Cotopaxi - Cuenca - Guayaquil

Well at this point we're definitely on the home stretch now... after Mindo we were back to Qutio again and just had to knock a few quick things before heading to the Galapagos to finish off our trip.  First was to go hike up to 'base camp' of Cotopaxi, which is just outside Quito.  We were lucky enough to hit it on a nice clear day.  This would be our 'high altitude' hike for the year topping out at 4800m.  Not the 5000m + we're used to doing in Nepal, but still pretty high!

A great view of Cotopaxi, and the old beater of a Ford Econoline Van we hired with a driver to get us to the start of the hike.  Was helpful to have such huge vehicle, as we ended up giving 7 young students a ride, as we found them on the road trying to walk there as they couldn't afford to hire a truck to get to the start of the hike...

Heading up into the snow... fog starting to set in as it does every afternoon.

We were sucking wind,  not being fully acclimitized to the altitude, but we got there...

Looking down...

 

And now a quick stop over in Cuenca on the way to Guayaquil where we would catch our flight to the Galapagos.  The entire city center of Cuenca has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage site, and  you get a good idea why from some of the pictures.   A really pretty town...

We're in Guayaquil now... but really only had one night and an afternoon here.  We hadn't heard great things about this city, but we enjoyed our time here.  It was our first time back in 30+ degree temperatures, so we had a nice afternoon visiting a few parks, and the really nice waterfront (we're on the coast now), and drinking super cold beer that always seems to taste twice as good when you're in the heat!

One of the parks here was quite cool.  It was absolutely teaming with iguanas... right in the middle of downtown, and they are so used to humans that you can pet them and walk amongst them without any issue...

Or you can do this... I have a video that is a little better, but this young kid (no more than 2 years old) decided to grab a plastic bottle and go around beating the Iguanas.  Surprisingly enough the inguanas cared as little as this little guys parents whom sat on the park bench watching.  Was pretty hilarious at the time!

But now it's time for the Galapagos... Only 10 days left on the trip.  Can hardly believe it...