I pulled out my sleeping bag to help me get warm, I had decided a) to get a grip and b) To get as far as possible today, whether than was 10 or less miles. I knew what was in store for me... the cobbles from yesterday continued on up the road.

Cobbles seem to be how the Ecuadorians differentiate between living altitude and working altitude.. in this case however, the lake at the top that I was aiming for had its own tourist signs, so I could assume that the cobbles would continue all the way up!

Today was different however. My stomach was still cramping but maybe because I had barely eaten anything for over 48 hours, all other symptoms had died down somewhat, meaning I felt less concerned about the need to find a suitable hole digging place.
I was also more at peace with the pace that I had managed. I knew just how tough this place is... and I knew that I was putting in every ounce of effort every day, being ill notwithstanding. A que sera kinda attitude had hit me and as I set off ... I knew it would take me as long as it took me.

I was however also able to cycle as not far above Rose Cottage, the gradient got ever so slightly less and even with the state of the cobbles, I was able to grind away at it.  I knew I had around 3000ft of grind so I span the pedals, stopped when needed or wanted and gradually ... inch by inch I crawled up the mountain!

Due to the slow pace, and the que sera attitude, I noticed more around me. As the cobbled road ran upward, it ran essentially between a wall of jungle and another wall of jungle, one going up, one going down.
As I looked closely, I could see different types of flowers and if I listened carefully, I could hear the hummingbirds. They make a whoomp whoomp sound, similar to helicopter blades, and as I stood and listened I could discern where they were hiding (no storm breaking though).

It also occurred to me that people in Ecuador must be able to get very good muscle tone, just by standing, since they would always be standing on a slope!

The road kept on up and up... and up with little respite and I remember wondering if I would find cows and an ice cream parlour at the top!

Eventually, after many hours, with higher mountains just popping into view just when I thought I had reached the top, I did reach the top... or at least the lake. Given the number of people who had whizzed past in cars and taxis, I wouldn't have been surprised to see a big party going on.
There was no one in sight. The lake, surrounded by mountain tops shimmered in the mid afternoon sun. I could hear the water lapping at the shore... I was just over 12000ft.

The cobbles had gone, replaced by sandy gravel which was a hell of a lot easier to cycle on... except when it was just sand... and then my wheel slipped all over the place or bogged down, making any kind of forward progress tough. But for the most part it was ok. I had kinda determined to camp by the lake but another lake down (obviously actually up) the road was said to have better camping, so I carried on climbing... then to another lake, with NO camping signs everywhere. That may not have deterred me too much but there was someone there walking their dogs and I didn't particularly want them to know that J was setting up to stay....

So another deep breath... and off we go again.... down... down ... really awful track ... bugger wrong way. I hauled the bike back up and went to the turnoff I had missed... guess what... more up. As I climbed I was aware that it gets dark around 18:30 but may get darker sooner up here. I also noticed that I was above a whole load of clouds and the evening sunshine seemed just for me.

Eventually I crested as high as I could go and started the descent.... it was not a good one. The sand meant J had to pay careful attention to where I was going, and at times the track resembled a bmx track or a red grade mountain bike track. I did not want to continue down in the dark!! So I needed to find a place suitable for a tent, having already passed the 2 best sites of the day.
Eventually, I found just off the road, a flat, grassy platform. Big, with a few small trees. I looked around noticing a few dried cow pats, but nothing that seemed recent, and not a cow in sight.... perfect.

My tent was set up in short order and once settled in, I kept the door open for a while. The stars were out in their thousands, but even here the light from Quito reached up to snuff some of them out. I watched a bird, totally unafraid of me, search the ground for food, jabbing the earth with his long beak. He then looked at me to say goodnight and hopped into the bushes.