|
May 10th, 2008, 21:19
| #1 |
| Junior Member  Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: DFW
Posts: 202
|  Quito is neat-o ! Quito is neat-o! Just got back from a 3 day trip there with 48 hour layover. [Quito = UIO] UIO layover: What to do, what to do?......... Oh, I know........lets go mountain biking again! Where? Ummm, howzabout Volcano Cotopaxi. It is only 19000' above sea level. Hired tour company to take us on a monster downhill. A ride from 15300' to 10000'.....mostly downhill. The "glacier" area starts at about 16000'. Took my captain along [seniority number 68 of 7300].......but he lived. :-( Took one of the FAs, a former collegiate football player, ex line backer, along too. Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 008.jpg Scary encounter with dangerous drug dealer outside Quito. Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 027.jpg Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 019.jpg Warm enough at 12000' Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 022.jpg Not so warm at 15300'. Snow, ice pellets, sleet, 50 mph winds freezing temps.....just the kind of weather one would expect at the equator. (Surprised it wasn't colder.) Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 033.jpg I love the challege of........breathing! Aerobics at 15000' on day one! Woo hoo! Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 100.jpg Summit is over 19000' Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 105.jpg View at 12000' Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 074.jpg Still chilly at 13000', but it gets easier from here. Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 189.jpg At Equator Park on day two. Much nicer wx at 8000'. Copy of 2008-05 Ecuador bike and equator parks 255.jpg Guinnea Pig! It's what's for dinner! [Yeah, it is nasty to eat although the locals consider it a delicacy. The line backer and I ate it. Double dog dare, man! Captain wussed out! Photo shows the head of the poor little guy.] anyway.... The UIO airport is hella-dangerous! At 9300' elevation, and with density altitudes probably over 12000', it is in a narrow valley, surrounded by huge mountains.....some of them volcanic....and active. Not a good place for Cessna 172. The MEAs, MVAs, grid MORAs, etc...are all over FL200 due to terrain. At least we go in there at night......if you could see the mountains in the daytime, you would be scared! ;-) For departing UIO, also at night, there are these complex departure procedures, especially for engine out. [God help you if that ever happened.] Even with a 10000' runway, the 757 can only takeoff with a light load....ie. not much fuel. We then fly 30 minutes to GYE, Guayaquil, which is at sea level. At GYE, we take on enough fuel to reach to USA. It makes for a long all-nighter flight. Flying in this part of the world is challenging, dangerous, and fascinating. This is why pilots used to get the big bucks! ------------------------------------------------------ more pics and stuff: www.myspace.com/maddoggydog777 Last edited by Mad Doggy Dog; May 11th, 2008 at 00:50. |
|  |
|
May 10th, 2008, 21:38
| #2 | ||
| Senior Member  Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Woodbridge, NJ
Posts: 1,291
 | Re: Quito is neat-o ! very cool pics!  eww is that fish? 
__________________ Quote:
Quote:
| ||
|
| |
|
May 10th, 2008, 21:44
| #3 |
| Banned Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: SFO
Posts: 3,912
| Re: Quito is neat-o ! LOL...Great photos Bob - so you were saying, you didn't dig the guinea pig?  |
|
| |
|
May 10th, 2008, 21:46
| #4 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Sin City
Posts: 348
| Re: Quito is neat-o ! Nice shots!
__________________ http://www.myspace.com/njt916 http://ngaa.blogspot.com/ (Updated July 2008) "Prop LEVERS full forward." |
|
| |
|
May 10th, 2008, 21:57
| #5 |
| Junior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: CRQ
Posts: 50
| Re: Quito is neat-o ! Looks like fun! That drug dealer looked pretty scary. I loved Ecuador, especially the people. I see you got your hands on some alpaca, gotta love the value of the dollar down there... (why do people go to europe again?) |
|
| |
|
May 10th, 2008, 22:41
| #6 | |
| Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: DFW
Posts: 202
| Re: Quito is neat-o ! Quote:
It wasn't the taste (rabbit-like)..........it was the texture, all fatty and oily..........and knowing what it was........a childhood pet. There is not much meat on one either. Plus, it is relatively expensive: $10-20. To put that into perspective, the night before, our crew went to a steak house and we all had big filets................for $8.50 each. So after we ate the guinnea pigs, we were still hungry. Went next door to an outdoor cafe on Calle Foch. A place called the Coffee Tree. Food there was OK, but the "vistas de las senoritas" was great. I had a really big empanada and small pizza to fill up. Ecuador is great! They use the US dollar as currency. Locals are nice. I felt safe. Definetely will be back. And with my ski clothes for the next trip to Cotopaxi. | |
|
| |
|
May 10th, 2008, 23:41
| #7 |
| Old Skool  Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Indiana
Posts: 1,933
 | Re: Quito is neat-o ! some great pics! Keep them comming! Looks like a nice time! |
|
| |
|
May 11th, 2008, 21:14
| #9 |
| Junior Member  Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Virginia'ing
Posts: 137
| Re: Quito is neat-o ! That guy on the food network that goes around everywhere eating bizarre foods had that on his show one day. It showed them skewering the little guinea pigs and baking them and eating them off a stick!
__________________  |
|
| |
|
May 12th, 2008, 23:09
| #10 |
| Senior Member  Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: CT
Posts: 1,042
| Re: Quito is neat-o ! Ecuador is a beautiful country! I spent two evenings in Quito, before going South to Guayaquil, and then over to the Galapagos. Definately plan on returning in the future! |
|
| |
 |
| Thread Tools | |
| Display Modes | |
| |
Linear Mode
