Cotopaxi National Park

Tuesday October 12.

Today I took a tour with 10 other people to Cotopaxi National Park. Cotopaxi is an active volcano that last erupted 115 years ago. The bus took us an hour south of Quito and then along a bumpy dirt road to the entrance to the park. Here we were instructed to buy gloves and hats from the native ladies because it was going to be very cold. Luckily I already was prepared. Then the bus drove us up to the 4300metre mark and a parking lot.

From there we hiked up to the glacier at 5000 metres! It was very challenging as the air is really thin. It was hard to breathe and climbing took a lot of effort. However, I made it. Probably great training for Machu Picchu and Killimanjaro. I hiked up with another 23 year old - this time a Canadian named Daryl.

After we got to the glacier (yes a glacier at the equator!) we hiked back down to the 'refuge' where we had a great lunch. Then we rode down 14 km from 4300m to a lake at the bottom, on mountain bicyles! That was also very challenging. The road was very bumpy with washboard, loose rocks, gravel and sand. I went very slowly, as I didn't want to hurt myself. I was the second person up, after the guide, and the last one down!

Everyone was exhausted by the end and most of them fell asleep on the bus back!

When I got back to Quito I arranged another tour for tomorrow and Thursday and booked a flight for Friday and a hostel in my next location. So, I was productive and organized! Stay tuned to find out where I am heading next.