Day 4: Cotopaxi Pungo to El Porvenir

In an effort to avoid the traditional Ecuadorian afternoon rains, we started about an hour early today. Unfortunately, it was also raining in the morning (which is apparently uncommon, yet has happened every day so far). We ate breakfast, donned our rain gear and set out on foot.

Thanks, Juan Carlos!

Follow the aqueduct road

As expected, a few minutes after we left, the rain stopped and we changed layers. The first part of today’s hike was on gravel and cobblestone roads snaking past farms and fields heading south from Cotopaxi Punga. Soon into the start of the hike we had to climb a gate to get into private land (don’t worry, we had permission). The road was pretty flat, so we were making good time.

Mountain views spoiler alert: Not today!

After following the road for a couple of miles, we made it to the trailhead of Cascada de Fuego. We also met Victor (our new driver for the next few days) stationed here with the van and our lunches. We packed what we wanted to carry and left the rest with the van. The next part of the hike was a more challenging route.

That’s not a US “medium”

We followed the Pita River (same one as yesterday) on lava flows from the last eruption of Cotopaxi. There was a clear path and it was easy to follow. All is well so far. We eventually made it to Cascada de Fuego. At the top, we saw a group getting ready to repel down the falls.

Made it to Cascada Fuego!

View from the top of the waterfall

Here’s one thing we won’t be doing at the top of the waterfall

We continued on past the waterfall. This part of the hike is where things get dicey. The trail was more of a chose your own adventure. There was a path (of sorts), but it was often covered with spiky plants, up or down some rocks, or on the very edge of the cliff with the raging Pita River below (leading to that big waterfall). On the plus side, this entire area is covered in lava, so there are tons of fun lava trails and lava rocks along the way.

The aforementioned “medium” difficulty river cliff navigation

Big blocks of andesite (not Andes-ite)

Little tuff guy

We found a flat, open area for lunch. It looked like the rain was coming earlier than expected, and we put our rain gear on as we finished eating. Sure enough, it did start to rain, and never really stopped. Fortunately, we had entered the next part of the hike: moraine fields.

Heading south along the Rio Pita

Yet another satisfied camping chair customer

There were a couple more rock climbs/cliff edges, but we quickly came to wide open spaces and could relax our minds a bit. We did have to go through a barbed wire fence and cross a couple of bridges. Overall, this section was pretty easy, but the distance still needed to be covered.

Hiking along rocks carried down by the volcanic lahar

Finally, we made it to the final section of the hike: hiking up to the road. We took it slow and steady and made it to the top just fine. Just as we reached the road, Victor pulled up in the van. We made it! Technically, we were given the option to continue walking another 4km uphill on the road to get to the hotel. We almost said yes, but sanity prevailed and we opted for the drive. The entire hike took six hours, covered 10 miles, and about 1600 feet in elevation gain. We were ready to sit and eat the rest of our lunch.

But if you’re going to enter, at least don’t hunt, fish, fire, car, or ATV

When we arrived at Hacienda El Porvenir, we were welcomed with… you guessed it, canelazos! We also had bonus cheese empanadas. Santiago showed us that you first dip them in the salsa, then sugar. Why has no one told us this before!?!

Hacienda El Porvenir? More like Hacienda El Pourveniring Rain

The perfect welcoming tray

We took some time to relax and hang our wet gear. Our room has a wood burning stove for heat, which the wonderful staff started for us. In case you are wondering, the entire stove gets very hot. Best not put anything directly on it. After settling in, Jo went for a quick soak in the jacuzzi and Matt got a massage. Worked wonders on his shoulder, so he rebooked immediately for when we are back in two days.

Suite room!

Junior suite perks

Housekeeping MVP

On our way to dinner, we made two very important purchases – a magnet, and a Tierra del Volcan buff (the only shirts featured mountain bikers). Tonight’s dinner featured a side quest: helping procure Studio Ghibli Museum tickets for our trip with the Cordinas to Japan next month (stay tuned to the blog!). We bought our iPads to dinner and entered the virtual waiting room for a lottery number. Somehow Jo always has ridiculously good luck with these things and the side quest was a success.

Ghibli ticket mission accomplished!

With that out of the way, dinner was served! All of Matt’s foods involved volcanic rocks to match the theme of the day. Santiago was not kidding when he said the food at this hacienda was the best — everything was delicious. We reviewed the plan for tomorrow (hike up a lot, then hike down to the next hotel) and went off to bed.

PS. We are literally on the foothills of Cotopaxi and still haven’t seen it. At least the rain sounds nice on the roof.