¨I have faith..but not hope¨were my exact words as we were on our third or fourth mile walking into the Cotopaxi National Park. We had been walking for miles past the park entrance towards the second largest volcano in Ecuador. Time after time we had turned down offer after offer from truck drivers wanting to charge us five dollars a piece to take us up the mountain. The stingy travelers that we are, we didn´t want to pay a dime to take us the 12 or so miles that would take us to the volcano. We wanted to walk. We had resolved to walk. We might not make it all the way, we may only get a glimps of the volcano from a distance, but it would be against our poor traveler ethos to pay a guide to drive us there. However, it only took a few miles of walking up a slight incline with altitute challenging our every breath that we began to look behind us in hopes of seeing a truck that could possible take us a few miles, without charging us. We had, after all, hopped in the bed of a truck a couple miles previous to this point that didn´t mind carrying us for a while. But now we were tired and we knew we wouldn´t make it if we didn´t get a little help.
So yes I had faith, but not hope that a car would pass by. The thing is, it was a Monday that we went to see Cotopaxi and hardly a soul was there to visit with us. Not three minutes after these words left my mouth with the thin air that was inhabiting my lungs, did we hear a motor about a hundred yards behind us. We turned around and as if an angel was flying towards us, came a white bus. The bus approached and slowed down and we made sure to appear especially tired and in need of help. The driver lowered the window and he asked ¨Deutch?¨. No we don´t speak german but it would be nice if you would take us a little bit down the road. ¨Claro¨he said with a wave of his hand. So we went around to the other side of the bus and hopped in. There were exactly three seats left for us in this tour bus with eight other German tourist who happened to be on a family vacation together. Apparently the bus driver didn´t think they would mind sharing their tour bus with three American girls.
So off we were towards Cotopaxi. It was a pretty lengthy ride to the volcano and we were so lucky to have caught this german angel bus. The bus took us across the plains and up the hills towards the mountain, passing a lake and wild horses and bulls. We got to the base of the mountain and began our ascent. I will leave the details of the volcano to one of the others who would love to have a hand in this story...but I will just say that I thought I was on the surface of the moon and when I looked out into the distance I thought I was in the heavens.
So we climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed. I have never been that close to the peak of a volcano. I could see the snow and the rivulets and the waves. We made it to the climbers refuge and had a snack and a conversation about Obama with the Germans and our German-Ecuadorian bus driver and then came back down. After, we were taken to the oldest hacienda in Ecuador which is built upon Inca ruins and we fed carrots to llamas and drank traditional juices. Needless to say, this is a pretty unbelievable story. But true.
So yes I had faith, but not hope that a car would pass by. The thing is, it was a Monday that we went to see Cotopaxi and hardly a soul was there to visit with us. Not three minutes after these words left my mouth with the thin air that was inhabiting my lungs, did we hear a motor about a hundred yards behind us. We turned around and as if an angel was flying towards us, came a white bus. The bus approached and slowed down and we made sure to appear especially tired and in need of help. The driver lowered the window and he asked ¨Deutch?¨. No we don´t speak german but it would be nice if you would take us a little bit down the road. ¨Claro¨he said with a wave of his hand. So we went around to the other side of the bus and hopped in. There were exactly three seats left for us in this tour bus with eight other German tourist who happened to be on a family vacation together. Apparently the bus driver didn´t think they would mind sharing their tour bus with three American girls.
So off we were towards Cotopaxi. It was a pretty lengthy ride to the volcano and we were so lucky to have caught this german angel bus. The bus took us across the plains and up the hills towards the mountain, passing a lake and wild horses and bulls. We got to the base of the mountain and began our ascent. I will leave the details of the volcano to one of the others who would love to have a hand in this story...but I will just say that I thought I was on the surface of the moon and when I looked out into the distance I thought I was in the heavens. So we climbed and climbed and climbed and climbed. I have never been that close to the peak of a volcano. I could see the snow and the rivulets and the waves. We made it to the climbers refuge and had a snack and a conversation about Obama with the Germans and our German-Ecuadorian bus driver and then came back down. After, we were taken to the oldest hacienda in Ecuador which is built upon Inca ruins and we fed carrots to llamas and drank traditional juices. Needless to say, this is a pretty unbelievable story. But true.
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1 comment:
That IS an unbelievable story!- You met nice Germans?! lol. Just Kidding. Seems like you can't go anywhere without talking about Obama.
Good Story!
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