Hola from Quito, Ecuador!  Ok, nice country, but they´ve got some serious internet service issues around here.  Haven´t actually connected to WiFi since arriving (about two weeks ago!), and not for lack of trying. Plus, everywhere that I find internet, its a real piece.

Anyway, so here I am, and since arriving in Ecuador I must say that its been the best of the best and the worst of the worst (ok, really only on one issue which you might have already learned about from my Twitter feed).  Had a few 100km+ bike rides while racing towards Quito after crossing the Ecuadorian border, and although I had intended to be pedaling through the Ecuadorian desert for Christmas, when I got there it just didn´t seem all that appetizing to me to break out the camping equipment – so I decided to torture myself on the twenty kilometer uphill, steep ascent to Quito – mierda!

Miraculously, I arrived in Quito on Christmas Eve!  Then, the following morning I deserted my bicycle in the city and hopped on a bus to Baños to meet up with Sarah, my English buddy from Colombia, to ring in the holidays.  Had an absolutely spectacular time in Baños for the next two and a half days (yes, very drunk… whose idea was it to sell bottles of rum and wine for $2 anyway??).

Finally headed back to Quito to meet up with Elkin who was flying in from Medellin, and also to send off Sarah (who was off to Rio de Janeiro for the new year) and my new friend Adrea.  Had some nice sight seeing around Quito before getting my pants slashed and my wallet stolen on a crowded bus, however that really dampened my spirits (even though they only got my five bucks haha).

After fighting thousands of dollars of fraudulent charges on all of my cards and getting them canceled, I finally returned to my old self and today we headed up the TeleferiQuo (a ski lift up the mountainside alongside Quito) to climb Ruku Pichincha.  Have to say, it was one of the hardest climbs I´ve ever done – gasping for air and scrambling up a crumbling rock face – and, sadly, I forgot my camera!

Anyway, thats as far as I´ve gotten so far, just gearing up for the big New Years bash here in Quito tomorrow night.  I would update more, but I could barely stand to write this much, as each time I press the delete button it takes two minutes for the computer to figure it out and ten minutes for each page to load or sentence to appear.  The quest for decent internet continues, and will keep you posted!  Also, without WiFi, photos can´t make it online either, so hopefully will get that figure out soon.

Ok, much love to all and a phenomenal New Year!  Don´t let strange people rub you up in crowded buses and trains!

xoxo