The morning sun was shining, a good omen for our day trip to Cotopaxi volcano. We were looking forward to this, although we weren't quite sure what to expect. Before we left the states, we'd booked an all-day tour of Cotopaxi through Viator (which we used in Greece last fall). We wore warm clothes and brought all kinds of outer wear, 'cause we knew Cotopaxi was capped in snow.
At 8am, Jimmy and I met our young and enthusiastic bilingual guide, Marco, outside our apartment building. Gabriel, in the van, will be our driver, and we set off to pick up one other couple in historic Quito -- two young Russians. Quizzing everyone a little while later, we discovered the average age for everybody but us was 30. We haven't seen 30 in 40+ years! Well, we'd do our best to keep up.
Hard to believe that Quito, at 9,350' above sea level, is actually in a valley ringed by higher volcanoes, but it's true. The city's metropolitan population is somewhere around 4 million, and housing reflects both the burgeoning population as well as the narrow valley -- homes sweep up into the hills. Above is a small fragment of the city. Trust me: There is no level ground in Quito. It's either up or it's down.
A first glimpse at Cotopaxi, which is about 35 miles south of Quito, or approx two hours. That allows for time to bull our way through Quito's morning traffic snarl, and time to explore as we make our way up the volcano's flanks.
Seen from the Pan American Hwy as we traveled to Cotopaxi are Illiniza Sur (South) at 17,267 ft, in the clouds at left, and Illiniza Norte (North) 16,818 ft. They are the 6th and 8th highest Ecuadorian peaks. They used to be one whole volcano with a crater but eventually split in two. These peaks are located roughly 44 miles south of Quito in the Occidental Andean range. While you can't see much of it today, Illiniza Sur has permanent snow and a glacier because it holds more humidity than Illiniza Norte.
Established in 1975, Cotopaxi was the first national park in mainland Ecuador. It's considered an active stratovolcano, with a last eruption in August 2015. We hoped it would remain quiet at least for the week, and especially for today! At 19,347 ft, it's Ecuador's second-highest peak. I didn't know how high we'd go with our guide, but hopefully not to 19,347 ft!
I spotted this Great Thrush (Turdus fuscater) in the parking lot by the Visitor Center. Looks like our common American Robin without the red breast. Of course, it's in the same family. Jimmy and I both bought a pair of soft, warm gloves to wear on our trek to the refuge, since we forgot ours. We'll be able to use them again in our Sierra high country winters.
This gorgeous Andean Fox crossed the road in front of our vehicle, then stopped and posed for this picture. Look at that beautiful coat and bushy tail, wowzers!
Wild horses of the Andes (called párameros) with thick hides and flowers in their manes, travel with a cute little one. The "flowers" are weeds they pick up as they eat while roaming the high tundra. Introduced with the Spaniards in the 1500's, these wild herds have adapted to Cotopaxi's rough environment over the generations.
Chuquiragua, flower of the Andes.
I have on many layers, plus my rain jacket (in the backpack).
It was cool at this spot, but not cold.
I took photos at every turn in the road, enchanted by Cotopaxi's capricious look. An ever-changing mix of clouds and sun blurred its face. The red is caused by iron.
Yes, further up the air was getting colder ... and thinner.
I could barely see them and you might not be able to see people walking or climbing where the ground surface is black, appearing like periods at the end of a sentence. This entire area looks like a moon vision.
Gabriel parked our van, and he'd stay with it while we made our way up. The group will branch off where you see the red check mark, the beginning of the Zig Zag Trail. It's supposedly a little easier and firmer, but it is longer -- a mile. You probably guessed that the trail is switchbacks, rather than a straight uphill in deep volcanic sand/dust.
Jimmy and Marco slogging away. The red check mark shows where we began ... where the vehicles are parked. We stopped at every zig and every zag, to catch our breath, all of us had to, although I felt like I was the laggard. It was encouraging to me and Jimmy that the young Russians needed to stop almost as often as we did.
Brave Arctic explorer.
(Hey, any excuse to stop and breathe!)
Light rain or tiny beads of snow were falling, but we weren't getting wet.
The Refuge is in sight!
Almost there.
Folks at right are laboring up the straight trail.
Folks at right are laboring up the straight trail.
Aha! We made it ... a mile hike to the Refuge at 15,953 ft.
Wow, good job!
We went in the refuge, walked around. Decorating the walls were photographs and posters and countries' flags of people and groups who made it all the way to the top. We ordered cups of coca tea and drank with relish. Were we tired? Don't think so, not necessarily, maybe weary from the effort, and grateful our climb was finished. I went out back to use the facilities, and to flush, I had to go outside the bathroom, partially fill a plastic bucket from a large rain barrel, take it back inside and use it to flush. That's the protocol here. Then I spied the bird below.
This little Plumbeous Sierra Finch (Phrygilus) was wandering around behind the refuge.
The STEEP descent on the straight trail.
That's Jimmy on the far left, next to Marco.
That's Jimmy on the far left, next to Marco.
Coming down was A LOT quicker than going up, but I surely filled up my shoes! We literally flew down on the straight-away in the deep dust. I couldn't wait to take off my shoes and socks to get the cinders out. I had to remove the shoe insert as well, to shake out all that volcanic dust.
We saw a mystical Carunculated Caracara,
sitting by the road and then it took to the air!
This was THE BEST day trip from Quito!
We were thrilled to see, to experience another slice of amazing Ecuador ... Galapagos, rainforest, now this, plus the capitol city.
On our way down, we spied an Ecuadorian White-tailed deer, far in the distance.
We pulled off the main road for a quick stop at Laguna Limpiopungo (Lagoon), but we didn't tarry because light rain was falling, as you can tell by the dots on my camera lens. We did see a few Andean Gulls, a pair of Andean Teals, and an Andean Coot, as well as Andean Lupine in bloom. Coots are everywhere!
Limpiopungo Lagoon.
As we drove into Quito's outskirts, Marco asked if we were hungry? I neglected to write down the name of the restaurant, but the food was scrumptious. The soup bowl, above, was sitting in fire! Once the fire died down, we tasted the local homemade soup with potatoes and corn, and WOW, delicious. Next came the main course, below.
Yes, that's popcorn on the left side of the bowl. Corn is to Ecuador as potatoes are to Peru. We ended the meal with dessert and coffee and might have nodded off on the final drive to our apartment ... but at least our driver didn't. We did get caught in going-home traffic, opposite of morning traffic. I think we returned to our place about 7 pm, full, tired, and quite pleased. We did it. It was well worth it.
