Oh god, so much has happened and now I am in altitude in Quito and my head is in the clouds and I cant think straight (which is weird, cos was here only a few days ago and was fine with it...perhaps the semi excessive partying in Montanita hasn´t helped ;)). ANYWAY. So Nikki and I met American Dan and pilot Jasper who both wanted to walk the Quilotoa Loop too, so we all headed off on the bus in the morning and got to the lake an hour later, and its STUNNING and ENORMOUS and quite high up and was going to be good for acclimatising for Cotopaxi. So we walked down to the water´s edge, which only took about half an hour and it was lovely and peaceful and there was no one else around, and then we walked back up, which, in that altitude, was difficult and made us all breathless and took about an hour, but you could only take a few steps before puffing and panting.
It was good exercise though and really very beautiful. Its the remnants (that´s my geological definition) of a volcano and the locals believe its bottomless. When we got back to the hostel Jasper taught us how to play the card game arsehole and we had lots of lovely food and a few beers and went to bed in a toasty room with a double bed (first one had been in for year I think)...alone I hasten to add....and got up the next morning early for our 6 hour walk or, now that I have been travelling, should I say hike, or is that showing off?
Either way, it was LONG and HOT....something I had not experienced for a while ;)....but it was brilliant. Nikki kept us totally entertained with her brilliant naivety and ditziness....quotes of the day, in her lovely Dutch accent ¨I cant understand it, this rucksack is so light when its empty, its only when I put stuff in it that it gets so heavy¨, or ¨last year my lips fell off¨, or whilst we were all discussing how much we think during one day Nikki said ¨I never have any thoughts, at all ever¨. She is sooooo funny, without even trying to be.
Turned out we made a fantastic foursome, all got on really well and the boys were amazing because the route really wasn´t obvious and there were times we could easily have got lost. I hate to admit it, but we really couldn´t have done it without them. Quite frankly Nikki and I would still be out there now had it not been for their boy conversations which meant we found the way (along with Jasper´s piloting skills, helped along by Nikki´s two dollar compass)....Plus they were fun and we had a lovely day, even though it was difficult and I am STILL not a size 0, although my legs are marginally thinner than they were (thank god).
So we got to a really pretty hostel and played more arsehole and drank more beer and by this time Dan had started to think that he might climb Cotopaxi too and we were all shattered and went to bed, not without lots of laughing cos Nikki was being hilarious about her lips falling off and Dan stole the best pillow in the room (not strictly true) and I ended up with the worst bed in the room and was considering how appropriate it would be to actually get into bed with Dan, but then decided perhaps it wasn´t appropriate, so went to sleep instead.
And the next day we got a lift in the bumpiest of lorries back to Latacunga with the most amazing views of mountains that look like King Kong and ladies´faces and a man lying in a hammock in the back of the lorry in front of us....will try and attach the picture soon...along the bumpiest and windiest road ever with a moth clinging onto my glove for dear life. And so we got back to our hostel for rest and an early night in preparation for the mighty Cotopaxi (and I think it was that night that we went out for delicious steak) and Jasper, who was supposed to be on his way to Peru, decided he would stay and do the climb with us too, which was great, cos it would have felt wrong if he had left.
So the next day we woke up and went next door to be fitted out with our super warm clothes, crampons, ice picks etc for the climb and we were all privately a bit scared I think. I felt a bit sick in my tummy and we all got a bit stressed out trying on various boots, trousers etc etc whilst worrying that they had to be comfortable because the climb started at 1am and was likely to last 6 hours (and that was just going UP) in the freezing cold and dark. In usual Ecuadorian style it took forever to get everything sorted and eventually we left, but then the fucking car broke down and we all felt doubly sick and thought we would never make it and perhaps we were doing the wrong thing in the first place. But the car got fixed and so we headed off and two hours later were at the car park at the foot of the volcano which is about 4800m above sea level and we had to carry the heaviest rucksacks up a slope that frankly would take about 15 minutes to climb normally, but cos of the altitude was beyond difficult and Nikki nearly fainted. So an hour later we arrived at the refugio and I was worried about Nikki doing the climb up the mountain, cos she felt so sick (please note, I had NO IDEA what we were about to let ourselves in for and probably should have been worried about me too, but ignorance is bliss....thank christ).
We couldn´t see the summit at all because of the clouds, and it was freezing cold, but we had a lesson in how to walk with crampons, and how we were going to climb (two people to one guide) and that it was going to be dark and cold, but amazing. Went to bed and got woken up at midnight and to be honest the whole thing is still totally surreal.
Had breakfast and set off. Well, I cannot really describe to you what it was like. It was cold and dark and I was struggling a bit with nausea to do with the altitude, but I also think I wasn´t as fit as the others. But somehow your brain goes into a place where you become a bit of a machine and you just put one foot in front of the other, and the guide was amazing cos he obviously understands how capable or incapable you are quite quickly and then we just went at a very very slow pace (which I am still very grateful to Nikki for, because I really did hold her up, but once you start going up you can´t go down alone, so your group of three has to stay together no matter what). And so we climbed and climbed, and the wind and hail whipped round your face and you could see nothing apart from the person in front of you, and time just passed. With hindsight I realise just how unlucky we were with the weather, because had it been clear the stars would have been truly amazing. Every so often I honestly thought I could go no further, but you just sort of say to yourself that you can do another ten minutes and eventually we stopped in a cave for some tea and chocolate and by this time, god only knows how, it was 5am. I was feeling emotional to say the least and a bit tearful, but happy in a fucked up kind of way.
I so wanted to get to the top, but the fact it was 5 and we were only halfway up I sort of knew it wasn´t going to happen. Nikki was amazing, cos she not only felt fine, but was patient and I know it was frustrating for her going at the pace we were going. And so we carried on and it started to get light, but the wind and rainy snowy stuff really didn´t let up and then we had to cross this bloody deep cravass by walking over the most pathetic metal ladder I have ever seen and my body started to be very very tired and I started to worry a bit. We had another break, by this time it was 630am and our guide said if we made it to the top the visibility would be crap, plus, although there was only another 400m to climb, it was soooo steep that it would take at least another two hours (the volcano is 5900m and we had made it to 5550m)and by then I just thought I wanted to go down. This was compounded by the fact that Kriss, who is a regular climber and used to all this kind of extreme activity (or, should I say, extreme insanity) was on her way down having not made it to the top...and then I just knew it was time to go back. Bearing in mind the climb down is just as hard in a different sort of way. Nikki agreed and we started going down and it was because it was difficult, my legs were exhausted, but it was beautiful because the cravasses were so stunning (a bit bloody scary too, bearing in mind we had probably passed within inches of them on the way up...health and safety non existent....) and I lost my sense of humour about 500 times and wondered why the hell a chair lift hadn´t been installed...but at the same time I was having an incredible time and Nikki was great and so was our guide and really this is why it is soooo hard to put into words!
So the way down made me also realise that walking on snow with crampons is fine, but on ice really isn´t fine, well not for me anyway, but we made it, and what an achievement. And an hour or so later the boys arrived, and they had made it to the top and they were utterly shattered, but overwhelmed all at the same time and it was such a shame we had been sooooo unlucky with the weather cos I have since seen other people´s pictures of clear climbs up Cotopaxi and it just looks out of this world. When you look at the photos of the boys on the summit you can hardly even see them cos the visibility is so poor.
So that was Cotopaxi, and what an experience it was and we all wanted to have lots of beers when we got back but a)we were shattered and b)we were staying in a strict hostel who made us all go to bed at 10pm which was a shame and the next day we all went our separate ways and I nearly cried.
It was good exercise though and really very beautiful. Its the remnants (that´s my geological definition) of a volcano and the locals believe its bottomless. When we got back to the hostel Jasper taught us how to play the card game arsehole and we had lots of lovely food and a few beers and went to bed in a toasty room with a double bed (first one had been in for year I think)...alone I hasten to add....and got up the next morning early for our 6 hour walk or, now that I have been travelling, should I say hike, or is that showing off?
Either way, it was LONG and HOT....something I had not experienced for a while ;)....but it was brilliant. Nikki kept us totally entertained with her brilliant naivety and ditziness....quotes of the day, in her lovely Dutch accent ¨I cant understand it, this rucksack is so light when its empty, its only when I put stuff in it that it gets so heavy¨, or ¨last year my lips fell off¨, or whilst we were all discussing how much we think during one day Nikki said ¨I never have any thoughts, at all ever¨. She is sooooo funny, without even trying to be.
Turned out we made a fantastic foursome, all got on really well and the boys were amazing because the route really wasn´t obvious and there were times we could easily have got lost. I hate to admit it, but we really couldn´t have done it without them. Quite frankly Nikki and I would still be out there now had it not been for their boy conversations which meant we found the way (along with Jasper´s piloting skills, helped along by Nikki´s two dollar compass)....Plus they were fun and we had a lovely day, even though it was difficult and I am STILL not a size 0, although my legs are marginally thinner than they were (thank god).
So we got to a really pretty hostel and played more arsehole and drank more beer and by this time Dan had started to think that he might climb Cotopaxi too and we were all shattered and went to bed, not without lots of laughing cos Nikki was being hilarious about her lips falling off and Dan stole the best pillow in the room (not strictly true) and I ended up with the worst bed in the room and was considering how appropriate it would be to actually get into bed with Dan, but then decided perhaps it wasn´t appropriate, so went to sleep instead.
And the next day we got a lift in the bumpiest of lorries back to Latacunga with the most amazing views of mountains that look like King Kong and ladies´faces and a man lying in a hammock in the back of the lorry in front of us....will try and attach the picture soon...along the bumpiest and windiest road ever with a moth clinging onto my glove for dear life. And so we got back to our hostel for rest and an early night in preparation for the mighty Cotopaxi (and I think it was that night that we went out for delicious steak) and Jasper, who was supposed to be on his way to Peru, decided he would stay and do the climb with us too, which was great, cos it would have felt wrong if he had left.
So the next day we woke up and went next door to be fitted out with our super warm clothes, crampons, ice picks etc for the climb and we were all privately a bit scared I think. I felt a bit sick in my tummy and we all got a bit stressed out trying on various boots, trousers etc etc whilst worrying that they had to be comfortable because the climb started at 1am and was likely to last 6 hours (and that was just going UP) in the freezing cold and dark. In usual Ecuadorian style it took forever to get everything sorted and eventually we left, but then the fucking car broke down and we all felt doubly sick and thought we would never make it and perhaps we were doing the wrong thing in the first place. But the car got fixed and so we headed off and two hours later were at the car park at the foot of the volcano which is about 4800m above sea level and we had to carry the heaviest rucksacks up a slope that frankly would take about 15 minutes to climb normally, but cos of the altitude was beyond difficult and Nikki nearly fainted. So an hour later we arrived at the refugio and I was worried about Nikki doing the climb up the mountain, cos she felt so sick (please note, I had NO IDEA what we were about to let ourselves in for and probably should have been worried about me too, but ignorance is bliss....thank christ).
We couldn´t see the summit at all because of the clouds, and it was freezing cold, but we had a lesson in how to walk with crampons, and how we were going to climb (two people to one guide) and that it was going to be dark and cold, but amazing. Went to bed and got woken up at midnight and to be honest the whole thing is still totally surreal.
Had breakfast and set off. Well, I cannot really describe to you what it was like. It was cold and dark and I was struggling a bit with nausea to do with the altitude, but I also think I wasn´t as fit as the others. But somehow your brain goes into a place where you become a bit of a machine and you just put one foot in front of the other, and the guide was amazing cos he obviously understands how capable or incapable you are quite quickly and then we just went at a very very slow pace (which I am still very grateful to Nikki for, because I really did hold her up, but once you start going up you can´t go down alone, so your group of three has to stay together no matter what). And so we climbed and climbed, and the wind and hail whipped round your face and you could see nothing apart from the person in front of you, and time just passed. With hindsight I realise just how unlucky we were with the weather, because had it been clear the stars would have been truly amazing. Every so often I honestly thought I could go no further, but you just sort of say to yourself that you can do another ten minutes and eventually we stopped in a cave for some tea and chocolate and by this time, god only knows how, it was 5am. I was feeling emotional to say the least and a bit tearful, but happy in a fucked up kind of way.
I so wanted to get to the top, but the fact it was 5 and we were only halfway up I sort of knew it wasn´t going to happen. Nikki was amazing, cos she not only felt fine, but was patient and I know it was frustrating for her going at the pace we were going. And so we carried on and it started to get light, but the wind and rainy snowy stuff really didn´t let up and then we had to cross this bloody deep cravass by walking over the most pathetic metal ladder I have ever seen and my body started to be very very tired and I started to worry a bit. We had another break, by this time it was 630am and our guide said if we made it to the top the visibility would be crap, plus, although there was only another 400m to climb, it was soooo steep that it would take at least another two hours (the volcano is 5900m and we had made it to 5550m)and by then I just thought I wanted to go down. This was compounded by the fact that Kriss, who is a regular climber and used to all this kind of extreme activity (or, should I say, extreme insanity) was on her way down having not made it to the top...and then I just knew it was time to go back. Bearing in mind the climb down is just as hard in a different sort of way. Nikki agreed and we started going down and it was because it was difficult, my legs were exhausted, but it was beautiful because the cravasses were so stunning (a bit bloody scary too, bearing in mind we had probably passed within inches of them on the way up...health and safety non existent....) and I lost my sense of humour about 500 times and wondered why the hell a chair lift hadn´t been installed...but at the same time I was having an incredible time and Nikki was great and so was our guide and really this is why it is soooo hard to put into words!
So the way down made me also realise that walking on snow with crampons is fine, but on ice really isn´t fine, well not for me anyway, but we made it, and what an achievement. And an hour or so later the boys arrived, and they had made it to the top and they were utterly shattered, but overwhelmed all at the same time and it was such a shame we had been sooooo unlucky with the weather cos I have since seen other people´s pictures of clear climbs up Cotopaxi and it just looks out of this world. When you look at the photos of the boys on the summit you can hardly even see them cos the visibility is so poor.
So that was Cotopaxi, and what an experience it was and we all wanted to have lots of beers when we got back but a)we were shattered and b)we were staying in a strict hostel who made us all go to bed at 10pm which was a shame and the next day we all went our separate ways and I nearly cried.
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