Puerto Lucia Yacht Club, La Libertad, Ecuador, day 600
Biking total: 60 days, 2979 km, 21’000 altimeters.
Climbing total: 240 days, 3151 km, 118’400 altimeters.
Sailing total: 300 days, 8873 nm, 26 altimeters (Panama Channel)
After Cotopaxi and Chimborazo we visited the school of Las Queseras on the South face of Chimborazo.
In these native communities high up in the Andes the “minga” still exists: All people come together to participate on community work like fixing a road or run a community kitchen to feed their children.
The last 5 years these friendly people suffer a lot because the climate gets dryer and dryer. Today they are only able to produce half as much as before. Result: No money for health care and education! Sabine was shocked when she saw the community pharmacy for more than 2000 people. Students as well as teachers were exited about the Caran d’Ache colours we gave them. – Thanks again to Caran d’ Ache and to Angel’s family for their hospitality! We will stay in contact with Angel to organize more help for this wonderful community. This time we were able to support the natives with school material and explained the community how they can purify their water easily.
We said goodbye to this wonderful people and to Chimborazo and started biking down from the Andes through remote villages and rain forests to the coast.
Back in La Libertad at the sea! We made a new record: From the sea to Chimborazo and back only by human power! … so we have had something to party:
Sabine bought a new guitar for the boat for US 30.-.
Nick Mitchell, the director of Dole Ecuador, and his family joined the party on Pachamama. He gave us a donation and will try to get DOLE International as a main sponsor for TOPtoTOP.
Puerto Lucia Yacht Club painted as a present our website on Pachamama.
The Swiss Club in Quito organized a fondue-party in Quito so that we were able to say goodbye to the Swiss ambassador and all our friends there.
Finally, Akko Kama, a mathematic from the Netherlands (on the right) calculated, that from the centre of our planet, Chimborazo is the highest point on earth and 2212 m higher then Mount Everest in the Himalayas!
Ecuador was another highlight on our expedition and we are very satisfied with the work we have done here. All this was only possible with the help of wonderful people, who became friends:
– Robert Reich, Swiss Ambassador
– mountain guide Reno Cesar Roman Silva, Bed and Breakfast Toa, Quito
– Galo Ortiz, George Stewart and Ricardo Palau, Puerto Lucia Yacht Club, la Libertad
– Mahra, Rachel and Victor Gonzalez-Hauri, Bed and Breakfast Villa Nancy, Quito
– Martha Garcia B