It was a long night as I hardly slept with all the excitement of having booked our Galápagos cruise and because we are climbing Cotopaxi today. Well not actually the whole mountain, you can hike to the refuge and then a bit further up to the glacier. All in all, the distance you walk is around 500 metres, so you basically get driven from the bottom to where you start the trek. So we got up at 5am ready to be picked up from the hostel at 6am. We didn't know who was on the trek, but we'd been told there was a group of about 10 of us. We waited outside and got picked up, they let John borrow a wind proof jacket as he doesn't have one of his own, so we picked it up and were on our way. It's a 2 hour journey to Cotopaxi and we get to stop off for breakfast, which is included in the tour. As we booked the Galápagos trip through them, we managed to get $20 discount off the regular prices, which was a bonus.  

Cotopaxi is the highest active volcano in Ecuador and it stands at a mere 5897 metres tall . I've seen pictures of it before and it looks really pretty because of it's cone shape. We will reach altitudes of over 5000 metres, which is the top of my world- I've never been up a mountain that high before. I don't know if the altitude will effect me, it's only about 3000 metres smaller than Everest. I also have asthma and am a bit unfit, so I reckon it might be a bit of a struggle for me. We will see. So anyway, after travelling for about an hour and a half, we stopped for breakfast at a lovely restaurant in the middle of nowhere. There was a really long table so we all sat together. This was the first chance we actually got to speak to everyone and meet them. There was a group of young people and there were 2 older Spanish guys. It ended up that all of us younger ones got talking and introduced ourselves and we all got on well, there were some really nice people on the trek. We also had a guide called Fernando who was really nice too. He'd worked at the Cotopaxi national park before, so he knows his stuff well. After breakfast we were on our way to Cotopaxi, and we stopped at a tienda to get some snacks for the trek . Fernando told us we need to get chocolate so without too much hesitation, I happily got some for the trek, he said it would give us some much needed calories at altitude that we were about to burn off! 

Not long after, we reached our destination and we were not disappointed with how the volcano looked, it was beautiful. Fernando said we were going to take a few stops at different altitudes so that we could acclimatise. We stopped first at the national park entrance to get out and have a walk around and go to the loo. We had to stay there for about 10 minutes, Fernando kept checking that we were all ok and that we weren't getting altitude sickness, so once he knew we were all ok, we drove higher up. Next stop was another few thousand feet up, this time, there was a little cafe and local shop selling artesanal items. We went to the cafe and all got some mate or coco tea which is suppose to help prevent altitude sickness. It's basically hot water with a load of leaves in it . If you add some sugar to it, we'll I like it sweet, it actually tastes nice. It can be a substitute to normal tea for me until I can find a good cup of tea somewhere! So after the mate tea, we looked around the shop and as I forgot my gloves, I ended up buying a pair there for about £2.00. I actually forgot the gloves from home, so they will come in handy I'm sure. I think it will be pretty cold up the volcano today as I'm already feeling the cold and we're going even higher up! Once we were all sorted, Fernando gave us a tour and spoke about the local flora and fauna around the area. I don't know what it is about South American's, but they all seem to like hugging trees, because he also said we should hug the tree to release negative energy, so one girls and myself hugged a tree and John got me with the camera! After this, it was time to drive the start of the trek. 

We got back on the bus and drove a lot higher up, you could see snow on the volcano. The bus was going to wait there for us while we do the trek to the refuge, and then if we all felt ok, we'd hike to the glacier . We also get to bike down to the bottom afterwards, which John's really looking forward to, but for me not so much, as I've not been on a bike in years! We'll see how I feel after the trek. Fernando was going to be our guide and we're all walking together as a group. Once we stepped outside the bus, it was absolutely freezing, I'm glad I've got the these gloves, I'm definitely going to need them today. We are unfortunate with the weather today as it's not so sunny, and especially high up in the mountain, it's grey and overcast. I could definitely feel less oxygen in the air, as I couldn't take a deep breath, but it was ok. Let's see how I get on while walking. We set off on the walk, the terrain was like a crumbly rocky, sandy type thing. It was quite tough walking in it at this altitude. Fernando kept checking that everyone was alright and we all were. I like to be near the back of the group, well tend to fall there as I'm not that fit, but there was another girl who was going at the same pace as me too. John tends to stick with me while walking, but he could easily be leading the group . It's quite nice actually as every 10 minutes or so Fernando let's us stop and tells us to walk really slowly as we are so high up, the altitude could effect us at any time. I need to stop every so often to get my breath back anyhow because of my asthma. I found it quite difficult walking to be honest, partially because I'm unfit, the altitude and because of the asthma. It was going to take about an hour and a half to hike up to the refuge and what was keeping me going was the thought of us stopping at the refuge for a hot chocolate, just what we needed. The weather was appalling as it was sleety snow and it was so windy that when it hit your face, it was actually hurting. I wrapped up warm with my scarf, hat, gloves and had my sunglasses on to shield my eyes from the sleet. I was so desperate to get to the refuge now and didn't know if I'd feel like even hiking up to the glacier once we get there. John thinks I'll give up at the refuge too, so I need to prove him wrong! 

Eventually, we all made it to the refuge, freezing cold and in need of the hot chocolate . I was the last one to make it and when I got there, Fernando gave me a clap for my effort, which was sweet of him. We sat down and had some really good hot chocolate, it was so nice to be in the warm again. Just the thought of going back into the cold was not appealing to me right now, but I'll give it a go. I asked Fernando if it's much further up to the glacier from here and he said it's not far. I don't know if he was just saying it to make us all continue or it it wasn't much further. He also said it's easier terrain than what we'd just walked up, so I said I'll give it a go if it's not much further. I'll think of it as practise for Machu Picchu. It was hard to prise myself back out in the cold, but we were on our way again. Fernando was right, it did seem to be easier to walk on and not as steep, we climbed up some rocks and it was still snowing. We picked the worst day to do the trip, oh well, it's still fun, but hard work. After walking for another half an hour, we made it to the glacier. I was proud of myself for walking up to this altitude and that I had been able to do it, despite John's doubts! We stood there for as long as we cold bare the cold, took group pictures, some on our own, and I got a couple with Grace, a lovely American girl we met in our group .

Once we'd had enough, we had to walk back down to the refuge again. I wasn't looking forward to that, I just wanted to be in the warm now. We started walking back and I was actually leading the group with John at one point. We thought it would be clever to start running back down the mountain and John was holding my hand pulling me down, and I think I was going too fast for my own body to cope with because I ended up taking a tumble. I fell over and twisted my knee and ankle. John thought it was really funny and started laughing as he usually does when I make a fool of myself. I'm sure all the others behind us saw it too and were laughing. A nice gentleman came over to see if I was ok, and helped to pick me up again with John. A short while after, Fernando came over to check I was ok, I said yes I think so, and we carried on walking. I thought nothing of it at the time, as when I stood back up, I could still walk and I was fine, so no harm done. I was certainly more cautious after the fall and took my time in coming down . When we made it back to the refuge we then had to cycle down to the bottom, which I'd already had doubts about. So as I fell over, I could use this as my get out clause. Everyone else got the bikes out of the bus and started to descend on their bikes, and I just stayed on the bus. As John didn't have me to worry about, he shot off down there really quickly and I couldn't even see sight of him from the bus! The driver thought it best to follow the last person down the volcano for safety, it happened to be Grace, so I sat on the bus and watched Grace go all the way down. If I had gone down on a bike, I'd have been right there with her! John made it down first with one of the other guys in our group. I don't know how they did it, I was freezing cold on the bus, let alone going down on a bike. Once everyone made it down safely, they had to pack away the bikes, and we all stopped at the bottom to see a lagoon. However, it was still freezing cold down the bottom, so nobody wanted to hang around for long, and after 5 minutes, we were ready to leave . 

We all got back in the bus and we were heading back to the same place for lunch that we'd stopped for breakfast. We'd asked them this morning if we could be dropped off on the way as we are staying a night at the Secret Garden Hostel Cotopaxi, and they'd agreed to drop us of in Machala- the nearest town to Cotopaxi. It just so happened that Grace was also doing the same thing, so we said let's travel there together. So once we knew the driver was going to drop us off we could relax and enjoy lunch. I think everyone was so tired that we all ended up falling asleep on the bus on the way to lunch. We got woken up when the bus stopped and everyone got out ready for some well deserved lunch. It was a nice 3 course meal, even including a desert, so that made me happy. Once lunch was finished, we said our goodbyes and the driver dropped Grace, John and myself off in Machala. Fernando had said the hostel will send a driver to pick us up from there to take us to the hostel as it's an hour away from where we were being dropped off . We had to wait there a while before the driver came, but the bus driver did wait until our transport had arrived. 

When the driver came, the bus left and people waved us off. The driver told us it was going to be $20 to take us there, so we shared the costs with Grace. Once we started driving, we realized it was quite far away and pretty much in the middle of nowhere. We wanted to stay at this hostel as it got voted the best one in Ecuador and we'd been pleased with the other Secret Garden we'd booked. The driver took us down some really bumpy dirt track road that seemed to go on forever. I actually started to feel pain in my ankle by now and couldn't get my foot comfy at all, so stupidly, I took off the boot. This was probably the worst thing I could do, as once the boot was off, my ankle started to swell up loads because of the fall I'd taken earlier. I thought I'd gotten away with this one, but unfortunately for me I haven't. I think I must have sprained my ankle while stupidly running down Cotopaxi. I felt such discomfort now, I just wanted to get to the hostel so I could elevate my ankle. Grace was really sweet and kept asking if I was ok, and she offered me some pain killers when we got there as she had all her stuff with her. It was really kind of her and I'd hope to be able to return the favour. 

When we got there, I tried to get up and stand on my foot, but it just wasn't happening . John tried to help me hobble along and a man who works at the hostel came out and asked if I wanted to borrow a slipper and a walking stick, which was lovely of him. I tried to hop in and he came back out with what he'd promised. Some of the other people who worked there, and some who were staying all came out to greet me and ask if I was ok. It was such a nice feeling to see so many people cared and they went out of their way to help me. We had booked a tent to stay in as this place only has dorms, tents or honeymoon suites (out of our budget), but he did say there were a lot of steps there, so asked if we wanted to stay in a dorm instead as there weren't any steps there. As I was in so much pain, I just said yes please, so this will be our first dorm experience! When we got inside the hostel, it's like being at home, we all sat in the living room, there was a log fire and some little sausage dogs and a dalmatian, I felt right at home. They told me to sit down and asked if I wanted a table to elevate my leg on and got me a cushion and even an ice pack to put on my ankle . They were a lovely bunch of people and if there was anywhere to have an injury like mine, this was the place to be. They looked after me well. I just felt crap and didn't feel like doing anything as I couldn't physically walk right now anyway. At this hostel they provide you with breakfast, lunch and dinner, as it's basically in the middle of nowhere, so you wouldn't have anywhere else to eat. There is a big long dining table and everyone sits together, so it's like a home from home. There is also a real fire, so they lit that for us and it made it even more homely for me. Grace got me some of the pain killers, so hopefully the pain and swelling will wear off later tonight so I can enjoy my evening. Everyone sat round the living room chilling by the fire, and everyone kept asking if I was ok. I sat with my feet up and tried to hold an ice pack on my ankle for a while to ease the swelling. They provided us with some snacks and said dinner tonight will be pizza, so looking forward to that. 

After a few hours of resting my ankle, I think the pain killers were taking effect . We sat down and dined together for pizza and everyone was socialising. The hostel has a jacuzzi, so I'm going to hobble over to it later to relax for a while. The hostel has such a good vibe and has great views of Cotopaxi, it's just so peaceful here, I could stay longer than a night, but we have to get back to the other secret Garden Hostel tomorrow as we're going to Galápagos the day after that. Later on, we went in the jacuzzi and it was boiling hot, so we had to turn it off to cool down. There was Grace, another Swiss guy, German bloke and some Colombian girls. It was a bit too close for comfort with us all packed in this small hot tub, but still, it was nice to chill out. By now my ankle was feeling much better and I think I'll be able to walk on it properly in the morning. John was getting worried as he thought I might not be able to do the Galápagos, but I said don't worry, I'm not missing it for anyone! If I get a good nights sleep ill be ok. After we stayed in the jacuzzi for as long as we could bare, we went back to the dorm to sleep . I think this will probably be one of the best dorms that we'll stay in as it has a wood burner in so that was on all night keeping us nice and toasty. I don't really know the etiquette for dorms yet, so we came in the dark and were really quiet and respectful, as that's how I'd appreciate people to be if you come in the dorm when others are asleep. The beds are so comfy here so I'll get a good nights sleep after being tired from trekking Cotopaxi today. There are bunk beds, so John gets the top, and me the bottom bunk! 

In the morning, I woke up feeling much better so was able to walk around the hostel grounds and go for a walk around. There are spectacular views of Cotopaxi right from the hostel and they even have some pigs. The hostel is an eco-friendly place and they have a composting loo, which has great views overlooking Cotopaxi, so it's one of the best places to go to the toilet! We could have taken a trip to a waterfall today, which they include in the price you pay for the hostel, but it involved more climbing, so I thought better not risk it, as don't want to strain my ankle any further before Galápagos. We had breakfast and lunch at the hostel and they offered a door to door service back to the other secret garden, so because of my ankle, we agreed to get that. Another lady wanted to share the lift with us as she was going to the other hostel too, so we shared the costs. She didn't speak good English, so we didn't really talk to her that much. After our lunch, we said goodbye to everyone and Grace, she was really lovely. I thanked everyone for all their help with my bad ankle and that I really appreciated what they did for me. It was around a 2 hour journey back to Quito and on the journey it wasn't very eventful, but we saw a squashed dog which had been run over, which really upset me as I've never seen a dog that's been run over. Once we got back to Quito we then had to get all our things ready for the next morning for the Galápagos.