Cotopaxi is the second highest summit in the country, reaching a height of 5,897 m. It has one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world, which starts at the height of 5,000 metres. Which I will tell you about later.

We stayed at Secret Garden which is an amzing hostel with spectacular views of cotopaxi volcano. We stayed in the tent accommodation which was so comfy at night with llama blankets and hotwater bottles also the best spot to view the volcano. The accommodation was $50 a night with all food included so pretty good value and great food.

The second day we did a 6 hour trek up to another volcano in the area which was about 4300m to try and aclimatise to the air. It was pretty hard to get to the top but very rewarding once we made it. We were accompanied by two dalmations and one sausage dog which was quite funny. The way down was much easier which made it easier to enjoy the views. We spent the arvo relaxing which I found out that I´m not really that good at with no computers or good books so I keep myself occupied by playing hours of Solitare while Junior read.

The following day was an early start as it was time to climb to Cotopaxi glacier. It was about a 1 hour very very bumpy drive to the carpark and then we had to walk up the mountain to the refuge it was maybe 100m but took us about 45 mins to get up there. Walking at altutude was just so much harder than you think. We rested at the refuge for about 15mins and then it was time to climb the snow covered volcano to the glacier. It only took about half hour and was way easier than the first walk. I loved treking through the fresh snow. At the top 5000m we took some great shots and I made a snow angel which was fun and I think the first I had ever done. The trek back to the refuge was easy and lots of fun slipping and sliding every step. We had hot chocolate and banana cake to refuel and then treked back down to the carpark.

From the carpark we mountained biked down the mountain to the main entrance of the park. It was fun to start with but then it was much longer than I thought and by the end of it I was over it. Also my butt was still a bit sore from Banos. Junior was loving it though and got to the finish line miles before any of the others even though his handle bars kept coming out. From the entrance I got back in the 4WD but Junior changed bikes and went on and was going to bike back to the hostel. About 5 mins into the drive back the 4WD runs out fuel so we all piled into a locals car and he dropped us back but on the way we see Junior sitting on the side of the road his second bike had broken and he was hoping we would be driving past the the 4WD so he could swap bikes but he kinda just had to walk back to the hostel. It took so long to get back to the hostel in this little car and it was so bumpy. Junior arrived back about half hour later as he walked the whole way back and wasnt too happy about it as you can imagine.

Our last day at Secret Garden Junior went horse riding for 5 hours and I just chilled out at the hostel and packed our bags ready for the afternoon trip to Quito. Junior loved the horse ride. He thought he was a real cowboy but then discovered that he had nice patch of chaffage on his butt which made the trip to Quito a bit uncomfortable. Ha ha.

For our trip back to Quitos we decided to team up with another couple of guests in the hostel and split a ute back. After an hour on bumpy roads we decided it was to uncomfortable with 4 in the back so Junior opted to hope on the back.

We stayed just 1 night in Quito as we had a flight to Lima, Peru in the morning.