After flying high since our Galapagos experience we have now been brought down to to earth with a painful bump.Having spent a couple of chilled days sightseeing the old town of Quito we made the decision to escape Quito and head south on an excursion to bike ride down the volcano Cotopaxi. On the day of the trip we packed our bags and awaited the bus outside the agency at 7.30am. The bus duly arrived we met with what we thought were the guides for the day. They helped us on with our bags, including Mels daypack, but alarm bells were ringing in my head as one of them was acting very suspiciously and wouldn't seem to speak any English. It transpired that he had been misdirecting us whilst his accomplice got away from the bus with Mels bag stuffed under his shirt. The clever part of it was that no-one really saw him or could describe him and he had disappeared around a corner before we knew we had lost it. Mel was angry both at the thieves and herself for letting them take her bag that included, amongst other things, her passport.
We had to abort the trip and spent the day at various police stations getting reports filed. The next morning we visited the Canadian embassy (as there's no Australian embassy in Ecuador) and were informed about a 5 day pass that, when activated, would get us over the border to the nearest Aussie embassy in Lima to get an emergency passport. We had to postpone the bike ride until the following week as the tour agency would not refund our money so that left us with an extra week to spend in Quito.
The following day we took a ski lift called the Teleferico 4100m up the side of Rucu Pichinchu, one of a few 4500+ mountains overlooking the city. As we arrived early morning we attempted to climb the remainder 600m of the mountain and after a tough scramble at altitude up a 200m scree we finally made the summit 3hrs later. On the way down we met these nuns.
After this acclimatisation climb I made a decision to attempt one of the most beautiful peaks in South America, the 5900m volcano of Cotopaxi. Early next morning I was picked up by Patricio, my guide for the climb. We drove 3hrs (picking up another climber Jason on the way) to the carpark perched on the slopes of the mountain at 4500m and began a slow ascent to the Cotopaxi refuge at 4800m. I could feel the altitude with every muscle in my body and the weather was unhelpful, we could not see the summit from here or the approach. This was not a god sign.
After reaching the refuge an hour later we were shown a bunk where after a basic dinner at 6pm we tried to sleep until midnight when the climb would begin. The midnight start is necessary as the glacier becomes too dangerous after daybreak when it starts thawing. After a few cold hours of broken sleep at 4800m we kitted up and started traversing slowly up the glacier, the three of us tethered together using idepicks and crampons. Although I was feeling warm and comfortable the ascent was long, laborious and extremely exhausting. The weather was closing in and as we gained altitude the going got tougher and tougher with frequent breaks required. We were progressing at a mindnumbling slow pace with stops almost every twenty steps and it was only getting more painful. The cold winds were biting now and the visibility reduced to just a few feet in all directions. The conditions must have been bad because at 5600m we met another group of climbers returning having decided to turn back. We pushed on to the top of the glacier and could see why. The icy winds were joined by sheet snow that had covered the path with a foot of soft powder which the icepicks just sank into. Above the glacier and up ahead the path steepened sharply through a narrow gulley between two large crevices. It was just too dangerous to continue and although I was disappointed not to have made it to the summit I was glad to be turning back as I was exhausted and freezing cold. After a couple of photos we made our descent back to the refuge where after an short rest was driven back to meet Mel at the Hacienda Papa Gaya, hostel just off the Panamerican highway an hour south of Quito.
This place was exactly what my body and mind required, a beautiful farm retreat in a stunning location with apddock ful of horses and llamas and a bunch of rabbits and dogs and puppies. I took a shower, chilled and went early to bed for one of the best nights sleep of this trip so far!
The next day we caught a local bus to the nearby town of Machachi for their annual running of the bulls fiesta. There were some really good runners but mostly it was spotty adolescants being stupid. No bulls are harmed in this event. In fact, the worst casualty of the day was a nasty goring to the groin for a drunken fool who thought he could outrun a bull.
After a tranquil evening playing chess and drinking wine we headed out the next morning for our Cotopaxi bike ride that had been postponed form the week before due to the theft. The first part of the day was a scenic train ride where we all crammed on to the top of an old locomotive for a short but sweet jaunt through the countryside and local communities. We were then all picked up by our guide and driven towards Cotopaxi where we were afforded specactular views of the mountain on the approach road, so different from a few days earlier. Up at the carpark, where we began our ride, it was still very cold though and it was hard to squeeze the breaks as we hurtled down the switchbacks. 45 minutes later and we at the bottom where we were taken back up to the refuge to view the glacier at close hand. The sky cleared to show us perfect views of the summit with beautiful wisps of cloud pasing by overhead. As the glacier started to creak we decided to head back to the bus to begin our journey back to the hacienda. Pictures of the day here.
The next morning we headed back to Quito to catch a 36hr bus ride to Lima where we arrived today at 2pm. It was much less painful than we expected as the scenery of the Peruvian coast is fantastic with the sea to one side and desert. Also, our travelling companions kept us entertained all the way and we made some good friends.
So, we are now in a hostel in the Miraflores area of Lima where we shall be staying for a few days in order to collect Mels emergency passport. It wasn't our intended plan but shit happens!
Another country, another adventure...
Stuff:
Cotopaxi climb $160, 2 days
Papa Gaya $6 for dorm
Eurobackpackers, Lima $17 per night
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