Day 6: Tambopaxi to Cotopaxi

Woke up today to a perfectly clear day. We got ourselves ready and met Santiago for breakfast.

Good Morning!

After breakfast, we made sure packing was complete and organized for the driver to pick up our bags. The plan for today was to hike straight from the Tambopaxi lodge all the way to the José Ribas Refugio (the base camp for summit-ers). There is a parking lot about 2 miles from the Refugio that we could have driven to, but what’s the fun in that?

Heading to breakfast

Breakfast views

We started our hike on the road, but soon meandered through the páramo. We even saw three white tailed deer! The pretty flat walk to the base of Cotopaxi took about an hour and twenty minutes.

Off to Cotopaxi

Deer Cotopaxi

The next section was a quite a bit harder. We started on the road leading up to the parking lot. It was a steep set of switchbacks. About halfway up Danny, our driver, met us on the road in case we needed anything from our bags or a ride. Tempting, but no. From there, we were able to take some “short cuts” to go straight up the hill and bypass the switchbacks. Less distance for sure, but also probably a bit harder.

Approaching the hard part

After about three hours on the road/hill, we were almost there. Danny met us so we could grab our micro-spikes. We weren’t on snow or ice (though there was a little off the path), but the extra grip on the loose rocks was really helpful. We made the final push up a shortcut and ended up past the parking lot. We were officially on the path to the Refugio.

Time for micro-spikes

Last short cut on the way up

Getting closer!

The trail had 21 switchbacks going up 814 feet. It took us about 45 minutes. Because it was designed for walking, it was actually a bit easier than the roads.

One of the 21 turns

View from (almost) the top of the trail

So close! Three more turns

Five hours after leaving Cotopaxi, we made it! By then, there were some clouds and it looked like it was going to start raining. We quickly took pictures, bought magnets and made our way down to the parking lot.

Ecuador flag series #3

The team!

Hikers have the option of taking the switchbacks back down, but the preferred route is the steep, straight shot from the Refugio to the lot. The path is soft, loose, sandy rock, so it’s a bit like slide walking. The good news is it took a whole 15 minutes. Plus, we had proper gear and bonus micro-spikes, so we didn’t fall (unlike some people in sneakers).

Sliding down the volcano

Made it to the van!

When we made it to the car, we could see some precipitation starting (tiny hail), but we were safe and dry. We enjoyed our box lunch in the car before heading to Hacienda El Porvenir. Stats for the day: 7 miles, 5 and a half hours, 3,684 feet of gain, max elevation of 15,977 feet.

The clouds here seem to always be so dramatic

Back at Hacienda El Porvenir

Much easier to do when its not raining

Matt already had his deep tissue massage booked for 5:00 and Jo decided to give a massage a try (but definitely not deep tissue). There was time available for a hot stone massage right before Matt’s appointment. Perfect. We had some time to settle in and take care of some miscellaneous Galapagos prep.

Sunset over the ropes course

Before dinner, Santiago led us outside to see the stars. It was a clear night and we could see the Southern Cross, Orion, and the Big Dipper. Since we stayed here before, we already knew what we wanted for dinner (delicious steak and chocolate cake). We had the rest of the night to relax. Tomorrow is our last day of the Highlands portion of the trip with a hike at Quilotoa crater lake.