Volcan Chimborazo, Ecuador 20,704´

Me at the furthest point from the Center of the EARTH!

This could be a world record for the largest shadow????????????

There are many reasons why I decided to climb Chimborazo, but the number 1 reason is it is the top is the furthest point away from the center of the earth and it is over 20,000 ft. This is due to the fact that the world is wider near the equator and this Volcano is located less then 1 degree off of the equator. If you measure from sea level it is obviously lower then some other peaks, but climbing above 20,000 ft is definitely not an easy task. After getting acclimated, I paid a guide 160 dollars, and off we went to climb the highest peak in Ecuador. When you look at it, it looks so much bigger in real life then in pictures and it makes any mountain you see in Colorado look small. If you have ever hiked a 14 er and when you get close to the top every step takes so much out of you because there is literally no air up there. Now imagine starting at just above that altitude as your starting height and going up from there! To start off, we hiked up to and camped at the second refuge which is around 16,000 ft. We arrived there around 4pm and rested as much as possible until we were to attempt our summit leaving at 11pm. From then we hiked through the night because of the risks of avalanches to reach the summit just before 7am as the sun was coming up. While at the refuge we tried to sleep, but I found that it is nearly impossible to sleep at the altitude because your breathing pattern slows down so much while you sleep. You just can´t sleep or you just wake right back up with a migraine. Having slept less then 15 minutes that night we headed off under our headlamps directly up the side of this enormous mountain. After the first 10 minutes the only thing that you walk on going up this mountain is Snow....Snow .....and more, SNOW! Climbing Chimborazo was also different then I expected it to be. As you start going up most mountains there is always a level spot somewhere to just relax and take a break, NOT HERE. From the time we left there was not one rock, or one spot where the mountain leveled out enough to where you didn´t feel like you needed to hold on for your life. If you wanted to stop you would drive your ice ax in the snow and hold on to that. The climb was at an angle where you could just barely walk up but if you slipped you would slide down all the way to the bottom. For that reason we were tied together in hopes that the other person could stop you from sliding all the way down. There was no zig-zag path going up or ever once a feeling that you could completely relax for a few moments. The whole time your white knuckling your ax, fighting to find oxygen, and dealing with temperatures around 0 degrees. The whole time I was so cold, so tired, and so miserable I just wanted to give up so bad! I can honestly say that was the most miserable moment in my entire life, hands down. When we left there was around 10 people that were going to attempt the climb that night. Out of the 10 people there was one other guy who made it all the way. As I got around 20,000 ft I knew I was getting sick. I had never felt so exhausted and I decided that as much as I paid and as close as I was, I was going to the top or death! I struggled for 2 more hours and it always seemed that as far as I could see, there was more mountain. If I wouldn´t have been sick it wouldn´t have been so bad, but I was completely miserable and the weakest I have ever felt in my life. When I finally arrived at the top I couldn´t of helped the fact that I had tears in my eyes cause I was so happy to finally be there and to know that although I was extremely sick, so cold I could not feel my hands or feet, and tired, I pushed my self to the limits and accomplished my goal anyway. Looking back it was not really a good idea to push myself that far. It took me just as long to get down as it did going up. I was not able to eat anything and I was so weak coming down the mountain I would just fall over on my ice ax and wonder if I had the energy to get off the mountain. If I ate I would throw up so I just kept sweets in my mouth so I could get the sugar from them. As we hiked up during the night time, when we walked down it didn´t even seem like we were on a mountain side. You would go down and down and things never seemed to be getting closer. At that height, things looked the same as they do in an airplane. Going down really scared me because I was so dizzy and weak I knew if I was not careful it was easy to slide right off the mountain. After 6 grueling hours we reached the refuge and I had never felt so relieved in my entire life. The feeling of accomplishment you get from doing something like this is not explainable in words and this will always be one of my biggest accomplishments in my life!

Riobamba, Ecuador

The longest I have spent in one area which is a total of almost a week is Riobamba. The reason why I decided to stay here so long was I always wanted to climb a mountain over 20,000 ft and there was no way I was going to climb one without staying at high altitudes for a while to get acclimated for the climb. To start as you can see we took the train which was an adventure of it´s own. We spent a Friday night going to the rodeo and watched people get bucked off horses and bulls which could have used a few more meals. To help me get adjusted to the altitude, I took a tour on a mountain bike that started at the first refuge at an altitude of 15,500 ft. From there we rode 25 miles, for the most part it was down hill, but I had a blast. The following day I caught a bus that dropped me off at 13,500 ft, and from there I hiked up above the second refuge at an elevation of just under 17,000 ft. I caught a ride back to Riobamba and rested as much as I could knowing that tomorrow I was going to try to climb up to 20,700 ft.

Riobamba, Ecuador....NARIS DEL DIABLO

I think it is a fact to say that you have not lived unless..... you have rode a train in Ecuador.

I take that back.....I think it is a fact if you have not lived if you have not been on a train in Ecuador, down a steep mountain side.........(Nose of the Devil)

I take that back.....I think it is a fact if you have not lived if you have not been on a train in Ecuador, down a steep mountain side.........(Nose of the Devil) .....On the roof of a really old train!

Wait!.....I take that back again.....I think it is a fact if you have not lived if you have not been on a train in Ecuador, down a steep mountain side.........(Nose of the Devil) .....On the roof of a really old train! .......With rocks falling on you and the train during half the journey.

Wait....Wait....Wait!.....I take that back again.....I think it is a fact if you have not lived if you have not been on a train in Ecuador, down a steep mountain side.........(Nose of the Devil) .....On the roof of a really old train! .......With rocks falling on you and the train during half the journey.....And the train goes right off the track and you watch the 200 people packed on the roof hold on for their lives, as it almost goes bouncing off a cliff!

Baños, Ecuador

Everyday is a new adventure! I look back at the last 4 months and think about what I have done and it is amazing. Baños is definitely my favorite place in Ecuador so far. The place is breathtaking beautiful and here we rented motorcycles to take a tour of the place. Although a little expensive ($45) got you a motorcycle that in one day we rode up 2 different mountains each getting to roughly 12000´ and the pictures don´t do the place justice. Along with that we saw about 5 waterfalls and although it was a little scary because you could not see very well rode through 4 fairly long tunnels.

Here at the waterfall Nose of the Devil, you can climb up through a little cave and go underneath the waterfall. You get a really wet but it is really cool to watch all that water flow right over your head and down to the ground.

In Baños they also have a resort call Luna Runton. If you are ever looking for a great place to take the most relaxing week stay at a spa/hotel for around $60 dollars per person a day budget would get you food, spa treatments, use of 4 private hot spring pools, food, view to die for, all located right above Baños, Ecuador which is full of plenty of adventurous things to do.

Baños, Ecuador

Quito, Ecuador

Wow Quito is a huge city. The Capitol of Ecuador is also a very chilly place too. As we took out trip to Mitad Del Mundo (Middle of the World) I really thought that it would be a lot warmer here since it is located on the Equator. I guess it´s cool to say I stood on the equator but if you make it here, it´s a line that shows you where the equator is! Walking around this city is very interesting and one thing that is definitely worth doing is taking the gondola up the side of the mountain to get a great view of this enormous city. Beware when you get off the gondola you might find yourself light headed since you are at 14000´ above sea level. Like all big cities there is a fair amount of crime and I am happy to be moving out of another big city.

Otavalo, Ecuador

Here I go as I enter Country number 8. My first stop in Ecuador took me to Otavalo. I was definitely exhausted after spending 4 hours waiting in line for them to stamp my passport to enter Ecuador. Here I was meeting up with Michael a friend from Switzerland who I met on the sailboat from Panama to Cartagena. On every Saturday morning they have a market which is loaded with tons on neat things that you can buy. My trip is about new experiences and I would not go back, but we went to watch a Cock fight. They put spikes on their feet, make them angry and let 2 chickens peck at each other till the death. It was actually not really entertaining but it was an experience.

This is my friend Michael from Switzerland that I have been traveling with now for a couple of weeks. His English is B- material but if you have a conversation with him, it will always end in a good laugh. While in Otavalo we celebrated a 24th birthday for another friend of mine from England and it made me think of what my birthday will be like turning 30 in Peru next month. I hope that I don´t find leaving my 20´s too depressing but I guess there is nothing I can do about it. What better way to turn 30 is there when I really don´t plan on working 1 day that whole year! There is a thought to digest for a bit!

This here was the toughest chicken around! The people raise these chickens and bet anywhere between $50 to $5000 dollars to whose will be the last one standing. After that I guess they go home and have a good time or a really expensive chicken dinner.

San Agustin, Colombia

If you look closely you would feel sorry for this horse! I am too big for this small hungry horse and I could tell that the horse did not want to lug me around but we made it. On our tour we went around to look at a few hundred statues and got some great views of the country side. The folks around here must have really been big into sculpting statues and after seeing all of the ones we saw I would be ok with not seeing anymore for a while.

If you go to Colombia one of the things that every tourist is interested in is........Cocaine. On every tour they are willing to show you or tell you about it. Here is a picture of me standing next to a coca plant.

I just want to say that I have had a great time in Colombia and I am now headed out to Ecuador. I hope that I am going to have enough time to see as much of South America as I would like, but this place is huge. I am looking at my schedule and I am stretching it if I stay here 3 more months. I guess I´d better KEEP ON KEEPIN ON!

My Thoughts

Sometimes I feel like I am in a big hurry going from one destination to the next, but there are so many things to go do and see I would hate miss while I am here. It seems like I get to a place, hurry to see as much as possible and move on. At times it´s not really a vacation, but more like hard work. When I left I weighed about 225 lbs and I would be lucky if I weighed 210 now. It is also crazy how when I started I would walk around with a 50 lb pack and it would seem heavy and now I will just walk strait up a steep hill with it and not even loose my breath or feel my legs burn. One night a few weeks ago I woke up and realized that the whole back right side of my head was numb. It was the same feeling of that one feels when going to the dentist. It did not hurt but when you touched your head, it was just numb. I am not sure if I pinched a nerve in my neck sleeping or if I was bit by a bug, but it was like that for 2 weeks. I am glad to see my head is feeling normal again and wonder what other crazy things are going to happen before I make it home. On another note I am disappointed to say that either I lost my Ipod and MagicJack, or it was stolen out of my bag. I am coming to decided that although gadgets are so nice to have, they are a burden when you are constantly moving around. I have come to expect losing things or having them stolen, it´s just part of the experience I guess! When I left I had 6 pairs of socks and now I have 2. I have ruined 3 shirts and a pair of shoes. I didn´t think that would be a problem until after going to at least 30 shoe stores, the people here have really small feet. The biggest size you can get down here is US 11 and I was lucky to find a pair of shoes my size, although they are the worst shoes I have ever bought in my life. While on the topic of size, I can´t say for every bus, but most buses here are not made for a guy my size either. Sometimes when people put their seat back my legs are pinned between my seat and theirs. As for the roads there is no such thing as strait. A journey that would take a couple hours in the US would/could take an average of 8 hours. I am SO glad that I don´t get car sick anymore. I have also decided that learning Spanish at my age is very hard. I am able to get around, but I think that maybe I´ll just learn an English accent instead. Maybe I´ll come home and let you know what the British are talking about since it seems they have so many different words for everything. If you get a chance go and play a game of pool with someone from England. You will spend half of the time arguing about what kind of messed up rules they play by. I do have to say traveling like this is a lot of fun and I have met so many great people and had some amazing times. Sometimes I miss working as it has it´s vices and virtues. I always enjoyed working with a bunch of great people and having an organized structure. All that is very comfortable but I have always believed that you need to be uncomfortable to really appreciate being comfortable. I guess the same theory applies to life in general. One is not thankful for feeling good unless one has been sick or one doesn´t appreciate nice things unless one has done what is necessary to earn them. In my case as I sit here on the bus writting this I am thankful that I am on a paved road today since yesterday I bounced down a bumpy dirt road for 6 hours to only go 80 miles. As I sit here with no Ipod I am extremely happy to be on a bus with a guy who does have an Ipod that he is not currently using. To make it even better it is loaded with Dire Straits. Most of you who know me well, know that most of my adventures will include Dire Straits. As I sit here I remember back when I was in high school and I got my first car. It had 14 speakers, 2 amps, and a stereo that would bounce you right out of the drivers seat. Having the freedom of a car, it was so exciting to go to new places. I love the memories of sitting in the car going somewhere new, spending time with good friends and as I sit here listening to Dire Straits I am reminded of that feeling. It is a big world out there and things are never how you imagine them. One surprise that comes to mind is Colombia. More then all of Central America, in Colombia things seem more orderly and clean. While in Colombia you can tell that the people care more about their environment and the place is not ¨as¨ littered with trash. The cities are worth seeing and the people are great. I´m sure they have a way to go in terms of dealing with the paramilitary/FARC, but Colombia seems to be better preserved then I would have thought. I also wanted to say thank you to those of you who have kept up with the blog and have been sending me emails. I really enjoy hearing about what is going on in your lives, even if it´s just about routine/everyday things. I hope all is well back home and keep it touch!
Cheers,
Lucas

Bogota Colombia 8-10-08

Bogota, Colombia 8-10-08

After arriving in Bogota there was one thing that I definitely did not expect......It´s COLD HERE! I usually try to avoid big cities but there was a few items that I decided to do while I was here. I walked around the city, which to my surprise Bogota is a really neat place, and I also decided to go see a cathedral made of salt? I really didn´t know what to expect of the salt cathedral but it was one of the coolest things I have ever seen in my life! The Cathedral was built inside of a salt mine and it is just something you would have to see to believe it! Because it is dark inside the salt mine I could never give you a good idea of what it is like in real life but my advice is if you get a chance, Colombia has a lot to offer and don´t miss the salt cathedral.

San Gil Caves and Paragliding

Today had to be one of the most exciting days of my trip so far! We started the day by going inside a cave which was located in the middle of a field in the middle of nowhere. Entering the cave we had to crawl through some areas that were so tight I could barely fit inside. The lights that were provided were about the quality of a 2 dollar flashlight with half dead batteries. After going not to far I was sure we were at the end of the trail until I finally figured out that the guide was telling me to swim underwater for 10 feet or so in a certain direction to get up on the other side. I was really really concerned, but I decided to go for it and came up to find that were were able to venture about another 40 minutes deeper into the cavern. There was also a spot where it was so tight and it was so long that the only way to get through was to roll like a barrel for about 45 feet. I was seriously about to freak out a couple of times on our way through but I made it. All and all it was a blast looking back and the group we were going with was AWESOME! After the cave everybody in that same group decided to go parasailing. Something's are hard to put in words but it was nothing short of amazing. It was really scary since I was the heaviest guy there and all of the guides were arguing on who was going to take me. The first time we tried to take off we went about 20 feet up and fell right back down to the ground. The second time we went running off the side of a steep mountain side and at a few points I thought we were going to hit the trees. Not shortly after we ascended to at least 1000 ft up and soared in the sky like a bird.......It was one of the most exciting experiences in my life. To end the day our entire group went out for pizza and a few beers. The entire day was full of belly ripping laughs and one exciting event to the next.