Cotopaxi - Baños - Mancora - Huanchaco

Back in Quito after the Galapagos adventure, it's office time for two days because a lot has to be planned. This includes the hike in Cotopaxi National Park. Cotopaxi is the second highest volcano in Ecuador, with almost 6000m and still active. Currently, its ascent is closed as it is expected to erupt again soon.

So, we buy the beloved instant noodles and repack the large backpacks. Packed with only the necessary hiking equipment (about 15kg), we take the bus to Latacunga and from there a taxi to the supposed entrance of the national park. When we arrive there, our taxi driver charges us and shortly afterwards, one of the park guides tells us that we still have 16km to the entrance. For a small fee, we are also driven to the entrance and receive a map as well as an overview of the sights and treks. Let's go, finally hiking again! Out of the city and into nature to relax. We were both looking forward to it. After just one hour, we reach the first possible camping spot. Both of us in hiking euphoria, we decide to hike to the second camping spot. 30 minutes later, we also reach that one. The national park isn't very big...

Unfortunately, the clouds also obstruct our view of Cotopaxi. Nevertheless, we unpack and set up the tent and equipment. We take a little detour to the next hill and admire the large plain where we have set up the tent. It's quite beautiful here. Slowly, all the day tourists leave the valley and we are the only ones left. At night, a huge full moon illuminates the valley with almost daylight intensity, which gives us the opportunity to take some really cool pictures. But the mighty mountain is still buried under clouds.

The altitude of 3900m is noticeable again at night, I had completely forgotten how cold it gets up here, but it's always worth it.

The next morning, we have a relaxed breakfast before we start packing again and start the trail to the neighboring extinct volcano with its peaks at 4700 and 4600m. We were told that the trail would take about 8 hours, so we already knew at the start that we probably wouldn't make it. So, we hiked for about 3 hours to a beautiful viewpoint with a view of the cloud-free Cotopaxi to have a little snack there. Afterwards, we went a bit off the beaten path to a neighboring mountain that belongs to the smaller peaks at 4200m, but offers a nice panoramic view of the volcano peaks and the surrounding valleys. Then we slowly made our way back to the first camping spot where we spent the rest of the afternoon and enjoyed the view of the gigantic Cotopaxi. Just before it gets dark, unfortunately, clouds move in, so the longed-for night shots of the mountain didn't work out at that time, which is why the alarm clock rang three times at night until we finally took a reasonably satisfying picture. ;)

The next morning was characterized by doing nothing, enjoying the sun and the view. Around noon, we went back to the park entrance where we found a delicious lunch (Always nice after three days of instant noodles). After that, we went back to Quito, where we had to pack again, next destination Baños.

When we arrived in Baños, I unfortunately had some stomach problems. So, we enjoyed a few quiet days in the small town surrounded by green cliffs and volcanoes, as well as the thermal springs. On the last day, we went rafting on the nearby river, which was a lot of fun in class 3-4 rapids. But we're getting a bit tired of expensive Ecuador. That's why we're heading to Peru via Guayaquil. The first stop there is Mancora. According to stories, it is a party metropolis, but we don't notice much of that. We have a nice hostel with a pool and spend 3 cozy days there. Afterwards, we go back to Huanchaco, the little idyll that we already know and love. Here, it's just about relaxing, updating the blog, enjoying good food and making further plans. Somehow, both of us are a bit exhausted right now, so we need to recharge our energy.

More news will follow as always soon :-)

Your Max and Marius