Bumbles, Levellers, Hounds and 2 Weddings

 As is quite common in England, today's bike ride started with a clear blue sky and fine weather all around. Yesterday's late afternoon rain was clearly some unusual pattern no doubt brought on by climate change.  

We biked to Burford which is a small quaint village in the south of the Cotswold known only to the biking cognescenti, as well as all of London and anyone who reads Rick Steve's or any other guide book. On Saturday, the village center was virtually deserted and we had the place pretty much to ourselves-

As Geo has to some sort of snack every 15 minutes or so, we stopped at (for us) the appropriately named 'Bumbles" for some cheese, bread and fruit.  The place claimed to have been built originally around 1205 and some of the fruit looked like it had been in dry storage that long (well, not really)-

Burford had this really beautiful ancient church which was constructed in 1197 when Richard the Lionheart was king-

It was also celebrating "Leveller's DaY

y" and Jeremy Corbyn (leader of the UK Labour Party) was scheduled to speak.  (For those history buffs, the Levellers were a group of proto-communists who were active at the time of the English civil war (1640s).  Geo parked his bike here

The ride there and back took us through some typically beautiful Cotswold countryside-

When he wasn't snacking, Geo navigated us through and along some quiet and pretty country lanes-

It being Saturday, along the way we encountered 2 weddings (and one bar mitzfa?).  Each appeared to be the quintessential English wedding at the local ancient church-

We tried to crash them, but I think our helmets and bright yellow jackets might not have helped us blend in.  

We also encountered these 2 whippers and a pack of about 50 hunting dogs on our ride.  For those who desire the 'authentic English experience', it does not get much better than that-

All in all, it was a gorgeous ride, though like all of the Cotswold, hilly (you are mostly either going up or down).  39 miles and 2750' of elevation today. 

Inspiring Tolkien and the Oldest Everything

 As Oxford isn't far, many pubs/hotels/inns and other profit making enterprises in the Cotswold claim to have inspired something in the Lord of the Rings-

I am not sure I thought of that place re Bree, but apparently Tolkien was fairly easily inspired by various establishments (or needed a lot of local inspiration). clearly Tolkien had little imagination of his own.

Virtually farm and house has a name, but this one stood out for its audacity-

Like the Tolkien references, a lot publick places claim to be the oldest something and this pub claims to be the oldest England (circa 950) having begun operation 100+ years before William even thought of conquering England-

We are staying in Stow-on-the- Wold where Geo has strategically positioned us in the highest hill in the Cotswold (Wold meaning hill in Alfred's English).  It is good at the beginning of each day when our legs are fresh and we start by happily glide downhill on  our bikes.   What goes down, must come up, however and it doesn't seem like such a great place around 4pm when we return.   

But Stow, like many English villages, does a great job of advertising its principle tourist attractions-

And this house claims to be oldest in Stow- 1450- apparently to cover up the fact that the builder ran short of concrete on one side when he built the place a few years ago.  Never heard of the Leaning Tower of Cotswold, but there you go-

Today's ride took us through some truly beautiful parts of the English countryside-

And but for the rain, mud, steep hills,  zooming cars and the fact that Geo had to put the pedal to the metal to avoid an oncoming lorry, it was a great 35 mile cycle through the rolling hills and medieval stone villages of the Cotswold-

UK Cycling Trip- Day 1 Snafus galore

Our trip seemed to be plagued by snafus at the outset.  

 We flew to Heathrow on Virgin Atlantic and Geo and I each paid slightly extra for window seats.  However, I went a little cheaper and found myself at the very 'back of the bus' - literally the last row where the next seat was on the tail.  And the seat came with no dinner, breakfast or even water and a snack.  No frills taken to a new level.  

 In fact, the flight attendant never seemed to notice me and my Asian seat mate at all.  Geo sat about 20 rows up and said he enjoyed a nice dinner and then good cup of coffee and nice breakfast But Geo fortunately saved a shrink wrapped stale muffin for me, as he was full

The bus from Heathrow to Oxford where we picked up  our gravel bikes seemed to continue this clown show theme.  The buses to Oxford run every 30 minutes and we arrived at 11:21 only  to see the 11:20 bus pulling away.  Wow, I thought, these guys are punctual!  Well, the 11:60 bus left 30 minutes late and then the bus driver seemed to have graduated from the Italian school of bus driving- with attendant social breaks and whatever else- and we arrived in Oxford about 1 late.  Actually, apologies to the Italian bus drivers as they seemed like a model of efficiency next to this Oxford bus. 

We stumbled into this old English food market in Oxford where it seemed the only type of food you couldn't get was English.  Maybe the British have finally wised up and rejected their own cuisine, I am not sure, but it was actually quite fun and good.  The juxtaposition with the medieval architecture all around with Asian cuisine was another story.  

After some initial fussing and flubbing around (mostly by Geo), we mounted our bikes and raced for Blenheim at the crack of dawn, which in England in late May occurs about 9:30 or perhaps a little after.  A solstice thing, I am sure. 

Biking on narrow roads or lanes in the Cotswold on the left side takes some getting used.  The British consider 6 inches plenty of buffer while zooming by 50 mph or so, except the lorries which are in a bit of hurry.   Of course, they go much faster on the other side where they are not concerned with inexperienced American cyclists. 

But the Cotswold truly is the archetype of- and everyone's view of-the English countryside-

And Blenheim- ancestral home of the Churchill's and the birthplace of Winston- seems like it might be a nice place to have a quiet dinner with 80 or so of your best friends-

Except when you are strolling the confined English garden and modest grounds-

And the English have the absolute essentials of life down all in one place-

And for Tolkien fans, this door was the model for where in the LOR?-

Ecuador Finis

 I flew back from Ecuador on a midnight flight (who schedules a flight at midnight on ET?) and we were diverted to Panama City as the result of a medical emergency.  Never had that happen to me before (not sure what was the cause).  Had to be the longest airport taxi when we hit the ground.  Thought we were going to taxi the length of the canal.

So, that ended my sojurn to Ecuador.  A few final observations about this fascinating country-

-Ecuador is just so inexpensive it is amazing (the Galapagos being a notable exception).  Taxi rides cost a $1.50 to go most places in a city.  Really nice boutique hotel rooms can be had for $50 including  a great breakfast.  Service at these hotels was top notch, whether arranging for tours, Covid tests or anything else. 

-  I found the food almost uniformly plentiful and good.  Fresh fruit of more types than I can count is ubiquitous, delicious and served with every breakfast.  YOu can get a cup of fresh fruit on any bus for $1.    

- The people of Ecuador seem to work very hard and be quite productive.  They all seemed to take real pride in their work and i thought most everything seemed of solid quality.  Agriculture seems everywhere in Ecuador and climbs high up the mountains.  

- The high Andes of Ecuador just seem so...high and massive.  Much higher than the Rockies or other ranges.  I really felt the altitude until I got acclimated. 

-The country is small in size, but there is really a lot to see and do.  From the market of Otavalo, to the jungle, to the volcans, to Quilota Laguna, to the Galapagos, to the equator, to the high grassland of the Andes, to the pretty city of Cuenca- just a lot of variety and natural beauty in a relatively small area.  

- The Galapagoes are truly unique and stunning.  Snorkeling felt like being in a Jacques Cousteau movie- you see so much marine life so close.  On land, I have never seen animals so close (they are obviously quite used to humans).  I cannot imagine anybody not enjoying the experience. 

-  I found the Ecuadorians a very friendly and welcoming people.   They clearly like and value tourists.  So many asked where I was from and many expressed gratitude to me for coming to their country.  They seemed to take pride in providing excellent service- the attention I got from my barber for my $3 haircut was truly impressive.

- I rarely felt like I was in a 3rd world country.  I thought it pretty clean, comfortable and most things were run surprisingly efficiently.  

So, a few final pictorial highlights-

    - Quilatoa-  

Cotapaxi (nearly 20,000 ft high)-

The unique Galapagos-

To the colorful Otavalo market-

To fun Banos-

To massive and Himalyan-like Chimborazo-

To the Amazon basin-

To the high Andean grasslands of Cajas NP-

To the beautiful churches of Cuenca-

That's all folks.  Thanks for reading. 

Churches, Roses, and Gringoland

 I forgot to mention that Cajas NP includes a portion of the old Inca road, part of which went over the mountains to the coast.  This road- dangerous because of the cold weather and fog- was actually the primary route to the city of Guayquil on the coast until the 1970s when the modern road was built.  In any case, it is cool to think of hiking on the Inca trail-

Cuenca, as mentioned, as an astonishing number of churches for a mid sized city and many are truly impressive architectures-

But the so called 'new cathedral' (built in the late 1800s) is truly in a class of its own and has to be one of the largest cathedrals in the world.  It is just massive and seems almost to compare with St. Peter's in Rome for sheer size and outward magnifence-

The doors themselves are enormous-

Walking around the city, one sees a lot of people carrying things, including what this woman was carrying on her head.  I don't blame the little kid for chasing her-

Yes, those are ice cream cones sticking out of her head.   

I am not sure what these women are doing on their balconies, but they do seem a little stiff-

Ecuador is famous for its roses, which Ecuadorians will tell you are the best in the world and one of their leading exports (in addition to oil and bananas).  From what i saw, they have claim on that title-

Things tend to be very cheap in Ecuador and it is not unusual to pay $25 for an acceptable hotel room, or $3 for lunch or a haircut (and yes, I got one on my last day- it was truly one of the best haircuts I have ever gotten which some might say is not saying too much)-

So perhaps not surprisingly, there is an significant retired set from the U.S. in Cuenca, mostly in condos alongside the pretty river running through the town.  They call that area of Cuenca "Gringoland".  Probably beats snoozing in Revolution Square in Quito with the local retired crew.  

Ok, one wrap up post and that's it from Ecuador as I return home to the land of the $12 (and rising from the news) lunch (and not as good as in Ecuador either!)