The journey through a volcanic eruption

Some of you might of heard about a volcano erupting in Ecuador about 2 months ago. This volcano is named Tunguragua and is located near a town called Banos, which is located about 36 miles from Shell. This volcanos past eruption was in 1999. As with many things, the media makes things seem worse than they are. When I came back to Ecuador, I was thinking that I would no longer see Banos, that it would be destroyed. But when I came back, the town was still up and running..it was fine...it was the surrounding/mountainside communities and families that were destroyed. There were 5 deaths and I guess it was a miracle that more people didnt die because I heard that there were rocks just flying in the air and people were running to dodge them. I cant imagine!

This past Monday was an Ecuadorian holiday, so I decided to take a bike adventure trip with Spencer and a man from Chicago who runs a hostal in Banos named Jim. Jim loves biking, so I was excited to take this trip and see what kind of terrain we would ride on. He was also excited to go because the trip we were going to take was going to be on roads that the volcano covered and he wasnt sure if we would be able to ride our bikes in certain parts of the journey. so...we just went...not knowing what we would face or see!

Needless to say, we saw some incredible things. I have never been so up close and personal with a volcano! I mean, we were right there, where the flows were...riding over them! Looking up at Tunguragua from Banos, the eruption doesent look so bad, but its when you go to the other side of the mountain, that you see the devestation. Take a look at some of the pictures!
Above: here is the other side of the volcano..you can just see how everything is so dark. Normally it would look like a beautiful green patchwork quilt.

Below: Looking ahead at the path we would be riding on...I was nervous! This wasnt cement or gravel anymore..it was ash!
Above: Our bikes resting against a cliff..that must have been solid land and it collapsed. There were even rocks sliding down the cliff when our bikes were just sitting there!
Above: There was a huge cross in the midst of all this rubble. We thought it might have been a sign that a community used to be there. i thought it was a beautfiul sign of hope and peace.

Above: A zoomed in pic of the side of Tunguragua..you can just see the flows. I wonder how deep they are.
Above: One of the many great views. It was a beautiful ride!
Above: Tunguragua resting on a beautiful day. You can see the green parts and the dark parts. The volcano used to all be green, so you can imagine how different it is now! It is interesting because one of the main roads is covered, and they paved a new one...so you can see the volcanic rocks and all. It has become quite a tourist attraction with the Ecuadorians! Everyone brings their vehicles and stocks up on rocks, which many of them will probably try to sell!

it was a great trip. and we were probably the first ones to experience the damage first hand on bikes!