Cotapaxi Volcano 1 Cotapaxi Volcano 2 Cotapaxi Volcano 3

My pack is enormous, plus my camera hip pack and day pack--I was really hoping we’d be lucky in getting a lift to the campsite. It could save us 2 days of long uphill walking.

We walked down to the bus station, and got on a bus that left almost immediately. The driver left us off at the entrance road to Cotopaxi National Park, where we had intended to start hitching. Our timing was perfect, however, and as we were getting off the bus, we saw a  truck stopped and 2 hikers with packs getting in. It was a camionetta, a little truck for hire that was going into the park to pick up some German climbers from the refugio (hut) on the mountain. We got a lift to Laguna Limpionpungo, 1 K from where we had planned to camp. The $7.50 each was expensive for budget travelers, but it saved us time and energy, and enabled me to get some great shots of the volcano from our camp northwest of the lake.

We are partially sheltered from the wind by a small ridge, and mostly sheltered from the view of the road by some low bushes. It is one of the most dramatic campsites I’ve had. We’re at about 12,500’ elevation, a big jump from 9200’ in Quito. I had a headache, and took some aspirin, and have been drinking plenty of water. I have been a bit breathless, so we’re just hanging out in camp enjoying the view.