Hola All,
Beware this is a long entry, without pictures, and may induce sleep.
Off the beaten track for a few days. Vanessa and I had move room in the secret garden and it was next to a dorm room toilet and was VERY noisy. Glad for the earplugs. This inspired us to get moving and go and do some exploring. We spoke with Paul the travel agent, carpediem, downstairs and signed up for an amazon expedition to cuyaneno reserve at el puente for 5 days - 8 hours drive and 2 hours in a dugout canoe from Quito.
There were a couple of days spare so paul suggested it would be nice to visit cotopaxi hostel BUT the transport was leaving in 15 minutes. What to do? Accept. Vanessa raced upstairs and packed up our day packs and cleaned up the room while i finished the arrangement with Paul. We put our packs in storage and off we went...with myself and Zac, another person in the back of the truck (by choice).
http://www.secretgardencotopaxi.com/
We saw our first inca road on route to the hostel and travelled for about 20km along it. Amazing. There was a distinct line of stones in the centre of the road and the rest of the road width build around this line.
It was interesting riding in the back of the truck as it started raining and sleeting but the cab caused a vortex such that the front section didn`t get wet. Lucky for me! Unlucky that the car had to slow down in the last 2 minutes and then the vortex didn´t work.
The road deteriorate to a dirt track which would have had 4wd enthusiast green with envy. It was extremely boggy but we made it all the way without problems arriving at cotopaxi hostel and about 3500m above sea level. Just think animal farm.
The hostel was amazing. We had a small adobe room with a sunken bath and loft bedroom with views of cotapaxi volcano. Million dollar views for very little.
Went for a waterfall walk after delicious home made vegetable soup and bread rolls. Should have known things would be a bit of a challenge when we were sized for rubber boots. Yes. It was a 1hr scramble up the creek over boulder, hanging off trees and slippery mud slopes. Worth it as it was a nice 8m waterfall. Our guide, Ang, an australian, decided to continue up higher and we headed back by ourself and Petra from Austria. One problem. We didn´t know where the turnoff was to get back to the hostel and the creek was surrounded with jungle on one side and bulls bred for bullfighting on the other side. Yes. We got lost again. Not for too long and got back to a nice warm open fire in the main house.
So cosy and homely. The house was straight out of grand designs. The hosts, Tarquin and Katherine, had two little children, Martin and Thomas, and two dog, a dashhound called daisy, and a 4 month old dalmation call basil, a cat, a pig called babe and lots of other farm animals. The dogs were allowed inside and had a tendancy to fall asleep on guest laps on the couch.
Wake up readers.........
Next day and we went to climb up to the glacier on the cotopaxi volcano at 5000m. We said we would never climb this high again...and we didn´t. So why did we sign up for it? Who knows. We got to the carpark at 4600m and the weather was really crappy. Snow and blizzard conditions. What to do? start climbing of course. The snow stung our cheeks as we walked slowly (pole pole), saw an andean wolf on the way, and reached the refuge at 4800m with the weather still deterioring. Had a nice cup of soup, hot chocolate and a bit of bread and decided that we weren´t going any further so just waited around for the others, who were crazy enough to continue. Visibility was virtually zero on the way down the scree slope and Vanessa and I took it slowly while the others ran down and fell.
Back to the hostel for spagetti bollagnaise and tiramasu. Yum. Thanks Katherine.
The place is aiming to be eco friendly so there was only candle light used, as a rule, in the building. There is a generator, used for a couple of hours which charges a couple of batteries to keep the fridge going and for electrical lights in the kitchen. The best part is the superb composting toilet with views of the mountains. Nice and warm ;-)
Should have been roast rooster. We went to bed and all was well until about 4am when the rooster started telling us it was time to get out of bed. We didn´t but the rooster persisted. Took a peak out the window in the loft, couldn´t see the sunrise for the clouds so back to bed.
Took it easy for the day. Took babe the pig and basil the pup for a walk down the road and back again. Went out for another walk along the road to look at a super shaggy llama. Along the way there were more bullfighting bulls and a gutter seperating us and them. Vanessa the matadora, dressed in a red coat, did her best to encourage a little action but the bulls just stared and possibly thought she was loco.
Back in Quito now but not for long. Staying at San blas hostel as the secret garden was full. Left all our bags in storage at the secret garden as there was a high risk of being mugged at this time of the evening SO NO pics yet.
Heading to the amazon tomorrow morning so...
Adios Amigos,
David and Vanessa
