I was planning on my 1st trip to Dubai and Oman in March 2026.
For hiking and cycling.
Craggy peaks and rugged terrain, empty deserts and a long picture-perfect coastline, ancient castles and forts–that’s what draws adventure cyclists to Oman. …
Each year since 2020 I’ve been considering STARTING the most famous bikepacking race on earth — the Tour Divide from Banff, Canada to the Mexican border.
I’ll try again in 2026.
In Montana, I’ll divert to visit friends in Coeur d’Alene.
Best news is the Dar es Salaam bus rapid transit system under construction. It reminds me of the excellent system I used in Rio.
Unfortunately progress has slowed after the death of President John Magufuli who initiated the program. Locals blame corruption.
Best thing I did in Dar was a personal half day cycling tour of the city. We visited very local coffee shops, candy shops, digital movie library, African herbal medicine shop, ghetto movie theatre, 2nd biggest market, and much more.
Making Peanut Brittle. This entrepreneur sells coffee and candy on the street, especially at bus stops.
We finished with a soft drink in my guide’s local bar.
A walking tour of the downtown business centre wasn’t all that interesting.
Better was the Kijiji cha Makumbusho, or Village Museum, an open-air ethnographical centre showcasing traditional huts from 16 different Tanzanian ethnic groups.
Secret Garden Cotopaxi is at an elevation of around 3,800 metres (12,500 feet) directly facing famed Cotopaxi volcano. If arriving directly from sea level, you might suffer some altitude symptoms. Especially minor headache, stomach, or sleeping problems. I was OK having been above 2800m for over a week.
Here’s my best photo from the hostel.
A gorgeous location.
Food is fantastic. They have a stone pizza oven. Healthy ingredients, many grown on site. Excellent vegan and vegetarian alternatives.
The hostel has high speed starlink internet — but guests get only about 1 hour / day of slow wifi. They don’t want you on your phone. 😀
Without question, it’s a hippie vibe.
I considered renting a Hobbit House for one night — but $165 was too steep.
Baños de Agua Santa (Baños) is a small mountain town in the cloud forest, initially unimpressive.
But it’s the nation’s gateway to the Amazon. And legitimately touted the Adventure Capital of Ecuador. Activities similar to what you are offered in New Zealand, but for 20% of the cost. Or less. (MIGHT be some compromises on safety and liability, however. 😀)
BEST for me was the 25km downhill cycling “Ruta de las Cascadas” (Waterfall Route). Rent a bike for $7-10 / day. They hand you a map. And GO.
En route I stopped for a stand-up zip line over Cascada de Agoyán. $2.
And a seated zip-line.
Returned on foot by a LONG Tibetan Bridge over 170 metres high. Cost for both was $25.
On the cycling route, BEST for sure is Pailón del Diablo (Cauldron of the Devil), Ecuador’s largest waterfall.
You can access the Falls from either side of the river. The short route, originating from Río Verde, includes more views and shows nearby San Miguel Waterfall.
I took the longer, wetter route because it includes dramatic staircases, tunnelGrieta al Cielo (Crack to Heaven) where you crawl hands & knees, and a chance to get behind the Falls.
Across from the parking lot, I enjoyed an excellent enchilada. Fried trout is a popular dish here, as well.
A taxi will take you and your bike back to town for about $10. I lifted my bike on the local bus for a $1 ride back to GeoTours, which looked to be the best bike rental spot. They’ve been in business since 1991.
Of course I did a lot of steep day hiking, as well. You can climb in every direction up to more tourist attractions. Most interesting for me was a challenging, overgrown walk to pretty La Casa del Arbol.
Everywhere has installed swings that fly you over a cliff edge. I tried a few.
I was happy to find the city bus ending a route here. 😀 It got me back to town for $1,
I finally tried one of these set-ups where your phone spins around.
One disappointment was famed and popular hot-springs Termas de la Virgen. Not nearly clean enough for me. And you’re required to wear a hideous bathing cap, something I’d never seen before around the world. Not recommended.
Baños itself is must see. The #2 tourist destination in the nation after Quito.
In October 1999, all 17,000+ residents were forced to evacuate Baños for weeks. Tungurahua volcano was active.
The main cause of Mediterranean, or dry summer, climate is the subtropical ridge, which extends towards the pole of the hemisphere in question during the summer and migrates towards the equator during the winter. …
Areas with this climate are also where the so-called “Mediterranean trinity” of major agricultural crops have traditionally been successfully grown (wheat, grapes and olives). As a result, these regions are notable for their high-quality wines, grapeseed/olive oils, and bread products.
… Because most regions with a Mediterranean climate are near large bodies of water, temperatures are generally moderate, with a comparatively small range of temperatures between the winter low and summer high.
It finally dawned on me that I can no longer easily hike and cycle on Vancouver Island. We’ve sold my parents former home on Vancouver Island.
In the past, I’ve cycled large sections of this challenging route. Looks ideal for an experienced bikepacker who wants to find out what coastal rainforest wilderness is like.
Unpaved about 70% of a 450-kilometer loop. It starts and ends in Nanaimo, British Columbia, for those coming from the mainland. You don’t need a motor vehicle.
It links gravel roads, rough doubletrack, and a four-hour boat ride up the Alberni Inlet, featuring numerous swim spots, old-growth forests, quirky communities, and so much more.
Rick McCharles 