The road chose me

I don’t often write about my future plans, though right now there are a couple of things on the horizon that I’m too excited about to keep to myself:

• I’m currently training to run a 10km fun run through the streets of Old Town Quito at night, and am loving the fitness attained at 3500 meters above sea level.

• Before I move on I’ll make an attempt on the summit of Volcán Cotopaxi, 5897 meters up. This will be by far the biggest mountain I have attempted.

Distant Cotopaxi

• I’ll start moving South again in early September, spending roughly a month in each of Peru, Boliva, Northern Chile and Northern Argentnia on my way to…

• Christmas with my family! in Buenos Aires! Uh-Huh!.

• The plan after that is very hazy, but probably involves going South along the East coast to Tierra Del Fuego, then North along the West for some solid time in and around Patagonia and Southern Chile in general.

• After that, there are a few dreams forming that keep me thinking, but nothing concrete right now.

Love that view

-Dan

When I last saw The Pebble Pedalers, Seth & Parker we were in Baja California, Mexico, just starting the Latin American leg of our respective journeys. The night we shared food and water at our campsite on the side of the highway has remained at the front of my mind as one of my best campsites, all through nine more countries.

While in Quito recently I met another cyclist coming down from Canada and after a few minutes I had news of Seth and Parker – and most importantly found out they were close. Really close. A few emails and days later, I watched them ride into The Secret Garden Cotopaxi on a sunny morning, grinning from ear to ear. It’s great to see how fit and healthy they both look, their bodies now very used to the punishment of riding 100+ kilometers every day for a year. All of us talk simultaneously and try to ask three questions at exactly the same time.
There is lots of laughter.

Seth, Dan & Parker

We spend hours over the next couple of days telling stories about the adventures that have transpired since our last meeting, loving every minute. It’s amazing to spend time with guys I can relate to so well – they understand my journey so completely I feel like they’ve been with me the entire time through the good, the bad and everything in between. More than a few times in the middle of a story we finish each others sentences, more than well-versed in life on the road in Latin America.

The guys & the gear

On more than a few occasions thinking to myself “If Seth and Parker can do this on bicycles, surely I can do it in a Jeep…” has helped me push through difficult times, and it’s cool to get a boost from seeing them for real. To know they’ve now ridden 18,000km and are still loving every minute and going strong is a huge boost to my energy and I’m more excited than ever to get back on road. It’s awesome to know they are now forging the trail in front of me, and we know we’ll see each other again before the journey is done.

Riding off into the sunrise

Good luck guys, seeya down there

-Dan

I’ve been living the simple life in the foothills of Volcán Cotopaxi for a couple of months now, and I’m absolutely loving it. Every day I’m up at sunrise, courtesy of our friendly rooster, and watch the most amazing sunrises I’ve seen in my entire life. Over the course of a day I chat with with guests, organize local staff in Spanish, do some outdoor work on the farm and usually go for a two hour hike to jump off our nearby waterfall. And that’s the days I don’t go hiking, horse-riding or mountain biking down the world’s biggest active volcano.

Sunrise with some fog in the valley

The photos here show how much the enormous, ever-present Cotopaxi can change over the course of a day and all but one of the photos was taken from The Secret Garden. Even after two months I do a huge double-take every time I see the mountain and can’t help but stop and stare.

Sunrise

Not long after I arrived, the owner offered me the position of Manager, which has been a great challenge and learning experience. I’ve never worked in a restaurant or hotel before and it’s great to keep busy every day making sure things run smoothly.
I’ve recently spent some time in and out of Quito getting my visa and paperwork for the Jeep extended, so I can stay in Ecuador for a few more months if I want to. I’m not sure exactly how long I’ll stay yet, though two more months sounds nice.

Midday sunshine

Hanging out in the hostel and meeting all kinds of people has boosted my energy so much I now dream every single night about the adventures ahead of me. I’ve met people here from so many different walks of life, some who’ve traveled all over the world, and some who are just starting out on their first adventure. If you ever want to meet some amazingly adventurous people and get seriously and permanently infected with wonderlust, I highly recommend spending some time in a hostel somewhere.
My dreams are getting bigger. Lots bigger

Taken from close up

It took playing the hostel’s “share guitar” non-stop to realize just how much I missed my guitar that was stolen so many months ago in Mexico. To remedy that I just bought a brand new guitar for all of $60 and I’m already playing better than any time in my life. Photography, too, is a huge talking point here and I’m constantly asking questions and learning more about my future setup. All in good time.

Sunset is unreal

All in all, some extremely worthwhile time to get my head centered and back in the game.

Taken in the dead of night, with a full moon

The llamas enjoying the view

-Dan

Fine Print: Some of the photos here were taken by Alex Kane.

Today marks a year on the road for me, which sounds like a long time when I say it out loud. I’m really loving the simple life in the mountains and my batteries are recharging quickly. Every day my head is filling with stories of Peru/Bolivia/Chile and Argentina that will help me move further south when the time comes.

I’ll leave you with a few photos of recent times.

The mounatin behind The Secret Garden I hike up twice a week (4200m)

Carrying Mash through a hailstorm

The waterfall I jump off almost daily

-Dan

While I’m living the simple life far away from the Internet I thought it would be a great opportunity to write about things other than what I do day-to-day. Maybe I’ll write more of my back story or some general thoughts on life. I have some great stories from my earliest traveling experiences, about the cool people I met and what motivates me to go on adventures like this.

If there is something in particular you want me to write about, please leave a comment here and I’ll see what I can come up with. It could be about me, my trip, your trip, or really anything you think I might have something interesting to say about.

I know lots of you have been asking about money & my budget, and I promise to write about it after the adventure is finished – I don’t feel comfortable writing about while I’m still on the road. That, and it’s going to take a heck of a long time to write in any intelligible way.

-Dan

With winter fast approaching in the south I’ve been looking for a place to stop off and stay put for a while. While in Quito I learnt about The Secret Garden Cotopaxi (check the photos), a beautiful hostel in the foothills of the massive Volcán Cotopaxi (5897m), Ecuador’s second highest peak. As luck would have it, a volunteer position has presented itself.

When I first dreamed of this adventure and decided to write a blog I really wanted to capture my feelings and emotions along the way. I wanted to make sure I wrote about the good and bad times to paint an accurate picture of solo life on the road and my state of mind along the way. I don’t think I’ve done a good job on that so far, because I’ve been so busy visiting places and taking photos to share it’s just been easier to write about happy times.
Here goes.

To be honest, I feel the need to stay put for reasons more important than winter. The last couple of months have been the hardest of the journey for me, mostly due to loneliness and a bit of monotony has crept in. Constantly going new places and seeing amazingly beautiful things is great, though not being able to share it with anyone is getting kind of hollow and meaningless. On top of that, things are starting to feel the same day-to-day and I think I’m stuck in a bit of a rut.
I haven’t seriously thought about giving up, mostly because I have nothing else to do and nowhere to go, but it does cross my mind from time to time. I’m definitely not enjoying myself as much as I was for the first six or eight months, so I want to change my setting for a while to break out of the ‘funk’ I’ve found myself in.

By staying in one place I hope I can get my fill of things I miss from the ‘normal’ world, to recharge my batteries and get me back on the road full of excitement for the final stretch through about four more countries to Tierra Del Fuego.

In no particular order I’m looking forward to:

• Lots of fitness related stuff.

• Eating really well.

• Learning more Spanish, which might be tough with so many English speakers around.

• Meeting a ton of travelers and potentially a new friend to jump in the Jeep for a while.

• Waking up every day and knowing that I’m already where I will goto sleep at night.

It sounds like I’ll be doing anything and everything; painting buildings, setting the table for meals, manning the phone, taking guests hiking, working on ‘projects’ around the place and anything else I feel like doing.

By the time you read this I will have already started, and have no idea how long I will stay. A month sounds great right now, and I’ll see how I feel after that. There is no electricity or internet out there so regular updates here are going to be tough.

If I don’t update the site as often as normal, please don’t worry – I’m perfectly safe living the simple life.

-Dan