Letter from Wilbert Bonné
"The Andes Trail" is running...The first edition of "The Andes Trail" started this afternoon at the base of the equator monument just north of Quito. The Ecuadorians call it : “Mitad-del-Mundo”, the Middle of the World. The last week was very hectic to get everything ready on time. The container with our 4x4 and all our equipment didn’t arrive at time. We had to improvise a lot of things. A second vehicle, some basic equipment, a new spare wheel and lock for the Chevy, some carpenter’s work inside the Chevy ( thanks to 40 years experience of Geert ), shopping for food, and a lot of other things. The most time we spent probably in the Chevy to run from this place to another. And the traffic jams in the city didn’t work in our advantage. But, everything was ready before the briefing on Thursday evening in the Hotel Plaza Internacional. The riders all arrived on time, not all bicycles.
In the early morning hours of August 8th I picked up the Chevy from the parking area, went to the petrol station and on my way back to the hotel I got bumped by a city bus from behind when I was standing still at a traffic light. Yeah, thank you. Why not. After a missing container, a stolen spare wheel and a broken lock, we still missed a collision. The damage was not too bad on the Chevy, but the city bus ripped open for more than two meters in the flank. The bus driver stopped to see what happened. My lack of “played” anger and Spanish ( probably the last ) didn’t help me to get everything arranged the way we should solve it in a western country. We had to solve it on the street without police, paperwork or insurance. The end of the deal was that I got all his earned money of the day. Unfortunately it was just 6.30 in the morning. I “earned” 70 US dollar ( yes, they pay with US dollar in Ecuador ) and we are a dent in the Chevy richer. We did not even start the tour yet. What will all happen before we are in Ushuaia? Do we still have a Chevy? And if yes, in which condition? I don’t wanna think on that… First the start.
The first 26 kilometers from the hotel in the center of Quito to the Mitad-del-Mundo went smoothly despite lots of traffic. We were welcomed very well at the Mitad-del-Mundo monument and we got a guided tour ( the first and last guide tour of the whole journey I guess ) through the museum inside monument. After the photo session the vice minister of Tourism Alfonso Aguilar said a few nice to the cyclists ( he actually wanted to join ) before he blew up a bicycle tire. It was the sign for a group of brave cyclists to start pedalling 11.000 kilometers along, through and over the longest mountain range in the world. Destination : Ushuaia in Argentina, “Fin-del-Mundo”, The End-of-the-World.
The nice bunch of cyclists that stood at the start pretty relaxed was limited, 18 in number. The cyclists that found their way to the capital of Ecuador come from Belgium, Canada, Ireland, France and The Netherlands. Males and Females. Ages between 28 and 65. They all are going to defy Andes Mountains. We all don’t know what to expect. Yes, ADVENTURE with capitals. Keep up reading the CORREOS, to see what’s happening in Latin-America.
In the early morning hours of August 8th I picked up the Chevy from the parking area, went to the petrol station and on my way back to the hotel I got bumped by a city bus from behind when I was standing still at a traffic light. Yeah, thank you. Why not. After a missing container, a stolen spare wheel and a broken lock, we still missed a collision. The damage was not too bad on the Chevy, but the city bus ripped open for more than two meters in the flank. The bus driver stopped to see what happened. My lack of “played” anger and Spanish ( probably the last ) didn’t help me to get everything arranged the way we should solve it in a western country. We had to solve it on the street without police, paperwork or insurance. The end of the deal was that I got all his earned money of the day. Unfortunately it was just 6.30 in the morning. I “earned” 70 US dollar ( yes, they pay with US dollar in Ecuador ) and we are a dent in the Chevy richer. We did not even start the tour yet. What will all happen before we are in Ushuaia? Do we still have a Chevy? And if yes, in which condition? I don’t wanna think on that… First the start.
The first 26 kilometers from the hotel in the center of Quito to the Mitad-del-Mundo went smoothly despite lots of traffic. We were welcomed very well at the Mitad-del-Mundo monument and we got a guided tour ( the first and last guide tour of the whole journey I guess ) through the museum inside monument. After the photo session the vice minister of Tourism Alfonso Aguilar said a few nice to the cyclists ( he actually wanted to join ) before he blew up a bicycle tire. It was the sign for a group of brave cyclists to start pedalling 11.000 kilometers along, through and over the longest mountain range in the world. Destination : Ushuaia in Argentina, “Fin-del-Mundo”, The End-of-the-World.
The nice bunch of cyclists that stood at the start pretty relaxed was limited, 18 in number. The cyclists that found their way to the capital of Ecuador come from Belgium, Canada, Ireland, France and The Netherlands. Males and Females. Ages between 28 and 65. They all are going to defy Andes Mountains. We all don’t know what to expect. Yes, ADVENTURE with capitals. Keep up reading the CORREOS, to see what’s happening in Latin-America.
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario