Cotopaxi

Trip Start Jan 25, 2008
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Trip End Jun 01, 2008


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Where I stayed
Hostel Tiana

Flag of Ecuador  , Cotopaxi,
Wednesday, May 21, 2008

We booked a mountain biking trip to the Cotapaxi volcano national park with Aires biking in Quito and were surprised to discover it was a tour for two when we were picked up that morning.  It took about an hour and a half to drive to the base of the highest active volcano in the world (4500 metres above sea level) where the guide stopped the truck and then informed us that we were expected to climb to the first climbers refuge - we hadnīt expected this and thought we were just biking.   It was freezing, the weather which had been dismal to begin with got worse as we made the ascent, battling with the winds and snow as we made our way up the volcanic ash both of us wearing inappropriate footwear. Neils trainers were bound to his feat by a few loose threads and gaping holes let the snow in, Katie was in Adidas superstars as a miscommunication with the hostel in Quito about putting her damp hiking shoes in the tumble dryer had ended up with them being washed again and returned even more wet than they had been in the first place Katie makes it to the refuge
Katie makes it to the refuge
 !

We finally make it to the climbers refuge certain our toes and fingers had frostbite, and were excited as the guide had promised there would be hot chocolate waiting for us at the top - we were not impressed to find all that was available was black tea but it was hot so we gulped it down!  After ten minutes of staring out the window willing the snow clouds to clear so we could glimpse the summit we decided to give it up as a bad job and slid our way back down the volcano bringing half a ton of volcanic ash with us in our shoes.

We were spoilt by the Gravity double suspension bikes in Bolivia and were hoping more of the same but the front suspension bikes we were handed looked a little battered and as we began our descent down the volcano we sounded like a pair of demented guinea pigs the breaks were so squeaky.  The fact they sounded so awful meant we didnīt quite trust them so were slamming the breaks on even more often. Luckily the national park is picuturesque so the guide didnīt think it too odd that we kept stopping ever ten minutes or so to take a picture (and check the brakes)!  When we got to the base of the volcano, we looked back to see the midst clear and reveal the peak  so we whipped the camera out quick before it disappeared again. Satisfied that we had seen at least some of the parks centrepiece we got on with the rest of the bike ride which was more enjoyable once the breaks had warmed up and stopped squeaking so much, stopping for lunch by the side of a lagoon.  The rainy weather had made the path quite muddy and it was loads of fun crashing through the puddles getting splattered with mud!

A couple of hours later we were back at the start and asked the guide to leave us on the Panamerican highway instead of taking us back to Quito so we could catch a bus to Latacunga.  This being Ecuador within a seconds of us stepping out of the van we stuck our thumb out, caught the bus and were on our way!
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