Hosteria Papagayo Cotopaxi

... I looked like a cowboy in my rented chaps! I think that is my last equine adventure; to be safely put in the folder with sky diving and bungee jumping as things only ever to be done again to impress a woman!<br><br>Thursday, by contrast was the best day so far on my trip and redeemed Ecuador. I had a fantastic day climbing and biking down Mount Cotopaxi, one of Ecuador´s most famous active Volcanoes in superb ...

... in Lacatunga. Realising that we had gone too far Christie took issue with the driver and co-driver who should have known, they assured us we could get another bus back free. We jumped on another bus and Christie explained what had happened but they weren&#8217;t buying it and we paid $3 ($1 per adult). Sure enough 30minutes later we were dropped off at the entrance to Cotopaxi. The only other person in site was a man with a UTE who normally takes people ...

... as wearing costumes similar to the Klu Klux Klan.<br><br>Sometimes along with the man carrying the pig would be a small child carrying a plastic pig, almost an exact image of the older man but obviously nowhere near as heavy, obviously in training for a future event. The man carrying the pig in most cases looked overweight himself and close to having a cardiac arrest. Also during the carnival were girls dressed in white princess looking costumes on horseback ...

... as I have been sick for about a week now, so I took this option gladly. (NOTE: I'm writing this from the positive perspective that now I´m almost better and so I think about it as adding an extra dimension to the challenge... all part of 'the journey', blah blah blah... of course I survived and will be stronger for it, I hope :) )<br> <br>OMG the horse option was friggen scary. I don´t really like horses all that much, probably because I ...

... in oxygen. At stages the weather closed in all around us and I couldn`t see much in front or behind us. The part where you walk up is a relatively narrow strip (compared to the mountain), its probably about 5m wide and drops away down the mountain so I could totally see how you could get disoriented too. Luckily for us though our guide also had GPS :)<br><br>A short break at the refuge did seem to help, I could feel my face again and after about 15 minutes ...

... Hostal is right on the town square and we have a little room with access to a balcony overlooking it, if it's not too cold later we may sit there and watch the world go by.<br><br>We were ripped off at lunchtime, the first time it's happened. We were charged 6 usd for 2 lunches that would normally have cost 3 or 4. Because it hasn't happened here we have got out of the habit of asking the price (like we always did in Vietnam) before we order, so it's just ...