We woke up Sunday morning in Turuco, which sits approximately 2,500 meters (8,202 feet) above sea level. Monday afternoon, we traveled 4,000 meters (13,123 feet) up on horseback and enjoyed incredible views of eight separate volcanoes, most of which are now dead. But we weren’t done climbing yet — we had another 1,000 meters to rise on Tuesday! We went up the first 650 meters by car, and the final 350 meter vertical climb was ours to do on foot as we hiked up the active volcano Cotopaxi (don’t worry, there’s no chance of it erupting at the moment). The climb was steep and, given that any form of exercise at altitude is harder than the same activity at sea level, everyone climbed at their own pace. Eventually, we all made it to the base camp, where we enjoyed some piping hot hot chocolate. Those who wanted to continued hiking up from base camp, and eventually they reached the glacier that sits atop Cotopaxi, over 16,300 feet above sea level. Once we all came down from the mountain, we devoured our bagged lunches and then slept during our 4-hour bus ride home. Check out our horse-riding and climbing photos below!

Stay tuned,
– Sarah Marie & Charlie