Ecuador Journal Series
I wrote about my Ecuador study abroad, but have yet to post it. Since I am not traveling and have some time, I will post some of my best memories from that 2010 trip. This will make the blog chronologically erroneous and confuse the reader. Oh well.
This was my first brush with death since I arrived in Quito.
Hindsight it wasn't that bad, but at the time, riding a shitty bike down a steep volcano, gripping the handlebars with frozen fingers, dodging cars coming up the other way, and avoiding the crater-like ditches on either side of the winding dirt road, was terrifying.
It was my first time mountain biking and not a trip for beginners. After my 3rd fall, I realized it was just part of the game, picked up the bike, and started again. I was even able to enjoy it... after that first leg.
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Earlier that Saturday morning, my classmates and I woke up early and met at the school for our first weekend trip of our new study abroad experience. The program directors decided to let us acclimate to the 9,200ft altitude of Quito by driving 14,500ft up Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world, and then biking down.