Tuesday, Feb 21 - 8:30pm
So we hopped on a bus about 7:30 this morning with about 18 others to head Cotopaxi for our volcano climb. The bus was supposed to leave at 7, but apparently in Ecuador, we were right on time.
The first thing I found so interesting was we stopped for gas. One would typically think that would be done before the tour started. No harm done, was just interesting. And by the way, gas here is $1.48 a gallon. Hmm. Maybe we should use the same supplier as they do... (should be that simple, right?)
We made a few stops along the rest of our hour and a half journey. The first was at Papa Gayo's. A cute little restaurant off the side of the highway that also is the place we picked up our mountain bikes and out guide. After picking out our bikes and making sure everything worked on them (most importantly, the breaks), they tossed them to the top of the bus and we were on our way again.
Next stop was just before the Cotopaxi park entrance. It was a simple little shop off the highway where we picked up some water & snacks. The guide was really pushing the chocolate.... A little energy for our hike, perhaps? Then back on the bus.
Now, inside the Cotopaxi area, the volcano was visible. Actually it was on and off visible as the clouds moved through quickly. It looked so awesome that the guide had the driver stop so we could take some photos. Another 30 minutes later, a drive through a small river, we stopped at the base of Cotopaxi where we could buy hats & scarves if needed. And yes, as you may have guessed, I bought a hat. I had to support the locals and trade them my $4 for a cute knit hat. And back on the bus again.
About 45 minutes later, we found ourselves at the Cotopaxi museum where we learned about the area and the volcano. Some interesting facts about Cotopaxi:
- it is the largest active volcano in the world & the 2nd tallest in Ecuador
- it was said to erupt every 100 years and the last eruption was 128 years ago. Hmm.
- if it were to erupt, the lava moves at about 600 km/hr and would reach the pacific coast in about 2 hours, killing everything in its path.
- Coto means throat, Paxi means fire. Throat Fire
Back on the bus one last time before our final destination. Here, we found ourselves in a parking lot at the base of the refuge. Altitude 4500 meters. The refuge was visible at a mere 4800 m. It didn't look that far away, but it was much higher than we were! All bundled up as it was chilly and windy. Temp was 0 degrees c.
The terrain was a thick, redish sandy rock. It literally was like walking up steep stairs, without benefit of the stairs. I was winded after about 10 steps. I thought this would be a cake walk since we already acclimated ourselves with our first volcano hike a couple days ago. Apparently, it takes more getting used to then that. It's just amazing to me, the difference it makes. I think it took us about an hour & a half to reach the 4800 m refuge. It is just hard to explain but I would guess it was about a 45 degree incline in volcanic dirt & rocks. Conversations were sparse. All oxygen was saved for simply breathing.
Once we reaches the refuge, we took about 10-15 minutes to catch our breath before making the final flight up to 5000 m. This part wasn't quite as steep, but much more treacherous. As the incline was still at least 45 degrees, but we walked sideways and up at the same time. It was bigger rocks and also snow so you needed to be sure your foot was secure before placing all your weight on it. With each step, you would see snow and/or rocks falling. One wrong move or loss of balance and you would find yourself on quite the sledding experience that would quickly be ended by the big rocks or a steep tumble off a cliff.
I was a bit nervous about this last part for a few reasons... 1) I'm afraid of heights and clumsy - not a good combination. 2) I was carrying my camera (this was a photoshoot one could not pass up). 3) I was at 5000 meters on a Volcano! (which is where the pic of me below is at). It was truly breathtaking! I would have loved to just sit up there, at 5000 meters and just stare at the beauty. It was amazing. Unfortunately, some clouds were moving in quite quickly and our guide told us to keep moving due to the weather...
I was actually more nervous about coming down, but surprisingly, it didn't bother me as much as going up. Perhaps it was partially because I put my camera in my backpack for the desent.
As you can imagine, the entire trip down was much quicker than the climb. However, Connie & I took an amazing amount of breaks on the way down for photo ops. We even made snow angels! The clouds changed so much, and it was just that amazing that we couldn't help it. The guide kept telling us to "vamous" as the clouds coming in were full of snow/hail. That they were, but we still couldn't help wanting to take in all we could and as many photos as we could. We also wore out the battery on 3 cameras and both cell phones by the time our trip was over!
Once we were back to the bus, we hopped on our bikes and make the 14km ride to Laguna Limplopungo. It was 11km of a very bumpy, windy, downhill dirt road, and 3 km of a very bumpy, still somewhat windy, flat dirt road. I wanted to stop every 3 minutes to take another picture because the view changed so much, but I refrained and only stopped a couple times in our hour plus bike journey to the Laguna.
Also worth mentioning was our ride back to Quito. First, we needed air in a tire so we stop at this little place right on the highway. But, needing air in a tired quickly changed to needing a new tire, so they changed the tire with 20 people on the bus. Strange how different things are here. They seem so much more efficient. 15 minutes later, we were back on the road.
Second, Because of Carnival. Like I mentioned before, they like to prank each other. Our guide & driver where no exception. They were pouring flour, water & coke over one another. Also, as we are driving down the highway, there was a guy sleeping in the back of a pickup. They tried to get close enough to dump water on him, but their attempt failed. But, it was quickly followed up with another opportunity when there was a man peeing on the side of the highway. They slowed and doused him with water. It was hilarious. Ecuadorians know how to have some fun!
One last thing worth a brief mention... Seems odd to say, but for the first time in my life, I sunburnt my face. With the weather at freezing, at 5000 meters, I burnt my face. I guess we were a bit closer to the sun!
I'm not sure what to say about the day than Wow! I need to come up with another word to explain all of this but I feel somewhat speachless, like words can't describe... Maybe incredible. Amazing. Breathtaking. Take your pick.
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