Ecuador Volcanoes Expedition Dispatch

November 13, 2011 – After Some R&R We Continue to Cotopaxi National Park

The team is at Termas de Papallacta where a rest day is definitely deserved. Cayambe was a tough climb; even reaching the hut was a challenge. The road conditions were terrible and everyone was still talking about how muddy it was. Here at Termas everyone was able to rest, enjoy massages and jump into our private hot springs. You really can`t get better than this.

Being with a team from SpaceX, one needs to be prepared for interesting dinner topics. We learned last night that Yuri`s dream is to be an astronaut; he had this dream since he was a teenager. He was living in the US with his parents and they had to return back to Japan, but Yuki was determined to stay. He decided to write a letter to the local paper looking for a family to host him during high school. He did find a family - quite a few actually - and managed to stay. He was a very determined teenager who is now a successful engineer at SpaceX and he might be closer to his dream than ever.

Today we woke up to a beautiful blue sky day - finally the sun came out. As we drove towards Quito the clouds started to come in, but we still had a great view of Cotopaxi. Ana and Andrew were particularly excited to see our next goal.

I have been trying hard to get Bill away from work, but it has not been easy. I am dealing with a lot of different challenges that I never experienced in the past trips with Bill. He is managing to work more than usual due to the easy access to the Wi-Fi everywhere we have gone so far! Technology is really catching up, even here in these remote parts of Ecuador.

The drive to Cotopaxi was uneventful. We had an amazing time and had a long stop at a big mall on the outskirts of Quito where we bought some extra fresh food and we all enjoyed the local food court options.

Bill was searching on the internet to see if the mall had a Burger King, but unfortunately there wasn’t. Many other great options were available though. I have stayed many times at the Quito Marriott, but only now I have learned that there is a Burger King across the street from our hotel. Bill doesn’t miss a beat. I have a feeling that we are all going to have a quick stop there on the way back.

Well, we are all here comfortably settled at our mountain lodge and everywhere I turn I see the team members online; either with an iPad, an iPhone, a PC, you name it. Osvaldo and Joaquin are also checking their emails on their own computers.

Soon, we will have our dinner, and then we will go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day moving to the hut and then up Cotopaxi we go.

Stay tuned!