Ecuador (Quito & Cotopaxi) 21-25th September

We landed in Quito, capital city of Ecuador and the second highest capital (altitude wise) in the world on Thurs eve, and made our way to our hostel called the Secret Garden. A really friendly place and in no time were sharing a beer with the local crew. (On their roof-top bar, which has the most extraordinary view of the Old Town, especially at night with all the twinkling lights and lit-up Cathedral)

Our mission was to organise our Galapagos tour from a travel agency in the same building. We’d heard some great advice that they could organise a good deal and although we kind of blew our budget by double, we still kind of figured we got a good deal, believe it or not! The only hitch being we would only be leaving a few days later than we hoped. (Galapagos now only started the following Monday).

That same morning we were lucky enough to catch a free walking tour of the Old City of Quito.    (loving the word free after making several trips to the bank to draw wads of cash in order to pay for our trip as well as having Barclays block our debit cards, but that’s another story altogether!). Quito’s Old City, really is pretty! Beautiful old buildings that have been well kept and again, amazing cathedrals and churches.

That night at the hostel we’d signed ourselves up for Pub Quiz after dinner. We teamed up with a lovely Swiss couple, and although we came stone last, we had such a fun eve! Was great to have a laugh with some cool folk!

Now that we had a little more time on our hands we decided to head out and explore a bit of the Ecuadorian countryside. One of the things that Derek and I both have found is how much we’ve preferred the rural and country spots as opposed to big cities, so we quickly made the decision to leave Quito. Our hostel has a sister hostel out near Cotopaxi (which is the highest active volcano in the world) that sounded great. We’d heard they had great hikes and horse riding trails as well as a lovely homely atmosphere, where you could read and relax! Sounded just what we felt like after days of being on the go!

After 2 hours in a minibus, we arrived to higher altitude and a little more chilly weather. This hostel was great in that it felt like a big farmhouse, with long dinner table, cosy lounge, fire and good meals. Derek and I both knew the next few days would be great. We laughed, there was even an outdoor loo with a view – all in line with the hostel’s eco-approach on things!

To mix things up a little, Derek and I opted to sleep in a tent on a deck (which had a covering / awning). At one point a little foolish I thought considering the other dorms and private cabanas had fireplaces for the evenings – but realised soon enough our tent was just as warm with the 5 blankets we had been issued.

First morning, we woke, unzipped our tent and we were faced with the most incredible view ever! An unclouded, yet snow-capped view of the Cotopaxi Mountain. It was breath-taking!

We had a hearty breakfast and soon saddled up for a morning horse ride.  First horse ride in ages, but soon got into it and enjoyed it. We had a beginner rider in our group and because we had an elderly guide who was new to the hostel, we got short changed on the riding time – disappointing as it meant more walking than cantering, galloping. We saw some lovely sights that day.

That afternoon, two of the younger guides (fun American guys) lead us through a meadow, a bit of a forest and even a little rock-climbing until we got to this lovely waterfall! We were all kitted out in hiking stuff, they in shorts, poncho and carrying a bottle of beer! This was the umpteenth time they’d done this walk! Derek then climbed to this point of the waterfall where you jump into the most freezing water – about a 3m drop! Very bravely repeated the act after the camera not quite capturing what it should have – oops! Absolutely soaked and freezing, we trudged home (thank goodness for borrowed Wellies) to a warm fire that awaited us!

The rain continued to pour and pour all night (made the loo trip that evening ever so pleasant!) So much so that Derek and I woke up several times wondering whether or not our expedition up to the Cotopaxi Glacier would in fact happen. Again we unzipped our tent and were not expecting to see what we did… so much snow!!! Every mountain in the area had a snow covering and Cotopaxi was absolutely covered in snow – to the point where you couldn’t tell where the glacier started. We all debated whether or not we had the right gear to be climbing in snow and whether or not we would be able to get anywhere close to the Glacier – and in the end decided it was probably not worth it. A little sad, but knowing our Glacier days of Argentina were still ahead of us – we relaxed and enjoyed the day indoors. We so enjoyed our few days there and would definitely recommend it! However that Sunday afternoon we said our goodbyes and made our way back to the city of Quito.

We arrived back and starting packing and prepping for the next adventure...Galapagos!

Derek and I were chatting and just saying how lucky we are – every time we happen to leave an amazing place, as sad as it is, we are always so excited to see what awaits us at the next destination.