From the coast of Ecuador we headed up into the massive Andes mountains, to the town of Riobamba. From there we explored a number of neighboring sights and sites. The Chimborazo volcano is, arguably, the highest peak on the earth - while Chomolungma (Mt. Everest) is the highest from sea level, due to the "equatorial bulge" of the earth the summit of Chimborazo is actually the point furthest from the center of the planet, and the point closest to the sun. We took a city bus up to the entry of the natural reserve and then got a ride up with some Ecuadorans who were heading to the summit. We went up to 16,000 feet and the air was extremely thin, but it was well worth feeling dizzy/faint/irritable for the majestic views. In the