Climbing Mt. Cotopaxi.

Cotopaxi from our apartment in Quito.

Last Saturday some of us went to Mount Cotopaxi, one of the highest active volcanoes in the world. It's actually only about 38 miles from Quito, but it takes somewhere around two hours to get there because travel in Ecuador is just plain slower. As a matter of fact, this afternoon is unusually clear and I can see Cotopaxi looming in the distance as I write this. On a cloudy day you'd never know it's there!

A little about Cotopaxi, courtesy of Wikipedia...Cotopaxi has erupted more than 50 times since 1738! Apparently it poses a high risk to the local population, and the most recent volcanic activity was observed in 2002, although it hasn't erupted since 1942. The name "Cotopaxi" supposedly means "Neck of the Moon" in Quichua.

Okay, enough history. This was the first time the semester abroad people took students to Cotopaxi, and that adventure is always a risk. The weather around here is so unpredictable, and if it's a cloudy day you won't see anything for all your trouble. Like I said, Cotopaxi can be seen from Quito, but usually it's hidden by clouds. Often people spend hours trying to climb the mountain and don't even see the darn volcano or the view because of the clouds. It also hails, sleets, and snows up there. 

Can you see our group?

Sure enough, it was cloudy and raining as we approached the national park. We kept our spirits up though, because the weather can change very quickly. And sure enough, it cleared up really nicely! Once we arrived, we hired a guide (because you have to if you're not Ecuadorian. Somehow being an Ecuadorian national makes you a Cotopaxi expert) and stopped for some coca leaves to ward off altitude sickness. In case you didn't know, coca leaves are used to make cocaine but are traditionally used to make tea in this part of the world. Coca is very important to Andean culture and is not always made into drugs. Anyway, to use coca you roll up some of the dried leaves, stick them in your cheek like tobacco, drink a little bit of water to wet them, and then keep them there for awhile. It tastes like green tea, so it's really not so bad. I couldn't tell you for sure if they helped me or not, but I can say I did it. :)

As soon as we started to climb the mountain, we could feel the altitude. Even though I felt like I was moving slow, my heart was racing and I was breathing as though running a brisk three miles. Since coming to Quito I've learned that the altitude does some crazy things. It makes you nauseous, light-headed, makes your head and chest hurt, and can even give you gas. Who knew? Lucky for me, I never had these symptoms in Quito and didn't get them on Cotopaxi either, even though we went up from 9,350 feet in Quito to a whopping 16,000 on Cotopaxi (the whole volcano is 19,400 feet tall). I've also noticed that sealed bags and containers fill up with air and even explode when they go from low to extremely high altitude, and that my ears hurt a lot when I fly now because somehow I got used to living in Quito.

It was definitely a haul to the refuge where we stopped to have lunch, although our guide said we climbed super fast. Normally it takes 1.5 to two hours for foreigners to climb that stretch, but the last of our group were up there in 35 minutes! Guess living in Quito helps. After lunch we kept climbing to the glacier, which was a little more treacherous but totally worth it. We got some sleet and snow as we got closer, but it didn't bother me. The excitement of seeing a real glacier and the gorgeous view made it all worth it. By the time we started climbing down my legs were shaking from the lack of oxygen, but it was an awesome day. Once again, another thing I've done in Ecuador that I never thought I would do in my life.