Day 9 (24 Aug) : Cotopaxi

Cotopaxi volcano 

Today we go to Cotopaxi. Some of you might have heard about this almighty volcano. It towers at 5897m and it's near perfect conic shape makes it (with Mount Fuji, Japan) one of the most beautiful volcanoes in the world. It has a white top and may be seen from Quito.   

Ecuador has 75 volcanoes, of which 8 are active. The last time Cotopaxi erupted was in 1904. The locals say it erupts every 100 years ... I suddenly realise that we are past the due date ... My only hope is that it does not erupt today ! 

The 4x4 brings us to a high car park from where we continue the climb on foot. The air is thin and the sun hits you like a hammer at this altitude. No signs of altitude sickness as yet but the day is still long. 

The summit is another 6 hours ascent

After climbing for about two hours to 4902m (that's higher than the Mont Blanc by the way), we are exhausted and decide to go no further. We head back to the refuge at 4810m where we enjoy a hot bowl of Quinoa Soup (More info on Quinoa).

It's cold and the sun hits hard

Some crazy idea to bike down the volcano!

We then climb back down to the car park where mountain bikes are waiting for us. The descent is actually very technical, I don't know if we'll get down in one piece. The "road" is more a mountain trail - big holes, trenches, small gravels that make the bikes skid all the time.

We biked down for 1hr ! My top speed was 47,92 km/h !!! Scary and freezing ! 

We go back to Quito, it has been an long day but it was really worth it.  

For more pictures follow the link : Cotopaxi

Awe inspiring view !