At some point today I crossed the Equator marking my approximate half-way point. If there was a sign marking it, I surely did not see it. I was hoping for the obligatory photo but I'm not riding back there to try to find it.

It was a very long day and my body is sore. The mountains in southern Colombia and northern Equador are no joke. Massive and relentless. I crossed four passes over 10,000 feet today. One of them was a little shy of 11,000. It didn't help that I had a low grade headache all day. Maybe due to the altitude or possibly the amount of diesel fumes I had been inhaling? Headache aside, the ride really was spectacular with endless rolling peaks, deep canyons and a few wild rivers. The border crossing was pretty efficient but still took longer than I had expected. This resulted in me being a bit pressed for time to reach Quito before dark.

Getting out of Colombia was simple. First off, the immigration office and customs office were in the same building and clearly marked (take note Central America). It took about 15 minutes to get my passport stamped and my import permit closed out. I rolled across the bridge separating Colombia from Ecuador and a guard directed me as to where to park the bike. Again the immigration office and customs office were in the same building and clearly marked (Wow! it really makes a big difference). I knew it was going to take some time on this side because there were more than a dozen motorcycles in line. All of them with Colombian plates except for mine. First I had to wait in line to get my passport stamped at immigration. The officer asked me where I was going, stamp, stamp, done. Now the harder part of processing the motorcycle import permit. The line was long but when I finally got to front, the officer was friendly and efficient. I handed over my title, registration, passport and drivers license. She told me (in Spanish) to go back to my bike and take five photos. One from each side, the front, the plate and the VIN number. I did this and then returned to the officer to airdrop the photos to her phone. About 10 minutes later, I received an email confirmation of the completion of my permit. The officer checked this confirmation and then handed me a paper copy as well as my original documents wishing me good travels. Done. The whole process took about two hours which was mostly the waiting in line.

The ride to Quito was a convoluted series of roads. Narrow two-lane roads would suddenly become multilane highways only to become surface streets with many stoplights as they passed through a town or small city. All the way from the border to Quito the traffic was intense. Taxing my concentration and challenging my very best lane splitting skills. My wrists, forearms and shoulders started to complain. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is an enormous sprawling city of three million people. A maze of buildings and roads that zig zag up the steep mountains. It took an hour for me to navigate the last six miles into the city.

I booked a hotel down in the historic district which always makes me a little nervous when I'm rolling in bumper-to-bumper traffic on a narrow street without any parking. I saw the sign for my hotel which looked like it might be down a footpath-wide alley. I pulled the bike into the slot and parked there for a minute. About 50 feet down the space between two buildings was a small courtyard with a steel door. I rang the bell. The hotel manager emerged and welcomed me into a very small lobby area. So small it didn't even have a desk. He cleared two chairs off to one end of the space and told me to bring my bike inside. I laughed. "Mi Moto" I spread my arms out wide "Todo el espacio" (it will take the whole space). "Esta Bien" (it's okay) he said matter of factly. I went back to the bike and rolled it down the narrow space into the courtyard. Tiggrr's big butt barely fit through the steel door and it did indeed take up the entire space leaving just enough room for other guests to get to the steps.

The hotel used to be a convent and still has a small chapel. I feel like I'm staying in Downton Abbey. The floors creak and it's a bit musty but it has character. After unloading the bike I was ravenous. I went down to a local restaurant and ask what their specialty was. They said steak so that's what I had. Afterwards I walked around a little to get the lay of the land. I'm going to take the day to explore the city tomorrow.