TRAVERSE 182
Rolling down the other side of this ridge , along dark green mountains with cascading white waterfalls , past grazing land and small villages , the road slowly descends to the humid Amazon jungle , where there are few roads or towns on the map . That side of Ecuador seems to almost be wild , unchartered territory .
Looping back north along the Pan American Highway towards Quito instead , you ride through farmland with an exciting twist . Not only can you try roasted guinea pig from a roadside stall , but they farm roses here . Being on , or remarkably close to , the equator , where the sun shines perpendicular to the planet , roses grow straight up . Further north or south they grow in all sorts of directions . So , the roses with perfectly straight stalks street vendors offer as you and your partner wander around town , may well have come from right near the Avenue of Volcanoes !
Just before rolling back into Quito there is time for a luxurious last lunch at a grand historical hacienda with a eucalyptus-lined avenue leading up to the magnificent white manor . The return to Ecuador Freedom is of a different grandeur with the team welcoming you back with a beer , wanting to hear all about it . Everyone is bubbling over with the adventures they had , laughing about who returns with the baby attached to their crash bars and who dropped the bike most spectacularly . Tight friendships have grown among the group and plans are made to do it all again some time , soon . MS
TRAVERSE 182