Two weekends ago, I visited Cotopaxi National Park, the home of the Cotopaxi volcano, the second highest volcano in Ecuador and one of the tallest, most active in the world. The park is about an hour and half bus ride from Quito, so a friend and I planned for a day visit. After waking up before the buses were even running, we arrived at the park around 8 in the morning, just as the gates were opening. We rented a 4x4 truck to drive us around the park for the day. Our first stop was the refuge, a small hut at 4,800m and about a 45 minute hike up the volcano. This is the farthest point that people can hike without official guides, as after this point the climb gets very technical and full of glaciers. Our next stop was a beautiful lagoon, where we did a nice easy hour hike. Before leaving, we did one final hike along the valleys formed by the lava flow and eroded from storms. Overall, it was great to get out of the city for some fresh mountain air.
This past weekend, I visited Papallacta, thermal volcanic hot springs. After palm sunday mass, a few friends and I headed off to the springs for a day filled with relaxation. The springs are far up in the mountains. The resort we visited had about 15 different pools, all different sizes and temperatures. Plus, a river ran right through the resort, so if you were very brave, you could hop into the freezing water as a little refresher before getting back into the spas.
Now, I just need to visit Mindo, a cloud forest reserve, and Banos, an adventure town at the base of volcano Tungurahua (the one that has been erupting for the past 2 months now) in order to finish my Ecuador bucketlist!
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| Cotopaxi Peak |
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| The lagoon |
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| Hitchhiking home! Kidding - we were just getting a bus :) |
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