From the Andes to the Pacific coast From Baños we passed through Ambato Province into Cotopaxi Province, named after a volcano there which I had seen from Quito. Cotopaxi, in the Andes, is the second highest peak in Ecuador and one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. It has an almost symmetrical cone with a neat arch at the summit and it's this shape that gives it the name Cotopaxi meaning 'neck of the moon'. Early on in the trip up to the Andes I began to feel unwell. I had sharp pains in my stomach and a couple [View Full Entry]

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Hola again!! OK here goes the final blog entry and this really is going to be a short one because ive been sat in the internet cafe for an eternity now! :o( .... A group of us from the hostel got the bus to Cotopaxi (Patricia and I nearly bought some puppies on the way as there was a box of them, they were adorable and being sold for $5!!) and ended up going straight to the festival in town/mountains as it was their yearly festival and everyone from the hostal was already there! The festival was very funny mainly because [View Full Entry]

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This past weekend we traveled an hour outside of Quito to the avenue of volcanoes. We were literally dropped off on the side of the freeway and following the directions we were given by the travel agency, we walked about a half mile up a dirt road, in the middle of no where and we found our hostel Papa Gayo. It is this really cute red farm house getaway, with stables, farm animals, including lamas, sheep, ducks, pigs and horses. There is also pastures where they grow food for the animals and the people staying at the hostel. They have a [View Full Entry]

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Day 33: Friday 1st August - Acclimatising (?!?) on Illiniza North Cotopaxi is the goal at 5897 metres, but first we must acclimitise by climbing Illiniza North at approximately 5200 metres. I'm joined on my climb my Joe, an American guy and our guide Nicolas. We have an early lunch and then drive an hour or so into the Illiniza National park and start our climb at around 4000m. We make the refuge at 4700m in good time, and after dropping most of our gear off we decide to press on to the summit. Almost as soon as we step out [View Full Entry]

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hopefully there will be some photos to go with this! went to mitad del mundo! the center of the world, was cool very interactive. there were lots of experiments to do such as watching water go straight down the plug hole! balancing an egg on a nail( much easier on the equator apparently)! watching men lose all their strenght when standing on the equator line as opposed to a meter either side of it. that was wierd you lose muscle resistance and weigh about 3 kilos less on the equator than anywhere else! there was lots of native stuff there too [View Full Entry]

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This famous trek from El Tambo (near Papallacta) is being described as one of the most beautiful treks in Ecuador. And I must admit it was special. And I was lucky with the weather. While on the first day it was still foggy, the weather cleared when we were just in front of Antisana, and it was amazing when its snowy face, towering above Laguna Santa Lucia, opened just when we were sitting there for a break. And above all, a couple of huge condors were circling high above. The next morning was even more amazing. After a freezing cold night [View Full Entry]

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After the Galapagos trip we returned to Quito for two nights out on the town sampling some quality red wine, Tapas, traditional ecuadorian food and cocktails. I decided to book a tour to Cotopaxi National parkwith Gullivers travels after a couple of recommendations. Cotopaxi (5897m) is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. Its last eruption was in 190. The land around it has tundra like vegetation, wild horses roaming around and the air is very thin at 3500m ! After an early 7.00am start it took around two hours to get to the National park where the guide [View Full Entry]

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Frueh morgens treffen wir unserern Guide in Quito und ab geht es mit dem Jeep die Panamerikana Richtung Sueden. Am Nationalpark des hoechsten noch aktiven Vulkans Cotopaxi angekommen, geht das Offroad - Feeling los - zuerst noch im Jeep, dann auf den Mountainbikes. Der Jeep bringt uns auf den Vulkan auf eine Hoehe von 4.600 m, dann geht es 8 km downhill mit den Bikes. Wir haben grosses Glueck, denn die Sonne scheint und bei blauem Himmel haben wir freie Sicht auf den schneebedeckten Gipfel des Cotopaxi - einfach gigantisch! Unten angekommen fahren wir weiter durch den Nationalpark, vorbei a [View Full Entry]

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hola everyone! we´ve finally arrived in banos after a great few days in cotopaxi. the area around where we were staying in cotopaxi is one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. the hostel was in a valley surrounded by 7 or so volcanoes (don´t worry though.. only one is active). the active one, cotopaxi, is of course the one that we did some hiking on. cotopaxi is arguably the highest active volcano in the world. i say arguably because some charts have it as one, others have it at two or three. regardless, the volcano is really high. [View Full Entry]

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A very early start today but it was worth it to see the wonderful views of Cotopaxi. It stands at 5897m and is one of the highest active volcanoes in the world (although it has been fairly quiet since 1904)! Sadly we didn´t have time to climb it. It takes 7-9 hours to get to the summit and another 3-4 to get back down. Instead we opted for a short hike around Lake Limpiopungo at an altitude of 4500m. The views of the volcano are breathtaking and I have some great photos which I will add when we get back. During [View Full Entry]

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