Next stop: The Secret Garden Cotopaxi, a hostel run by the same owners as Quito but about 2 hours away near Cotopaxi National Park. This place was one of the most picturesque hostels I’ve ever stayed in, isolated on its own plot of land with amazing views of the Cotopaxi volcano. It felt completely different to anywhere I had been on the trip so far. As there are no restaurants nearby, or anything else for the matter, all the food is part of a package you get when you book the hostel. The wifi is a luxury, turned on for just 1 hour a day at 6pm. You’ll know when its on as you can spot the desperate masses congregating outside the freezing hostel garage where the connection is strongest. (Yes I was one of the desperate masses).
The first day we went on a hike to a nearby waterfall, before settling by the fire while we waited for dinner. There is an abundance of board games at the hostel, a necessary substitute for the wifi drought. You can imagine my delight when I saw ‘Codenames’ on the board game stack, a game that I excel at. That glee was momentarily interrupted as I realised the game was in Espanyol and my Spanish was… a work in progress. Some people had actually created their own cards in English inside the box so we were able to improvise and use them. Red wine, unreal views of Cotopaxi volcano and code names – a great night.
The next day, we attempted to to summit Cotopaxi basecamp, 5000m above sea level. The weather was very problematic and I was not adequately prepared to deal with the frost and rain – ‘just get me back inside with some wine and codenames’, I thought to myself. Nonetheless we eventually we made it and even mountain biked down to the entrance of the national park. A family dinner, a couple bottles of merlot and copious amounts of board games saw out the remainder of the day and night.
I took a very relaxed approach on one of the days, only momentarily moving from the hostel hammock – to feed banana skins to the awaiting alpacas. I even decided to read start a book, ‘Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency’. Evidently, I wasn’t spoilt for choice in the hostel book shelf, one of very few English books, but I found myself surprisingly engrossed. I even considered stealing it when my stay at Cotopaxi was over but I had no room in my bag for it my moral compass indicated that wouldn’t be appropriate.
Feeling refreshed and ready to face the cold again, I opted for a horse-riding activity the next day. Despite it being my first time, the 30-second, entirely Spanish introduction left me feeling… not at all prepared. Before I could inquire about an English version, it was “Vamos chicos” and off we went. My horse, Arthur, didn’t need a second invitation. Arthur selfishly dictated where we went -and at what speed- without consulting me for the duration of the 3 hour journey. My testicles felt like they had been pulverised by a mallet by the end of the ride but it was a small price to pay in what was a very enjoyable and fun activity.
Now it was back to Quito for an adventure to the Amazon.
Love the Code Names! You need to get an Alpaca selfie like a Rotto Quokka selfie!😍😍