Cotopaxi

Every once in awhile, Cotopaxi pokes her almost perfectly cylindrical head from above the clouds to look down upon her admiring fans. Her snow top head shimmers in the sunlight and the black moving spots on her head are not lice, but people hiking up to pay their respects. When I first saw a photo of her in Quito, I had to visit to view her beauty in person.

At almost 6000m tall, she is quite the giant. Although climbing her is not as difficult as other major peaks because one can drive up to about 4500m and then hike up to base camp at 4800 m and start hiking the rest at midnight til 6am. I debated on whether to hike Cotopaxi and in the end, I chose to just hike up to about 5100m. The rest of the way, I needed to have crampons and an ice pick. The altitude and the wind made the hike a little difficult and my hiking partners often looked back for me to make sure I hadn't blown off the cliff. I am slow hiking up, but I always make it. When I reached the snow, I laid down to make snow angels, but the stiffness of the snow prevented the formation and instead my imprint looked like a big giant foot had stepped down.


When I returned to my lodge set in the hillsides of Cotopaxi, I took a hot shower and profoundly slept. The rest of my 3 days in the region, I rode horseback through the hills all the while avoiding the bulls that tried to stop us from passing. I hiked to a nearby waterfall getting drenched in the process when I fell into the river. I befriended the 4 dogs on the property and the sheep named Jolee. And I cuddled next to the fire in my private cabin and read. The manager of the property took pity on me and let me stay in a private 2 story cabin for the price of the dorm just so I could take a hot relaxing bath inside. Dorm and budget life doesn't lend to many perks and so I jump at the chance to take a bath whenever possible. After over a year of traveling, it's the small joys of comfort that make all the difference.



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