The following day, Christian, Emma, Andy and I decided to head to Cotopaxi to hike to the refuge. Cotopaxi is one of the world´s highest active volcanoes and visually stunning. As we drove up to the car park the distance to the refuge looked incredibly short. I was the first to say ¨That´s it? I feel like a wuss!!¨ But I was quickly eating my words as this is by far the highest altitude that I have ever been at. The refuge is at 4800 meters or 15,748 feet. The highest I had ever been before this was Breckenridge Colorado at 10,000 feet so I definitely felt the altitude. The hike up the refuge was straight up and through volcanic ash so I was taking small steps all the way up. We were being passed by some people who did the summit to the top and about half said they had made it. One guy was with his girlfriend and was visibly exhausted. He said he made it but his girlfriend made it 100 ft from the top and couldn´t move any further. This is a serious climb.
The hike up from the car park.
Me and the mountain.
Andy & Emma.
Victory! This was the top for us. After the
snowline the serious trekking begins.
Enjoying some soup & hot chocolate for lunch.
We lucked out with the weather. It was a
great day.
Back to the bottom.
Our friendly guide Carlos.
Headed home!
After Cotopaxi, I headed back to work in Quito and was pretty beat. Though it was a short trip we did a lot in 2 days and I enjoyed seeing the beautiful countryside of Equador.
2 comments:
ok so there was a lot for me to catch up on! You've been busy woman! Keep it up - love reading your stories and following your trip. Happy New Year - miss you!
Hi honey - you are amazing hiking up that high. I am so proud of your adventurous spirit!! Just don't get too comfortable down there :) Love, Mom XOXOXOXOXOXOOXOXOXOXOXOXOOXXOOX
Post a Comment