AUGUST 19 - MARIANITA TO YANTZAZA

So, today is the day we get back on schedule.  I thank Christiano and his crew for getting us very good improvised accommodations on short notice.  This was originally planned to be a short day, so lengthening it to get back on track is good.  Today's ride is 103 km, 1200 A, 1700 D.  Yay, we are going down more than up.


I don't know the point of this concrete dinosaur, but it is the sort of thing I have to take a photo of.








Ecuador appears to be on a major road building program (which may have collapsed with the price of oil).  We are travelling on a lot of modern roadways, but often there are slumps and problems.  You can imagine what this is like to come across on your bike, while you are rocketing downhill and vehicles are coming from both directions.













Hey, Scott, here's some locally made furniture for you to look at.  
(Laura wouldn't get up to let me take a photo of the entire bench.)

The lunch truck was parked at a restaurant along the way.  Here the chef (owner?) is busy roasting "Dizzy Pig" over an open spit.  I named it Dizzy Pig because every so often the chef would furiously spin it a number of turns (I guess the pig no longer cares how much it is spun).  At one point she also took a Tiger Torch to it, I presume to brown it.   It's wonderful to learn these kitchen hints.



Here's an oven in the back of the restaurant.  Don't know its purpose.  (Sorry, Julie, I'm getting its and it's mixed up again)










Main street of another town along the way.  The street is paved with concrete bricks, which are as rough as can be to ride over.










QUIZ TIME!
What is this?  (Hint - it is the 'dead centre' of town.)  Easy question so you only get 1/2 point for the correct answer.

More difficult question?  Why do they do this?   You get 2-1/2 points for a correct answer.  I'll post the answers later on, after a few guesses.








On the road after lunch - a shot of some bush clearing.  I don't know if this is the classic burning and clearing of Amazon land that we hear so much about.  It does look hazardous if the fire got away uphill, although it appears the forest is too wet.









We finish the day at the Hosteria Playa Verde in Yantzaza.  The tour arrangement is that we camp here and the tour feeds us dinner and breakfast.  However, we are allowed to book rooms at our own cost if we so desire.  Laura desired, so we get luxury accommodation in a grass roofed room tonight (she coughed up the bucks for the room, too).  That's Shirley and Bob in the photo.  We've been on the road for 5 days, so Mark the cook is nearly out of grub.  Tonight's meal is rice, beans and beets.  We noticed this the next day.

I forgot to take a picture of the inside of our room.  I looked up at the thatched roof and I could see a bit of daylight.  Luckily, there was no rain last night.

By the way, breakfast is still at 0600, so the alarm is set for 0545.