Altitude is no joke!

To round out Ecuador, below I'm sharing a few highlights from a few more towns we visited (not in order!): 

Cotopaxi National Park

Cotopaxi is an active volcano in the Andes mountains with an elevation of 5,897 meters (2 meters higher than Kilimanjaro!!).  The national park is surrounded by other 5,000-meter peaks and sprawling green hills that reminded Sam and me of the English countryside. We were recommended by multiple friends to spend a few days at Secret Garden Cotopaxi, a hostel with fairytale-like gardens and unobstructed views of the volcano at all times, and an all-around chill vibe in nature. We spent 4 days at Secret Garden, which was so charming and STUNNING. 

The property was purchased 17 years ago for a mere $7,000 USD by an Australian man who married an Ecuadorian woman. He built the property by hand and now it can house ~60 guests in bunk rooms and private cabins. Sam and I have the cutest little cabin with a private hammock to enjoy the views. The property is so thought out, with every shower, toilet, and window strategically positioned to have views of the mountains/ volcano at all times. They’ve also built an amazing community by intentionally having no internet/ phone service and hosting family-style meals 4 times a day (5 pm snack time was a favorite!). In addition, they had the most moist banana bread available 24/7 and a bunch of bananas (like from the jungle), where the peels were recycled and used to feed the llamas they had on site. We also loved they had ponchos to borrow all around the property to stay warm 🙂 

The altitude of the surrounding area made it pretty hard to do normal activities and hike. Mundane tasks like running up to grab a jacket or jogging down to visit the llamas made us short of breath. 

Every day, you could opt-in to several hikes around the park, horseback ride, or just chill around the property. The first day we hiked to beautiful waterfalls, which were FREEZING but surrounded by the most lush moss walls. We then hiked to Cotopaxi base camp (not the summit), which was a pretty challenging but short hike through volcanic ash and ice. 

The last hike we completed was by far the hardest hike we have completed during our travel (and ever). 

After a 4 am wake up to drive and begin the hike at 6:30 am, it took 4 hours to climb the 1,500-meter steep incline to the summit (4,899 meters) through rocks and scrambles. For the last 30 meters of the hike, you have to strap on a helmet and harness to rock climb up to the summit and abseil down. The altitude and the weather made this hike unbearable. The wind was whipping us around, our hands were frozen (even WITH gloves) and the mist/ fog was so thick, that the visibility made it hard to see our surroundings. By the rock climbing portion of the hike, everyone was so exhausted and freezing, that most wanted it to be over to keep moving and stay warm. I’ve never rock climbed before and hated that the rope was attached to other people, forcing me to move quicker than I wanted (Sam said I was being a baby). On the way down, Sam got a banging headache from descending too quickly down the mountain, which stuck with him for the rest of the day. Luckily during the last few hours of the hike down, the weather improved and we had the most stunning views of the national park (and could even see Quito in the distance!). 

Each daily activity wrapped at 2 pm, so the afternoons were filled with games, chats, and chilling time with the other travelers. We had a great group of Dutch, Aussie, and American friends that we spent most of our days with. Secret Garden was such a special and great place to relax, I would 1000p recommend it to anyone looking for a relaxing retreat!! 

From Cotopaxi, we traveled to Quito for 2 days to figure out our next move. We joined our first ever (!!) walking tour during our 10 months of travels LOL. Sam was not a fan, so thinking it will probs be our last :) Quito was surprisingly a beautiful city! The colonial-style buildings and sunshine made it a super enjoyable few days. We always felt safe too, despite the media saying it was dangerous 🙂 

Baños

Baños is a very touristy town that offers TONS of adventure sports activities like paragliding, canyoneering waterfalls, bungee jumping, white water rafting, and more. We decided to go white water rafting since we’ve never done it (plus it was only $20 each!) and it was so silly but fun. Nick, an Aussie from our hostel, joined us and he brought the most positive energy and was hilarious. Thankfully our boat was full of 5 other boys + me so they took most of the rapids straight to the face while protecting me in the back. Sam only fell out almost once! The rapids were huge and the water was murky brown so I was happy to be shielded :) 

That afternoon Nick mentioned to us that he was accompanying a friend who was deathly afraid of heights to jump off a bridge (secured by ropes, of course!!). We decided to go and watch since we had nothing better to do. When we arrived, we met Alessia, the sweetest Italian girl from Milan, who was freaking out and chain-smoking because she was so nervous about her jump. Nick promised he would jump first to give her confidence (And there was another friend from Norway who also jumped!). Tbh, the setup looked a bit sketchy but I zipped my mouth to not freak her out anymore. 

The two boys geared up and jumped pretty seamlessly, but then it was time for Alessia. It took about 20 minutes of hyping her up, calming her down, encouraging her to put her foot up the ledge, etc. I was rooting so hard for her!! But after she got in her head, she backed out and refused to jump. She had already paid the company and asked if someone wanted her turn to jump. Sam nonchalantly agreed, got harnessed up (while attaching his flipflops to his harness), climbed up onto the ledge as if he were casually walking up a flight of stairs, and jumped off SO FAST, everyone was stunned by how confident and easy he made it seem. I will say that Sam got flung around with the rope a bit, but he had a good time. Alessia was in awe by how easy he made it look, but still decided she wasn't ready to face her fears.

Anywho, I’m a bit delayed on these posts. Ecuador surprised us and we are so grateful to have spent over a month exploring the country. It’s so diverse in terms of landscapes and a small enough country you can cover lots of ground without too long of travel time.

We decided to fly from Quito to Guatemala for the last 6 weeks of our trip (!!!!) to explore more tropical destinations like Belize, Honduras, and El Salvador (read: we’re sick of hiking and want some sunshine! LOL). More on Guatemala in the next post!