Climbing Cotopaxi, Easier than Returning to Quito

Cotopaxi is one of the tallest active volcanoes in the world. A short distance from Quito, this snow capped volcano rises to over 5,800 meters. Cotopaxi last erupted in August 2015, and it was closed for climbing until October 2017. Good timing on our part. We left Quito early Friday morning with our two guides (Reese and Patricio) and 18 other tourists. Just outside the national park we stopped for breakfast at a small restaurant where they served a meal worthy of climbing a volcano. We had fresh pineapple juice, coffee, pancakes topped with granola/yogurt, bread/jam, and scrambled eggs.

At breakfast we ended up sitting with a bunch of people on our tour, one of which happened to be our next door neighbor from the Upper East Side. She lived a block away from our former apartment, small world. After breakfast we all hopped back on the bus for the short drive to the national park, and then up the volcano so we could begin our hike. However, before we entered the park we stopped at a small bodega for some last minute water, snacks, coca leaves, etc. This really did not make any sense because there was a bodega across the street from the restaurant where we ate breakfast. Though we did buy some coca leaves to chew on and they definitely helped with the altitude. Definitely not the most organized (more on this later). In fact between leaving Quito and actually beginning the hike, we stopped four times (1. an extra pick up of tour members 2. breakfast/bathroom 3. bodega/bathroom 4. park entrance/bathroom). THE VOLCANO IS ONLY 31 MILES FROM QUITO! We digress.

Following our tour of roadside restaurants, bodegas, and bathrooms we finally made it to Cotopaxi. The landscape was incredible. In and around the national park the landscape has been altered by industrious individuals who planted pine and eucalyptus trees for building materials. However, at a certain elevation (possibly 4,000 meters, we forgot exactly) the landscape shifts to the low growing natural vegetation that is able to survive colder temperatures, snow/ice, and intense wind. This alpine landscape plays a critical function in filtering water that melts from the ice capped peak. The surrounding area draws as much as 50% of its water supply from this snow melt. Amen to living with nature!

Ok, so in reality we didn't need such a big breakfast because you are driven up to 4,800 meters, where we then hiked to the refuge station at 5,000 meters. That said 200 meters might not sound like a lot, but at that elevation you really feel it.

Refugio de Cotopaxi with the glacier line in the distance

Shortly after we began our climb it started hailing. Our guide said this was the first hail/snow he had seen in a month, que suerte! It did not stop hailing the entire time we climbed, though it was definitely better than rain. A steady rain will soak you, but hail just bounces off. After a short break at the refuge, where the more adventurous stay for a few day before climbing the summit (requiring special mountaineering equipment), we continued up to the glacier line (5,200 meters).

A doing her best not to look cold

It cleared up a bit more so we could capture a bit more of the glacier

Returning to our tour bus we waited for the stragglers in our group. Our guides rewarded us by graciously sharing a piece of fruit they brought called Zapote, which we had never seen or had before. It tasted like a cross between a pumpkin and a mango, very sweet and delicious. Our guide explained that they grow along the coast of Ecuador and are only in season for a few weeks.  Once our group was whole again we drove down the volcano until we were out of the clouds (about 1km). From there, a few brave souls (including Z) decided to hop out and mountain bike the rest of the way down (about 7 km) where we met back up with the bus at a lake.

Laguna de Limpiopungu

Our tour concluded with lunch back at the same restaurant we ate breakfast at earlier, which was very delicious (fresh berry juice, soup, potatoes, rice, salad, stir fry, and cake). After lunch the rest of the tour returned back to Quito, though we booked a nearby hotel for the night and were dropped off there. We arrived at the hotel late afternoon, had a quick shower, and then sat by the fire reading until dinner. It was exactly what we needed after scaling a volcano. The hotel had some vintage furniture as well as a bunch of farm animals roaming about (goats, alpacas, cows, geese, etc.), which all added up to a very relaxing stay.

Vintage hotel furniture (We assume it worked)

This one is ready for a haircut (or to be spooled into a few balls of yarn!)

Ok so now that you know we had a challenging hike with great guides and a relaxing stay at the hotel, we unfortunately must return to the disorganization mentioned previously. If you have remained with us this long, good on you. Now begins the ranting!

We need to start at the beginning (we won't be mentioning names). We ended up booking the Cotopaxi tour and hotel stay together because they were advertised as having a clear partnership. For example, the website advertised that you eat the breakfast/lunch on the tour at the hotel restaurant (of course we didn't). So we paid for the tour (which included transportation to/from Quito), and we specifically asked in numerous emails asking if we could hike Cotopaxi one day, spend the night at the hotel, and return to Quito the following day. We were assured this was the case, but after breakfast at the hotel, the day after the hike, we asked the manager when the bus would be picking us up, and her response was less than reassuring.

After a bit of time, and few phone calls by the manager, she told us that she thought we would be able to get on the tour bus back to Quito in the afternoon, though she wouldn't know for sure until after the current tour finished lunch. We felt pretty confident about getting on the bus and went about our day wandering the grounds and sitting/reading by the fire. Around 3:30 the hotel manager said a worker would drive us to the highway where we would meet the tour bus, there we would get on the bus and two other people spending the night at the hotel would get off (an easy swap, right?).

Although things thus far had definitely not been going perfectly, here is where they really started going downhill. So the hotel has a long driveway which connects to the highway going south. We needed to go north back to Quito so we had to drive a bit south before making a u-turn to the north side where presumably we would wait for the tour bus. However, our driver took us further north, past the hotel driveway entrance and made another u-turn back to the south side of the highway and parked on the side. Of course, in our limited Spanish we said this did not seem correct. He explained to us that the bus would come and we would cross the highway to meet it, and the other people would have to cross as well. IT WAS A SIX LANE HIGHWAY IN A COUNTRY WHERE DRIVERS DON'T STOP FOR THEIR GRANDMOTHER CROSSING THE STREET.

We parked where the truck is on the left (southbound), which is going the wrong way!

We waited for half an hour before another worker from the hotel came and broke the news to our driver that he made a mistake (of course he did not have a cell phone on him). So, we drove back to the hotel where the manager promptly yelled at our driver. Afterwards, the manager explained to us that our options were to take a public bus back to Quito or hire a private cab. We explained that either of these were fine with us, but that we weren't going to leave until they reimbursed us the money that we paid as part of the tour price for transportation back to Quito. This led to a long and painful phone call with the person we emailed with originally, where she tried to explain to us that the transportation to/from Quito is only guaranteed for same day service (see beginning of rant and you will know how we responded to this). She also made it quite clear that the hotel and tour company were two very different entities, even though we paid for the tour to the hotel manager. In the end they called a cab for us, which was most definitely not a cab. Rather, it seemed like family or friends of someone who work at the hotel who just happened to be going to into Quito for the night out. We spent the ride asking for travel tips in Ecuador and practicing our Spanish.

So in the end we made it back to Quito, everything worked out, and now all we can do is laugh about it...and be very grateful we didn't have to play a game of Frogger across the highway. Also, unclear if the two people we were supposed to swap places with on the tour bus back to Quito ever made it to the hotel. Happy to share more info in private.