Banos to Puyo would probably have been prettier on a prettier day.  It was heavy gray and overcast most of the day and sprinkling or pouring a lot of it.  Whether the moisture was coming from the top, the bottom or the sides, it kept us damp.  Because a lot of the route is dirt, bodies and equipment had a gray clay veneer by the time we reached Puyo.  The bikes took a beating as well -- most of the group was having some level of trouble with their deraileurs, brakes and all their cables.

What is interesting and nice about the leg? The Rio Pastaza Canyon: the river itself; waterfalls coming off of both walls of the valley, including over the road; raging rivers, fueled by the heavy over night down pours, cascading out of the side valleys; unlighted tunnels; a hydro electric dam and power station; Ecuador's longest cable car suspended hundreds of feet above the Rio Pastaza; and the nearly continuous decent for 20 km.

With the decent the climate and environment changed.  With the heavy overcast skies we did didn't feel a dramatic change in temperature, but the heavier vegetation helped maintain a more humid, tropical atmosphere.  The setting, vegetation, small town architecture and speed of life all evoked past images of rural Cuba.