28/10/2022 From Quito to Cotopaxi
Change of plans
I love how plans can always change during travelling. Originally, the idea was to go to Banos today after a relaxing morning in the hotel (we’ve been constantly on the go since entering Ecuador). But at 9.15 a.m. when we were enjoying our free breakfast in the hotel, we talked through the next couple of weeks again. And we threw everything around and spontaneously decided to take the 10 a.m. bus to Cotopaxi National Park and stay there for one night. So within the next 45 minutes we finished breakfast, packed our backpacks, walked to the Secret Garden Hostel (which we had also booked the Amazon trip with), booked the hostel in Cotopaxi and took the shuttle at 10 a.m.. And people think Germans can’t be spontaneous 😉.
What to expect
Cotopaxi National Park
Stay at Secret Garden Cotopaxi
The Secret Garden Hostel in Cotopaxi was incredible! After a two-hour-bus-ride we arrived at the hostel together with 15 other backpackers, where we got greeted with a hot mulled wine (we were at 3400m now, so it was quite chilly). There was nothing around the hostel other than the national park with volcanoes on each side and horses and lamas. We loved it!
Fire in our room!
After the introduction we all had a really delicious lunch together (chickpea-stew with home made bread) and were then shown to our rooms. Although Blake and I had an eight-bed-dorm, we were the only ones in there. The room even had a fireplace that gets lit up in the evening so that it’s nice and cozy in the room!
Do a waterfall hike
If you are staying one night at the hostel, the waterfall hike on the arrival day is included in the $60 (and so is the shuttle ride from Quito, lunch and dinner on day 1 and breakfast and lunch on day 2, plus free bananas, banana cake and hot drinks).
The hike to the two different waterfalls was really adventurous. It made sense we all had to wear rubber boots as we were crossing several rivers on the way. The two-hour-hike was also a great way of getting to know the other travellers!
After the hike we got a little snack and told one of the international workers what activity we would like to do the following day. If you are staying two nights, you would have another volcano hike included for the next day.
However, hiking up to basecamp on the active Volcano Cotopaxi is not possible at the moment, as it has been letting gas out for the past five days. This has last happened in 2015! So we decided to skip the volcano hike this time.
Time for the hot tub
In the afternoon Blake and I went into the hostel’s jacuzzi with six other backpackers. From the hot tub we had a perfect view onto the snowy crown of Volcano Cotopaxi.
Gosh, this hostel was just so great and the people were all so friendly! During our two days here I had had so many happy moments!
Fun fact: You could even wear the Ecuadorian ponchos around the hostel to stay warm if the free hot drinks, the jacuzzi or the wooden fire wasn’t enough to keep you warm. Of course we had to try them on ;-).
Healthy food en masse
The dinner was also so healthy and tasty (fresh fish fillet with veggies and sweet potato and a brokkoli mash, followed by lemon cake with ice cream for dessert). It was great having the meals with all the other backpackers at the same time. The atmosphere was very familiar the entire time. I even had my first wine on this trip that didn’t taste like vinegar. (During our time in Central and South America I had already given up trying wine after so many disappointing attempts.) This hostel was collecting bonus points on every end!
After some more time at the fire in the common area with the other backpackers, we snuck into our room which was already nicely warmed up by the fire inside our room.
29/10/2022 From Cotopaxi to Baños
It’s a first!
Today would be a first for us together: we are going horseback riding in the national park! I think the last time I went horseback riding was in New Zealand in 2005. Blake can’t even remember his last time.
We had a very tasty breakfast in the morning that included wholegrain pancakes with fresh fruit and honey, fresh bread with jam and granola with yoghurt.
Go horseback riding
And then it was time to ride! We were really lucky with the weather as it was a clear blue sky and we had a perfect view onto Volcano Cotopaxi and onto the other volcanoes in the national park.
At the ranch, we got a short introduction about how to get on the horse, how to turn it left and right and how to make it go faster or stop.
Easy-going horse
I got a black horse (probably should have asked for the name), which was very well behaved. I had the feeling I didn’t even have to “lead” it as it was just copying the horses in front of me. Such a cheater! What I really found amusing about my horse was that whenever we took a break, it started eating. I could see so many similarities between my horse and me.
Stunning landscape
Riding through the national park with no one around us while being surrounded by massive volcanoes was incredible! If I ever wanted to ride a horse (not that this has ever been on my mind), this was the time!
The landscape was remarkable! We took a break with some hot tea and banana bread after about two hours. The Belgium guy on our tour seemed to be doing really well on the horse, so we asked him for his “secret”. He said you really have to connect with the horse. And then I looked at Blake, who – after only a short break – didn’t even remember the colour of his horse. Talking about connecting…
Painful, but unique experience
After three hours of riding a horse, I definitely have a new appreciation for everyone who does horseback riding regularly. How does it not hurt your butt when the horse trots (is that the right terminology?)?!
It was definitely an experience we will both never forget!
So worth it!
Back at the hostel we enjoyed one last tasty lunch. Afterwards we relaxed in the hammocks until the shuttle to Baños picked us up at three o’clock.
We are both so happy that we spontaneously decided to include Cotopaxi National Park on our itinerary! How else would we have ever discovered the real cowboy and cowgirl in us?
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