I had no battery for the computer; I have had a blackout and other problems with the computer, I had problems with the battery of the camera, I had lost the charger with the newly bought battery, I had technical problems now for a long time, I have had health problems at my adventure to Mount Roraima and I had given away my tent and my air mattress, I have had problems with my friend the car in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada and lost a tire, I have had problems every day to find a decent place to sleep while I was with the car and definitely without the car, I have had problems in Venezuela at the border and had to change the route dramatically. I have had problems, you might call this adventure.

I wanted this project Rio 2016 with all consequences. I had adapted myself to all situations and had managed very well so far. I would handle this problem as well. I had no documents anymore and no access to money, a challenge but I wanted this challenge. If I was looking in my mind, in my diary for the justification of the word adventure, now I had my adventure. Now deal with it AlexK, deal with your great adventure. Now the project has become the adventure you wanted, now proof yourself.

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I had a good night sleep on the bus; the bus arrived in Cuenca and I had 12 Dollars left. I had enough time to walk to the historical center, another historical center, a beautiful historical center. The city was much smaller than Quito, much cleaner, better organized and also a bit warmer. This is no critic against Quito, Quito was special, very special but it is difficult to find the right words just a day after having visited the amazing historical capital but Cuenca was my city, Cuenca was nice and warm.

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I heard some tourists speaking German and I wanted to try my luck. I explained my unfortunate situation and earned my first 3 Dollars. I was happy, I knew I could, I knew I would move on, I would move forward, I had faith in me, faith in the people, faith in the higher spirit and faith in my angels.

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I wanted to find a cyber and ended up in a boutique hotel, asked and received the password, sat in one of the comfortable antique chairs at the reception and tried to contact the bank and my Queen to cancel the credit cards. I had left messages everywhere yesterday but I wanted to try again through all channels to make 100% sure that the credit cards were cancelled. I could not speak to anybody and left messages again. I might return and try again but for the moment I continued my sightseeing tour. I had Dollars and wanted to see what Dollars could buy; I was thirsty and bought a small bottle of Coca Cola for 30 Cents and 2 bananas for 20 Cents, so altogether 50 Cents for a breakfast. I thought that was enough food for almost no money and my moral grew and I thought that the Dollars would be enough to buy me food for the next days.

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I noticed that the population was arriving on the main street to secure a good place for the upcoming Carnival parade and I walked back to the main square to find my place. Carnival here in Cuenca and all over Ecuador meant crazy young kids running around with a spray can with foam and spraying plenty of foam onto innocent people. I took some pictures but I did not want to get foamed and wet and I was definitely not in the mood for Carnival. I had seen enough and asked for the way out of the city and to the motorway. I had to move on, move onward to the border. I passed the archeological site, passed the river and just had to climb up the small mountain and I was at the main roundabout out of the city.

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Living without documents and money was new to me, hitchhiking was not. Half an hour later a pick up stopped and I joined father and son on their way home. He had German ancestors and was a big fan of the German football team and immediately we had food to talk for the next hour or more. All his relatives had been in favor of Brazil at last year’s world cup except him. He had to suffer the arrogance and ignorance of his family members but he stood strong and had foreseen the disaster and had bet 100 Soles on each goal for the German team. Now we know that the game made him 700 Soles richer and not to speak of his satisfaction. They would have taken me all the way to their village and I would have loved to stay with them for more time but I had to get off at the next crossroads.

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I waited at the crossroads together with a family and 2 students and after 10 minutes an old car stopped and I got in, the 2 students came running and got in as well. The driver stopped one more time after 100 meters and the family, father, mother and 2 children entered. I had a funny feeling that this lift is actually not a lift, it is not free and when the family had to get off and paid some money I decided to get off as well. I explained my situation to the driver, apologized for any kind of misunderstanding and left the car. It was cold, I was high up in the mountains and the clouds indicated rain; I definitely did not want to spend the night here.

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The clock moved forward and no car made any indication to stop and take me; it had become even colder and some first drops of rain had fallen down on me. I was not sure if I should be a little bit more proactive and speak to the people of the cars that had stopped to get something to eat and drink. I was hoping that one of them had enough time to inspect me, gained confidence and felt secure enough to invite me and this is what finally happened and Christian and Giselle offered me a lift to Loja. I had totally miscalculated the distance due to the curvy mountain roads and was surprised when the first sign board indicated Loja at 126 kilometers.

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Doctor Christian from Ecuador was very interested in my life and my project and at the same time he was the best teacher to answer my questions about the history of Ecuador and about the existence of the US Dollar as the national currency. Giselle was from Cuba and she answered all my questions about the latest development of the Cuban/American relationship, the Cuban culture and music and the Cuban revolution and socialism.

 

At some point I was worried that Christian would lose his concentration in the crazy curvy mountain roads driving into the night and into the darkness but his driving was safe and they dropped me of at the doorsteps of the bus terminal in Loja. Thank you very much for the lift out of the cold mountains, the brilliant conversation and the hospitality.

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I had made quiet some kilometers today, it was dark and I was hoping for a quiet place to sleep in a dark corner of the bus terminal. I walked all the way to the end and another backpacker called me and started a conversation in Spanish but changed immediately to English. Abdul was from Bangladesh and lived in Bolivia at the Lake Titicaca. I explained him my situation and he jumped up, dragged me to the counter and bought a bus ticket for 7,50 Dollar to Macara, to the border.

 

On one hand you allow 2 young kids to steal my documents and on the other hand you send me all these nice people to help me, to buy food and drinks and offer me lifts. I did not know who to thank Abdul anymore because I was overwhelmed by his instant offer, I was even more overwhelmed when Abdul bought bread and drinks and when I realized that he himself was travelling on his last money. Thank you, whoever you are, for this experience, thank you for all the amazing people, thank you for the food and the drinks and the lifts and the moral support, you had pushed me down to raise me up again.

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For a small understanding of the days travel, I have included a Google Earth map. The red pins mark the locations I have stopped and taken pictures. At the bottom of the page you will find a link for all the pictures I have taken. The link will open in a Google+ Album.

Please click on map to enlarge!!!

See map and distances / Siehe Karte und Entfernungen / Ver mapa e distâncias / Ver mapa y distancias

0 km      Quito

90 km    Latacunga

195 km  Riobamba

285 km  Alausi

370 km  El Tambo

455 km  Cuenca

555 km  San Felipe de Oña

665 km  Loja

760 km  Catacocha

850 km  Macara

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