| along the coast, gives the country near perfect | | | | it's also the coldest place in Ecuador. |
| weather. A bit hot in the lowlands, but spring-like in | | | | Climbing Chimborazo |
| Quito (the capital) , with highs in the sixties to low | | | | Paco, my guide, didn't care for the lightweight part of |
| seventies every day of the year. Great weather | | | | my mountain climbing adventure. He frowned at my |
| almost everywhere--until you get high enough. | | | | sleeping bag, which packed up smaller than a football, |
| The summit of Chimborazo is the furthest point from | | | | and weighed a pound. My 13-ounce frameless |
| the center of the Earth. Our planet bulges at the | | | | backpack didn't impress him either. It did get below |
| equator, making Mount Chimborazo even futher out | | | | freezing in the hut, just as he said it would, but I |
| there than Everest. It has the distinction of being the | | | | stayed warm - as I said I would. No problems so far. |
| closest point to the sun on the planet. Unfortunately, | | | | |