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Published: September 10th 2008
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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 little disco tech in the back and a jacuzzi and comfy couches next to the fire. We got there on Thursday night and after a tour of the grounds we read and hung out and then got to bed early because we new that we had a big weekend ahead of us.
The next morning we got up early and after breakfast we met our hiking guide who gave us one look and told us that we were definitely not prepared for the hike ahead of us. He gave Amanda and Rachel warmer clothes and gave us all boots that
were very similar to ski boots but are meant for hiking in the snow and ice. They are the most uncomfortable things I have ever worn, even worse the ski boots (but more on that later). After getting geared up we got in the back of a truck and took the bumpiest road I have ever driven on (it was like driving in a wash after a huge rainstorm, with huge ditches) but we drove through beautiful pasture land and up the mountain called Ilinizas. I felt like we were in the middle of no where and we only saw about 5 other people the entire day. There were wild bulls roaming around, which we had to be careful of and at one point we had to make our own path through the grass to avoid getting charged by the bulls. Also, at some points we were in the clouds because we were at such a high altitude, but when the clouds cleared we saw beautiful views of the farmland valleys and the two giant snow covered twin peaks towering ahead of us. In the beginning the hike was nice and gradual but after we crossed the tree line, it
was pretty much straight up through ashy dirt, where you would take a step and slid down half way. It was the hardest hike I have done. We hiked to about 5,000m which is around 15,000 feet. I thought that I would feel the altitude more, but I actually felt really good. After about 4 hours of hiking the weather got very cold and we put on warmer clothes and our snow boots and we had to tie ourselves together with a rope. At that point Rachel wasn´t feeling good and I could barely walk in my boots. We began rock climbing up this ridiculous trail and after about 15 minutes we decided to turn back. I was disappointed that we didn´t reach the summit but there was no way I was going to be able to rock climb in ski boots for two more hours. But it was a great hike and I felt accomplished even without reaching the top. When we got back to Papa Gayo we went straight to the jacuzzi and then took a hot shower. That night we met a really nice couple that started a hiking company in Guatemala and we had dinner with
them and hung out with them for the rest of the night.
The next day Amanda took it easy and Rachel and I went horse back riding. We got a short briefing from Aaron, our guide, an Israeli who moved to Ecuador seven years ago and started a the travel agent and hostel that we had used for this trip. His stories were very inspirational in that he just dropped everything and did what made him happy and now every day he lives in the most beautiful setting, riding horses and hiking and meeting new people all the time and making a very good living for himself. Anyway, he was a great horseback riding guide because even though I have gone horse back riding before, I have never felt so comfortable. We started out just walking a trotting but then we got to gallop on these dirt roads through farmland and at one point we ever took off galloping through an open field with tall grass in the mountains! I just felt so free and alive, especially since some of the time when I we were trotting I felt like I was holding on for dear life and I was
just glad to actually be alive. For lunch we stopped in the mountains at this reservoir and Rachel and I took a swim with Aaron and then laid in the grass in the sun afterwards to dry off. After lunch we road back for about an hour and then helped take off the saddles and clean and brush the horses and put them back in their stables. After four hours of riding Rachel and I were sooo soar from riding so we took a jacuzzi again and then watched a movie that night and took it easy again.
Sunday we woke up early again and met our group of about 15 other people for our Cotoxapi/biking riding excursion. We all got in a van that drove us to Cotopaxi national park. Cotopaxi is the second largest active volcano in Ecuador standing at about 19,347 feet. The top is covered by a glacier and Rachel and I were going to do the 9 hour hike that starts at 11pm and summits at the sunrise, but after not making it to the top of Ilinizas we decided to just hike to the start of the glacier, which we still a challenge. We
had seen views of Cotopaxi from other locations in Ecuador since it so big, but that day, standing at the base, it looked so much bigger than I had realized before. The top was in the clouds but at one point it kind of cleared and we got the perfect view and it was incredible! We took the van up the mountain for about an hour and arrived at the parking lot where we then hiked about an hour straight up through lose dirt to the beginning of the ice of the glacier. After enjoying the views there we went back down a bit to the refuge built at about 5,180feet. There we had lunch and then hiked back down to the parking lot where we got our bikes for the ride down. We got to ride for about an hour on the worst road I have ever ridden on. It was the definition of a washboard road and after riding horses the day before it was a little rough but I made it and the views along the way were definitely worth it. We ended at this beautiful lake made by the run off from the glacier. After, the
van took us back to Quito to arrive late on sunday night= a great weekend!
This week we are just trying to enjoy our last week in Quito since we will be leaving to travel Peru for the next month. In our last couple of days at the Guardaria we are doing stuff with the kids to culminate in a fiesta on our last day in which we have made with the kids pinatas, party hats, necklaces and a poster of a llama for pin the tail on the lama. We are also trying to explore the parts of the city that we haven´t seen. We went to some museums and yesterday we explored the old town and some churches. Its weird to be leaving Quito because it has become our home and we still feel like there is so much we still could do here but we are also excited to be going to peru soon! So this is probably going to be my last travel blog until I get back to the states, but if I have time during my travels I´ll do my best to keep you all updated!!! miss everyone and hope all is well!
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