http://www.travelblog.org/South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from South America , Ecuador , Cotopaxi en-us Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:02:25 BST Thu, 16 Oct 2008 08:02:25 BST From the Andes to the Pacific coastFrom Baos 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 meanin http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-330690.html Hola againOK 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 townmountain http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-325087.html 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 lam http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-322033.html Day 33 Friday 1st August Acclimatising on Illiniza NorthCotopaxi 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 a http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/Malingua-Pamba/blog-309099.html 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 f http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-302951.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-302822.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-297052.html 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 den http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-296312.html hola everyoneweve 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 dont 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 acti http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-293365.html 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 didnt have time to climb it. It takes 79 hours to get to the summit and another 34 to get back down. Instead we opted for a short hike around Lake Limpiopungo at an altitude of http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-290125.html We have a lot of ground to cover in a limited amount of time so we say goodbye to Quito and make haste to our next leg of the trip Cotopaxi. Now since Ecuador does not have an extensive train system and buses take twice as long we elect to hire a car and driver through the hacienda where we'll be staying.Cotopaxi is one of Ecuador's many volcanoes and is situated in the middle of a national park http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-282613.html Beautiful. Serene. Gorgeous. And very quiet. Thatrsquos life at Cotapaxi. Sitting at the foot of a 5km high volcano with sweeping views of it and 2 others from my hammock it feels much like heaven might be well sans internet of course. Life is slow and cosy curled up by the fire reading studying playing board games or chatting. At night the candles come out and we share a communal meal fo http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-279428.html So with Caroline gone we decided there was only one thing for it thats right we decided to go and climb the worlds largest active volcano....Cotopaxi you can see how the two are linked Cotopaxi presents a tricky challenge and Paul who runs the Secret Garden travel agency Carpe DM has attempted it three times already only to be cruelly turned away from the summit like Oliver asking for http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-278352.html Hola friends and faithful readers Greetings from Quito. I made it back from another adventure high up in the Andes another fabulous group of volunteer engineers. Of the seven who came this time five of them were return volunteers Brad was back for his 3rd visit Their repeat commitment speaks volumes about what a worthwhile and gratifying experience it is to work with the people of http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-272238.html There is such a sense of tranquility in the National Park with noone around you except for the guy on the leftFor anyone who doesnrsquot know about Cotopaxi itrsquos one of the highest active volcanoes in the world the summit is at 5897m above sea level. Before you ask no we didnrsquot climb to the top we actually only climbed about 200m of it and even that was only to base of http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-256165.html Today we return from Baos to Quito. The end of our week long tour. On the way we stop to visit the Cotopaxi volcano not the erupting one don't worry mums. This is going to be an altitude test nick has been taking diamox to see if it weel help with the altitude for the inca trail. This mountain is actually higher than anything we will do on the inca trail. The carpark is at 4500m and http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-254065.html With my guide Jaime I went to the Refugio Jos Ribas at 4800 m on Sunday 27 January. One can actually drive up to only a couple of hundred meters below and it's then just a hike of less than an hour. The refugio was pretty packed with people some French and a large American group. Everybody went to bed at around 18.30 as wake up is at midnight in order to start the hike at 100. This is nece http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-245549.html 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 overloo http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-244205.html This was a long hike up again. I could have taken a camionetta in El Chaupi but as I wanted to save the 10 USD and also thought it would be a good exercise I hiked up all the way to the refugio at 4740m with a heavy backpack must have been around 15 kg. The refugio was already full of hikers and even more guides as it seemed. They all were surprised to see a solo woman coming in and even more http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-239816.html I had been on Sincholagua with a group from Quito already a few months ago however from the other side. So this time I wanted to approach it from the Cotopaxi National Park. I had been told that I only had to find the bridge to cross the river and that from there a path would lead up the mountain. So I walked to the Eastern gate of the National Park and took the road to the left as I had been http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-239812.html For three nights I stayed at Tambopaxi an acclimatization center at the foot of Cotopaxi. There I met Henry a friend of Fredyrsquos and also mountain guide. He was very friendly and gave me lots of information about the mountains I was planning to climb in the next few days and also about other treks that could be useful for my book. So the first day I hiked up to Rumiahui which is a beaut http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-239806.html Normally the hike up Corazon starts at an altitude of approximately 4000m. One has to rent a camionetta van obtain the key of the hazienda to whom the lower parts of the mountain belong drive up and then it is an easy 23 hour hike up to the summit. At the Plaza in Machachi however they told me the owners of the hazienda did not open the gate any more as they did not want any more cars in http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-238009.html HeyDas wuchennd bini ufem cotopaxi gsi isch en aktive vulkan ond de grscht freistehend ide wlt. wennmer es bild vo ecuador gseht ischer sicherlich au debii zumindescht uf jedem reisefhrer als titelbild. d daphne hetmer am mittwuch im uusgang vo ihrere idee verzellt ond ich han mi halt churz dezue entschlosse mitzgo Am donnschtig hets no es chliises erdbebe geh womer anschienend gsphrt http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-221300.html Thank you to everyone who sent me a happy birthday wish. Yesterday wasnt my best ever. Heres whyWe met at 8am all with hangovers Chris with a cold Tina a sore throat. Our driver took us to Cotopaxi in a really old 4x4 which had a flat tyre at the entrance to the park. We had to wait around for a new guide bikes to arrive. We finally got into the park up to the car park where we cou http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-218225.html As I sit here in a highrise luxury apartment in Quito watching the planes angle through the driving afternoon rain it seems impossible that just a few days ago I was roughing it up in the mountains with a group of American volunteers. It was another adventurefilled actionpacked week of unexpected twists and bends Anyone considering joining these biannual volunteer efforts must have http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-217721.html Today we left Quito and drove about two hours south west to visit the famous Cotopaxi Volcano National Park.At 5897 metres Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in Ecuador and as such is permanently capped in snow. It is instantly recognizable by its completely symmetrical cone shape and is the epitmoe of what one thinks of as a Volcano.However when we arrived we were disappointed as there wa http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-216954.html Umm yes i did get it but only after climbing to 5300 m to the edge of a glacier on one of ecuadors most famous volcanos. Was it worth it yes it was a spectacular walk in some of the most amaising scenery. We decided to take the option to mountain bike down whihc would have been fine had i not had the worst had ache ever i felkt ever bump hole stone piece of dust on that ride which was a real sham http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-215659.html Hola just got back from Cotopaxi national park we spent the last five days Hiking biking and horse ridingDonna s not so chirpy when she s on a horse or bike we took the bus from Quito to Machachi then pick up truck up the cobbled rd for half an hour to the secret garden where we stayed in our cosy bunk house for 5 days with 6 other room mates .Woke up to a fantastic veiw of cotopaxi volc http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-214769.html A heavyweight battle for the ages In the red corner the Colorado Comrades the Sultans of the Second City the Jobless Journeyers weighing in at a combined 270lbs the McSeelye Squad. Yaaaa Woooo In the blue corner the reigning champion Ecuadors second highest peak weighing in at a billion tons with a height of 19350 feet The active volcano Cotopaxi. Booooo The battle begins The http://www.travelblog.org//South-America/Ecuador/Cotopaxi/blog-211039.html