Blogs from Cotopaxi, Centre, Ecuador, South America - page 11

Went looking for tour agency for cotopaxi and it turns out that being solo for these sorts of excursions was a real liability. i ended up paying $220 for a 24 hour tour when the two or more price would have been $160. oh well, there is substantial advantage to climbing with just two people, the guide and me, because the pace catered to my ability and rest stops were of my choosing. so we drove to the parking area in cotopaxi national park and hiked the 600 feet up to the refuge which took an hour because i was loaded with all my traveling gear as well as the things needed for climbing the volcanoe. the refuge was located at just above 16,000 feet and physical exertion is more difficult than near sea level. ... read more

Le cotopaxi à 4800m d'altitude... Aujourd'hui fût une journée assez extraordinaire. C'est avec deux suisses et un guide équatorien que nous avons faite une excursion au Cotopaxi, le plus grand volcan actif. Son sommet est à 5897m. Heureusement, nous n'avons pas monté le tout à pied !!!!! L'excursion a commencé en jeep pour monter à environ 4500m d'altitude. Dans les routes sinueuses pour monter, je faisais souvent la balle de ping pong entre les deux suisses à l'arrière. Ca ferait un beau manège à la ronde ! Arrivée à 4500m, nous descendons du jeep pour monter les 300 mètres à pied et atteindre le refuge à 4800m d'altitude. J'peux vous dire que c'est pas facile. A même pas 50 mètres plus loin, je suffoquais déjà. Le manque d'oxygène était belle et bien là. Il me restait ... read more

¡Hola! Que bueno! Yes, at 6:15 yesterday morning, just in time for sunrise, I summited my fourth major peak in Ecuador - Volcán Cotopaxi, at a breathtaking 5897m. It was the singularly most physically and mentally demanding activity I have ever undertaken and the others are en acuerdo on this point. Was it worth it? Oh yes. Por que? The feeling of achievement I think more than anything. OK - the sunset and moonrise were stunning. And once the moon had gone, the sky was studded with every star. If I wasn´t so delirious at the time then I perhaps could have appreciated it more. It´s difficult to describe the climb to anyone who hasn´t done anything similar. So I´ll try to paint the picture. The refugio is at 4,800m, just over a kilometre below the ... read more

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 ... read more