Ecuador Volcanoes Expedition Dispatch

November 14, 2010 – Preparing for Cotopaxi

This is Leila Silveira reporting from Cotopaxi National Park. Today was almost a rest day with the exception that we had lots of errands to do and places to go.

We left the hot springs at 11am and each one of us decided to use the morning in a different way. We were all happy to see the sun early this morning since it has not been out much during this expedition.

I went early to the spa for a chorro massage. This is a form of deep tissue massage in which you stand in a corner and someone with a high pressure spray gun, like the ones used by firefighters, gives you a massage. All I can say is that it hurt, especially when she added more pressure! Well, there is always a first time for everything.

Lynette and Steve slept and rested close to the pools and just enjoyed the scenery and the advantage of the lower altitude.

Hugo and Helvecio stayed inside the hot springs probably for a couple of hours until they were completely pruned! I came to check on them and found Hugo entertaining them with his stories, as usual: this time it was stories about Helvecio's brother, also named Hugo, who is a paediatrician in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Hugo is one of the funniest guys you'll ever meet and we heard about many interesting pranks that he has played. Extremely strong and athletic, he is always joking around with his friends and making new friends wherever he goes.

We are all taking advantage of the lodges and the wireless internet to catch up with friends and family. Everyone has brought some sort of laptop, allowing us to go online and check out the world news.

In order to save on luggage space, Lynette and Steve, who are here for a six-week holiday, brought an iPod which they use to access the internet. After this expedition, they are planning to travel a little bit more around Ecuador, probably going to the coast, and then they will drive south to Peru before departing for home. A long nice trip!

We got back into our bus with our driver, Antonio, who is one of the best and most patient drivers in Ecuador. We headed towards Cotopaxi National Park, but first we stopped at a beautiful shopping centre outside of Quito.

Hugo tried to buy another pair of climbing gloves, but couldn`t find what he was looking for. Lynette also tried to buy a dictionary at a book store so that she could practice her Spanish. We all wanted to buy the new Cotopaxi map that just came out, but unfortunately it was out of stock. Osvaldo bought some extra fresh food for our next climb, and we all made a quick stop at the mall's food court to get something quick for lunch before heading out to Cotopaxi. Osvaldo, Antonio and Joaquin ate at KFC, I chose a great sushi place, Hugo bought a pizza at Pizza Hut, and Helvecio, Lynette and Steve had a traditional South American lunch; a full plate with rice, shrimps, vegetables and lots more. We all ended up taking our meals to eat in the bus.

Our drive to Cotopaxi was excellent, and we managed to get inside the park with a lot of time to spare.

The weather is still cloudy with light rain, so unfortunately we couldn`t see Cotopaxi, but we have our fingers crossed that the weather will improve in the next few days.

Our mountain lodge is great. It is dormitory style, but we were very comfortable and the dining area is really nice. It's a great place to relax and wait for the clouds to move out so we can have a clear view of Cotopaxi.

Tomorrow, we will have a relaxing morning of organizing the gear that we will carry up to the hut. The plan is to attempt the summit tomorrow night so let's hope the weather will be on our side.