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Published: February 8th 2008
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Hosteria Papagayo
This is the beautiful hostel where we stayed. Hey all,
So after taking off from Santa Lucia a week early we left Quito to go to a hostal about an hour away called Hosteria Papagayo. We were dropped off at the side of the highway and had to walk a bit, but it was well worth the walk as the hostal was beautiful. It is an old farm house surrounded by miles and miles of farmland. The staff were very welcoming and we were given a huge room overlooking a lush garden. After all the rain that we experienced at Santa Lucia, the weather was great...lots of sun and warm air.....and no mud....woohoo!
In our first few hours there we were given a map of the surrounding areas and we took what we thought was going to be a little walk, that ended up being too long and we turned back so we weren´t stuck out in the middle of no where in the dark.....we made it back and had our first encounter with the dogs of papagayo, they cornered us and freak the you know what out of us.....they should learn to tell the difference between guests and thieves.
The day after our arrival, was
a write off due to me having stomach problems.....but I learned to play chess for the first time and gave Jack some pretty tough competition, although he managed to get my queen in the end.....
Our next day at Papagayo can only be named one thing and one thing only....the day of the dogs. We decided to do the same route we tried on the first day again and ended up starting it with another tourist. Our first obstacle was a huge white dog that growled at us and we backed off right away without any hesitation....and we decided to get the hostal to give us a ride to the train tracks where they assured us there would be no more dogs....we walked a bit and then were picked up by a family in a truck and they drove us somewhere completely off the map. So there we were...out in the middle of no where, the three of us, needing to make our way back and hoping that we wouldn´t be the next meal for a guard dog. The way back to say the least was traumatic with a new barking dog around every corner......we had some help along
The view
While at Papagayo this is what we were surrounded by. the way to get us back......an old women walked with us a for a bit and then another women sent her children along for us to chase the dogs away.....yes we had children help us.....and they were so brave, just running up to the dogs waving wood in their face.....I was impressed........and in the end a truck drove past and took us the rest of the way and we left all the probably very harmless, but very scary dogs behind.
Due to my sickness earlier in the week we decided to stay at the hostal an extra day and do the much talked about Cotopaxi bike tour and all I can call that day is utterly spectacular. It started out early. Jack and I were with a group of about 7 and our guide was Carlos. When we started off in the jeep in the morning, it was horribly foggy and we worried the whole way that we wouldn´t be able to see anything. The drive was about an hour or so to the parking lot just below Cotopaxi. About half way we were amazed that the sky started to clear and open up and we could catch a
The truck that picked us up
This was the truck on the day of the dogs that dropped us off.....they were such a nice family! glimpse of the peak......oh and along the way on the drive we also passed some wild bulls.....Once we arrived at the parking lot, after many stops to take pictures the plan was to hike an hour up to the refuge where we would have lunch....then hike some more to a glacier. The hike was hard.....with the altitude and the steepness it took the full hour and we had to stop many times to rest and drink water.....but we made it....even when it seems like the top will never come, it always does. We had a lunch of bread, cheese, fruit, chips, soup and guacamole. Jack and I were extremely cautious about what to eat...so we ate the blander things (we have had so much bread here!). After lunch the group took off to the glacier....which was a lot colder and rockier, but easier and not as steep.....so we walked and walked until we were able to stand on top of the ice...and what an experience that was.......to be 5000 meters above sea level and standing on a piece of ice. It almost made me want to climb the entire mountain.....but then I remember the struggle of just going up the
side and I am very content with not going any further any time soon.
The way down was quick.....you could pretty much run down it....or ski down it, which Jack enjoyed.....and the views going down were nothing I have ever seen before or will ever see again. It was like the land before time.....majestic and pristine and breathtaking....and it went on for miles and miles. I needed to go down slowly so I could take it all in. When we finally reached the parking lot again.....we were about to start the biking portion of the tour.....which consisted of biking all the way down to a lagoon on a rocky, curvy road. It was just as amazing as the hike and the glacier.......although my hands got cramps from holding onto the breaks so tightly....and in true Jackie style I fell off the bike....and have a few bruises to show for it....woohoo am I ever rugged! But the ride down was great and once again the views were completely amazing.....and once I got into the ride a bit I let go of the breaks....slightly.....and we finally made it down to the lagoon after about an hour. While down there we had
Jack and I on our hike...
before the dogs made us poop ourselves :( the privilege of seeing wild horses...two of them drinking from a pond. The whole day was great and the weather was more than we could have asked for....sunny and warm. On the way back all we could talk about was how much the day meant to us and that it was truly a once in a life time experience. I know that my words have not done it justice here and I am hoping that the many pictures we took will do it justice so you can all see how lovely it all was.
After our time at Papagayo we were sad to leave and were extremely happy with the tour and decided although we were going to go to Quito to take another Gulliver tour to the Lagoon Quiltoa.....before that though we were driven by Papagayo´s extremely nice and hospitable Manager, Marcello to Quito. In true tour guide style, he stopped along the way so we could take pictures of Cotopaxi and the views from the highway. The next blog that follows is our Thursday tour to the lagoon!
Take care!
Jackie and Jack
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chad c
non-member comment
tight trip yo!