Up to the Mountains and Back to the Jungle...

After leaving Quito and all of the comforts of our amazing accomodations there at Nieve´s house, we were on our way to El Chaupi.  El Chaupi is an extremely sleepy town of around 1,000 but spread out over 1000s of acres right at the base of El Volcan Corazón and Los Illinzas.  After creeping out of the Andean valley of Quito, we started out heading south on the Avenida de Los Volcanes toward the many towering peaks of Ecuador.  Not going more than 1 hour on a bus toward Machachi, we stood on a street corner of this bustling city and boarded a dingy local bus headed to El Chaupi.  As we bombarded the aisles with our gigantic backpacks, we headed toward the back of the bus.  I realized that we hadn´t even asked the bus driver if the bus was heading in the direction that we wanted.  About 20 minutes in, I went to the bus driver and asked if this bus was heading to El Chaupi, and a few little old women giggled...duh...it was heading right where we needed it to. 

Unfortunately, we were not graced with the views of the volcanoes that day, but held out hope for the next few days to catch a glimpse of Cotopaxi, Corazon, Los Illinizas, or Rumiñaui.  After arriving in El Chaupi, we found our way to a little hostel and gathered our things together in preparation for Los Illinizas the following day.  At around sunset that night, we were outside testing our stove and Cotopaxi came out of the clouds...what a sight!  It was much colder in El Chaupi.  Later on we floundered around with the fireplace and headed off to bed. 



Conditions were less than favorable the next morning when we were to head out for the mountain.  We caught a local pickup to take us 9 km to the trailhead at around 12,500 ft.  The wind was howling and the mountains were completely clouded in.  We took off and headed upward further and further into the weather.  I remembered this ascent from five years ago and all I could recall was that it was a doosey.  The last part we scaled a steep ridge where the wind howled and moisture grew.  The visibility was low and I knew that we were getting closer.  Trudging through the loose volcanic ash, I was thinking to myself that Dave must assume that I´m crazy for bringing him here.  I assured him that the views are amazing and was praying to myself (for his sanity) that the weather would get better.  After about 3 hours and 15 minutes, the trail took a turn to the right and we were nearing the end of the hike.  We were literally 10 feet from the refugio before it came into view.  A rectangular pinkish building made from cinder blocks would be our shelter for the night.  Now we were at about 15,500 feet. 



MAN, it was sooooo cold up there!  One thing that we did know was that the windows inside the refugio were not fogging up, so it was no reprieve from the chilly temperatures outside.  Inside lived Freddy, the guardian of the refugio.  This guy had worked in this tiny rural shelter for 2 years already...neither Dave nor I could understand how he dealt with the solitude and isolation of this tiny place.  We ate some lunch and drank tea constantly inside this tiny place.  Dave and I were planning to camp outside, but Freddy kept on lowering the price of staying inside and we eventually caved.  We continued playing cards and trying to somewhat comfortably pass the time because there were no other current options.  The refugio remained in the could bank.  We were hopeful that the skies would clear in the evening.  Freddy decided to head down the mountain at about 5:00 pm and that left Dave and myself in the refugio.  Glancing out the window, we noticed that the fog was lifting and the clouds parting, giving way to the most spectacular sunset views of the surrounding valley that we could possibly ask for. 

Popping out of the horizon were Cotopaxi, Antisana, Cayambe, Corazon, and Rumiñhaui...not to mention both illinizas right on top of us.  The refugio is located in the saddle between these two twin towering volcanoes.  Absolutely spectacular!  It was truly amazing, and I finally felt like the trip uphill was worth it.  Now Dave could see what I was talking about...all the volcanoes in their sunset alpenglow.  It was AMAZING!  We returned back to the refugio in the dark and had a candle lit dinner of rice and beans and layed awake for hours in bed, restless and unable to

sleep (because of the altitude).  The next morning we
were going to take our chances at attempting Illiniza Norte.  I think that we slept a wink that night. 


In our shallow sleep, we were immediately awakened by an amazing sunrise and quickly hustled around to get all our layers ourside and climb up to the best vantage point.  Dave was unfortunately not feeling well at all.  I immediately suspected that it was the altitude.  He was clearly fatigued and had a consistent head ache.  We waited until about 11:00 am until Freddy came back up and headed back down.  It

was a shame to have to head down, but altitude sickness is a really dangerous thing to toy around with.  The only remedy is to get to lower altitude.  Both of us felt so blessed that we were able to see the amazing views of the mountains from way up high and I was happy to see Dave feeling better as we headed back down the mountain. 


From El Chaupi, we stood alongside the Panamerican Highway and flagged down a bus to Baños.  I love how easy it is to get around down here.  HUGE charter busses stop on a dime and pick up passengers all along the roadside.  We have been in Baños for the past few days, enjoying a slightly warmer climate and taking advantage of the hiking trails and biking opportunities.  Our day hike took us up to the flanks of Volcán Tungurahua.  This volcano is currently active and always on alert.  We went up to the Casa del Arbol to the tiny house of a man who stays up most all day and watches the volcano.  He alerts the town of Baños if it starts to become active.  He just lives and does this job for no salary...just out of personal calling.  He said that he has a poncho, helmet, and gas mask just in case rocks start to fly.  Not a whole lot of fear where there potentially should be...I guess somebody has to do that work.  He also had an epic swing. 




Yesterday, we rented mountain bikes for the day and took them down the highway along the Ruta de Las Cascadas.  In the beginning, the weather was a bit windy and we were zooming downhill with buses and semis passing us.  The tourist bike lane off shoots were a welcome help and made it so that we didn´t have to navigate all of the tunnels.  However, we did have to go through one tunnel where we were sandwiched between a mini-semi and a local bus.  Unnerving.  Both Dave and I have a much better appreciation of our friends Dylan and Cheri Harris

who rode their bikes from the US/Mexican border to Argentina.  Honestly, I have no clue how they did it!  The route was beautiful and we were able to see tons of waterfalls.  After recieving a bit of misinformation from some ecua-tourists, we continues our ride about 20 km more than we bargained for.  At this point the road was skinnier, the towns were further apart, and the shoulder was non-existent.  We found a random bus stop and headed back to Baños...phew...enough of those crazy/windy backroads on a bike!  Dave´s helmet didn´t fit quite right...

Tomorrow we will leave for Tena, out in the Ecuadorian Amazon.  Ready for some rafting!  Ecuos love flipping and I think that it gives them a thrill!  I assume that we´ll be swimming quite a bit.  More updates soon!

Much Love,
Liz and Dave