Active Volcano

Day: 356

This morning we woke up to beautifully clear skies with the Volcanoes that overlook Otavalo in the background. Unfortunately we planned on moving south to the worlds largest active Volcano, Cotapaxi, which sits roughly 19,400 feet above sea level.  We grabbed a taxi down to the Panamericana highway and quickly flagged down a bus to Quitos main bus station which was surprisingly deserted.  When we started looking for a bus south to Cotapaxi we soon found out why no one used the station, there is a random $0.20 tax you have to pay before you can get to the buses.  We payed ours and quickly found a driver who knew where the hostel we were heading was and said we would leave in five minutes and it would take an hour to get there.

He left the station with only us in the bus and soon picked up a couple of locals just outside the station who were avoiding the $0.20 tax.  What the driver forgot to tell us was that it would take and hour to get to Cotapaxi, after we drive all over Quito with his accomplice hanging out the door yelling “Latacunga, Ambato!!” over and over until the bus was full enough to make the trip worth while.  In the end we were on his bus for about two hours, but at least he dropped us just at the road that lead to the hostel that we had booked for the next couple of nights in the gigantic volcano’s shadow.

The hostel is essentially a converted old barn owned by a young Israeli, and Felicia and I splurged (an extra $4) for a room with a fireplace after the last few nights had been so excessively cold and rainy.  At 10,500 feet, while sleeping in a drafty barn the small wood burning stove made it extremely more comfortable.