Cotopaxi Trip

After nearly two months of staring at the beautiful Cotopaxi from my bedroom window, I finally got the chance to travel there with my class last weekend! Admittedly, I didn’t have the best attitude at first after getting home at 2:00 AM from a night out with my host sister, knowing that I would have to climb a mountain at 6:00 AM; but after sleeping on the bus and waking up in the most spectacular place on earth, my mood improved rapidly. Cotopaxi is one of the most active volcanoes in Ecuador, which is saying something because there are MANY active volcanoes in this country. It also has the potential to do quite a lot of damage if and when it decides to erupt. Just being there was absolutely incredible, but the hour hike we took to a glacier was definitely the highlight for me.

After Cotopaxi, our group of nearly 80 students hopped on buses to escape the hail that had begun to fall and made our way south to Baños where we spent the night. Katie, another Madison, Wisconsin girl (of course), was my roommate. After settling in, a bunch of us went out for dinner at a restaurant owned by Oregonians called “Casa Hood” before dancing in our favorite Baños bar. The place has a dead stuffed bird hanging from the ceiling and plays the best mix of Hip-Hop and Reggaeton around! On Sunday, we mostly discussed the threat of the volcano Tungurahua to the city of Baños and the damage it’s caused in the past. The picture below represents one of the most moving moments during my time here. While our professor, Theo, was showing us the damage caused by a recent volcanic mudslide (lahar), an old man from Baños stopped along the road to tell us about how it had destroyed several crops and many homes. Later, Theo explained that while living in Baños permanently is extremely dangerous because of the constant volcanic activity, the people there refuse to leave because the tourist industry is too strong and it’s been their home for centuries. The old man wandered off and only paused for a few seconds while staring over the tremendous landscape; a place of both unimaginable beauty and pain. That’s all I have for today. As mentioned in the last entry, I haven’t been sleeping much of late, and need to build up energy for my jungle rafting trip this coming Saturday. ¡Caio! 

P.S. Shout out to Tyler (TT), who I hear is finally home from his world travels! I hope you’re doing well in Eugene and that you can still visit me at some point!