It's Go-Time, Our Time in Quito is Over.

Current Location: Latacunga, Ecuador
Number of World Cup Qualifying matches attended: 2
Total number of hours spent studying Spanish in Quito: 64
Total number of verb tenses learned: 6
Number of articles of clothing stained by mustard from attempted pickpockets: 4

Our week and half in Quito flew by, and while we had the intention of relaxing, it seemed that every day we were busy with something. Every morning we had 4 hours of one on one learning, and in our 8 days of classes we covered a bit more than a semester of university Spanish. We know this because both of us have taken a semester of university Spanish, and learned much more in our 8 days here in Quito. The highlight of school is of course the fieldtrips, and we enjoyed our tours of the Old City of Quito, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as our hike up Mt. Pichincha, a 4,500 m peak that towers over Quito. We should admit, we took a cable-car most of the way up the mountain and really only hiked the last 400 m or so. It was our first experience at such an altitude (even Quito, at 2,800 m is noticeable) and we're looking forward to many more light-headed, heavy breathing experiences as we go on through South America.

We were lucky enough to get tickets to both the Ecuador vs. Brazil World Cup Qualifying match, as well as the Ecuador vs. Paraguay game. Both games were extremely exciting – some of the best soccer we've seen, with Ecuador outplaying their opponents badly in both games. However, both ended in 1-1 draws, and left the crowd a bit disappointed, and a little restless. Of course, it wouldn't be South American soccer without riot police having some participation, and the refs being pelted by a steady stream of bottles after the game.

We've had some pretty good luck with our bikes so far. Besides the rack bolt snapping back in Mexico, we had never even visited a bike shop except to change our rear brake pads back in San Diego, less than 4000 km into the trip. We just keep pedaling, and those Cannondales just keep chugging along. But, as we made our way up and down the steep hills of north-western Panama, my rear wheel started to get more and more wobbly. Not only that, but the smallest gears on the cassette started to turn independently of the wheel, which meant I was limited to only my easiest gears. The hub was definitely having problems, and we finally had to realize that we couldn't bike all the way to Argentina without having to fix something. And so here in Quito we found ourselves a well-stocked bike shop, and stopped in to see what they could do. We don't think they've seen many touring bikes, or even road bikes for that matter, but every staff member was very eager to help. They took apart the hub to see if it could be fixed, but saw just how shot the whole thing was. They found a new Shimano XT hub for me, changed all our brake pads, all our cables, our handlebar wrap, and lubed and cleaned everything to the point where our bikes look brand new again. And after all this, we paid only for the hub and a couple of the cables, despite a few hours of labour going into it and a few more parts involved. If you're in Quito and you need some tune-ups, we'd highly recommend Mario, and all the guys at Triatlon, on Ave Gral. Eloy Alfaro.

Of course, not all experiences can be great ones, and on our last day while sightseeing and taking pictures in the Old City of Quito, we were both victims of a popular pickpocketing attempt where somebody squirts a bunch of mustard on your clothes, and then 'helps' you wipe it off, meanwhile emptying your pockets. We had read about the trick before, and as soon as somebody pointed out the mustard we were on the defensive - and in addition, neither of us carry anything in our pockets anyway - but still, our one and only pair of pants, as well as one of the two t-shirts that we brought on the trip all had huge mustard globs, dripping all the way down to our shoes. We were not at all impressed. On getting home though, we were able to give everything one more wash and besides a faint stain on my pants, everything is alright. But still. Mustard? That's gross.

We've spent a good deal of time studying our guidebooks, maps, and reading other cyclists blogs and looking at their pictures to try to plan our route ahead. South America is a huge continent, full of amazing sites from top to bottom, and we're going to try to see as much of it as we can. It's been 2 weeks since we've been cycling, and we're both itching to get back on the road. It's been nice here in Quito – it's a very beautiful city – but we're both eager to see so much more that this continent has to offer.