The Best $100 Spent

I was so happy to locate purple Gatorade while in Vinces. So happy in fact, I bought 6 qts! It's certainly not trivial to pack that much liquid on a bike in glass bottles! While one can argue the merits of Gatorade as an electrolyte, the hydration was a pivotal point in my food poisoning recovery. Kellie has taken a different approach--she wants to allow it to "cleanse".

By the next morning (Day 7), I've perked up enough to enjoy the off-road track that is before us. However, the first stop we make is here. Crazy thing about Ecuador if you have $2 you can buy a Z-pack over the counter. That is assuming you can find yourself a pharmacy big enough to stock it. Last time, I bought bandaids. You don't even buy the entire box, just as many pills as you need.



Keith has offered Kellie 2 options stay at the Senor de los Cabllalos hotel for another day and recuperate or head to Banos via tarmac. However, Kellie wants to stay with the group and opts for the tough off-road track.

Into the Fog


Waterfalls


By mid morning break, it's clear to us that Kellie is deteriorating health wise.


Time to break out the laminated map and find a straight tarmac track to Banos.




I believe this hill is too steep to cultivate by tractor (Notice the slope relative to white car parked about the 9o'clock position). I am also convinced if it was America, despite the incredible urge to eat, we would starve before cultivating by hand like these Ecuadorians are doing.


We find a nice place for lunch. 3 of us get off the bikes and settle in and order. Kellie decides she'd rather sit outside. About 20 mins later, Bruce pops his head around the corner. He reports that she hasn't died, because her arm flinched. We go to check on her, and she's wedged her body in a concrete corner of the awning. As she tries to stand up from a fetal position, it's obvious that she won't be riding the rest of the day as she can't even balance standing on her feet.

We have two options--find her a hotel in this little town or hire a truck to bring her (and possibly her bike) to Banos. The Banos option is preferable as it's still not clear if she'll need advance medical care and Banos has a huge Expat community. It's about 100Kms and 5.5 hrs to Banos. Funny what a $100 can buy you, as the restaurant owner is happy to take on the work in his late model truck. Alternatively, there are Toytota Hilux trucks with a green stripe on them. These are delivery trucks which run all around the country which you can hire.