Latacunga and the ascent of Cotopaxi volcano

Yesterday we finally managed to break free of the gravitational pull of Quito and the Secret Garden hostel and make our way south to Latacunga. It's nice to be out of the big city, the noise and pollution were starting to get on our nerves.

Latacunga is a completely different kettle of fish. True, they also have a severe vehicle emmisions problem here, but since there are less cars and trucks it's less of a headache. Also it's much safer here which is always nice.

We travelled to these parts for two reasons: to have a climb of the tallest active volcano in the world (Cotopaxi - a whopping 5897m high and about 29km from here) and to visit a series of villages and another volcanic crater nearby, collectively known as the Quilotoa circuit. Tomorrow we set off for the Quilotoa circuit but today we climbed the volcano.... and WHAT a volcano!

The trek was arranged through the hotel that we are staying at, the quirky but very friendly Hotel Estambul. We set off at about 8:30am with three other guests from the hotel (Rein & Char, and Andy). After an 80km 4x4 drive - don't ask me how it can be that long when the volcano's only 29km away! - we were at the snow covered carpark and ready to set off. The carpark's about 4600m above sea level so the walk was quite an effort due to the altitude - it's amazing how difficult it makes everything. We had to stop every 5 minutes to catch our breath so it took quite a while to get there, but get there we did. During the walk I couldn't help but wonder how those mountaineers that have climbed Everest without oxygen managed to do so when we could barely choke our way half way up Cotopaxi!

At the refuge we had a bite to eat once our heads stopped spinning and enjoyed being at 2/3 of the cruising altitude of a passnger jet!! We were also supposed to go for a wander on the glacier, but alas the weather didn't hold and we had to high tail it outta there before the lightning moved any closer - and it sounded close enough! It really was a great experience though even without the glacier walk. The view, both leading up to and from the volcano was nothing short of breathtaking. Saying that, so was the walk to the refuge! We found that taking regular breaks and not walking too fast were the best ways of dealing with the altitude.

All in all, a top excursion, although I can't help thinking how cool it would be to go on one of the two day tours and camp up there, ready to make an assault on the summit! (I think though it's off the menu for now. Neither Emma nor I have the right gear or experience. Bummer.)

So, tomorrow we're off on the first leg of the Quilotoa circuit although we're doing it backwards. Starting at a nice little market town whose name seems at the moment to be entirely unpronouncable. Should be interesting buying bus tickets!

Note: Thanks to Rein & Char for some (most!) of the pics of Cotopaxi.

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