We returned to Quito for a tasty burger at Tio Billy's before an early bedtime, as we readied for Rucu.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
And so it begins, Pasochoa
Our first climbing trip with ET was an attempt on Pasochoa. This is a small mountain located outside of Quito that gave Tim and Stephan a chance to acclimatize. We got an early ride out of the city, eventually bringing us to this cobbled but deteriorated road. After a bone-jarring trip, we passed through the gates of a hacienda before beginning our trek. It was very straightforward, just a bit muddy. We got a little rain on the ascent, too. We summited without difficulty, climbing both the real and false summit. The real summit was fun, entailing a little scramble. Also, there was a giant crack at the top: instead of climbing down and going around it like the rest of the team, I jumped it! As you can see from the photo, I didn't quite make it all the way across...
We returned to Quito for a tasty burger at Tio Billy's before an early bedtime, as we readied for Rucu.
We returned to Quito for a tasty burger at Tio Billy's before an early bedtime, as we readied for Rucu.
Welcome to Quito, ET!
On Saturday, January 8th, the climbers from ET arrived. We are staying at a really nice hotel, a great upgrade from the hostal I had been staying at! The first morning, we all met up for breakfast at the Magic Bean, a real treat: I had yogurt with granola and fried eggs, it was delicious! We spent the morning with some briefings, getting oriented to Quito, Ecuador, and our itinerary. We also began getting to know each other: Stephan is a young guy, works for EPA in DC, while Tim is in his mid-40´s and works as a general contractor in Boston. That afternoon we toured Quito, specifically Old Town. This was a lot of fun, touring the churches and just sort of running all over the place.
That night, we planned and packed for Pasochoa.
That night, we planned and packed for Pasochoa.
Saturday, January 8, 2011
No Major Updates - Waiting in Quito
We have been having some less than ideal weather on the mountains. Parofes left Thursday morning for the Ilinizas, but snow trumpted his summit efforts. I stayed in Quito, taking a rest day. My heels were swollen from 3 mountains in four days, so I lounged around reading a Dean Kootnz book and relaxing. Like I said, no real news.
On Friday, I met an American at the hostal who had been traveling through Central America and had just gotten to Quito. She was planning on going out to Mitad del Mundo, the site built up over where the equator is supposed to pass. We caught an early bus out to the main terminal and caught a connecting bus from there. Mitad del Mundo was interesting enough; they have an small museum with info on Ecuador´s indigenous populations. We stopped for a light lunch, a waffle with fruit, whip cream, and ice cream, before heading back into Quito. Once there I took some time to get my logistics all arranged for meeting up with Earth Treks. While at the hostal planning this, I bumped into a group of Americans I had met the week before; they had just gotten off Cotopaxi (succesful summit; the weather has broken). They told me an ET group had summited too! Low and behold, a little research and I find out that Chris Warner and some other ET group is down here right now. I surmise it´s a private Wharton Business School group... Anyways, bumped into Parofes that evening. He had been turned back by snow at the paso de muerte (the pass of death, which is exactly as it sounds). He will be making an attempt at Cotopaxi on Sunday/Monday; best of luck to him.
Parofes and I are arranging our attempt on Cayambe, the country´s most dangerous peak. The current plan is that we will join his buddy, a local guide with 10 successful summits on Cayambe, and make a three-person alpine ascent. We will likely organize on 16th, leaving that evening, and attempt the summit in the wee hours of the 18th. Very excited, very hopeful that we can pull it off!
On Friday, I met an American at the hostal who had been traveling through Central America and had just gotten to Quito. She was planning on going out to Mitad del Mundo, the site built up over where the equator is supposed to pass. We caught an early bus out to the main terminal and caught a connecting bus from there. Mitad del Mundo was interesting enough; they have an small museum with info on Ecuador´s indigenous populations. We stopped for a light lunch, a waffle with fruit, whip cream, and ice cream, before heading back into Quito. Once there I took some time to get my logistics all arranged for meeting up with Earth Treks. While at the hostal planning this, I bumped into a group of Americans I had met the week before; they had just gotten off Cotopaxi (succesful summit; the weather has broken). They told me an ET group had summited too! Low and behold, a little research and I find out that Chris Warner and some other ET group is down here right now. I surmise it´s a private Wharton Business School group... Anyways, bumped into Parofes that evening. He had been turned back by snow at the paso de muerte (the pass of death, which is exactly as it sounds). He will be making an attempt at Cotopaxi on Sunday/Monday; best of luck to him.
Parofes and I are arranging our attempt on Cayambe, the country´s most dangerous peak. The current plan is that we will join his buddy, a local guide with 10 successful summits on Cayambe, and make a three-person alpine ascent. We will likely organize on 16th, leaving that evening, and attempt the summit in the wee hours of the 18th. Very excited, very hopeful that we can pull it off!
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Succesful Guagua Pichincha Summit
After the early defeats, it feels great to make some summits! Tuesday evening, after the successful Rucu summit, I met Paulo Roberto, aka Parofes. He is a very famous Brazilian climber, know for his solo climbs on many of Latin America's highest and hardest peaks. He had just returned from an unsuccessful attempt at Cotopaxi (the weather is shit there right now; snow, snow, and more snow). After that frustrating defeat, he was eager to get a summit. That night, we discussed options for climbing Guagua, about 20 km away from central Quito and is the partner mountain of Rucu. It is much harder to get to, requiring either a traverse from Rucu, which is a long day or more likely a two day affair, or a hike from nearby Lloa.
The next morning we awoke to gray skies. We ate breakfast before running down to the internet cafe, trying to find out what the weather had in store for us. On our way out, we met another American, Danni, and invited him along. The weather forecast did not look good, but we said to hell with it and decided we would try. Lo and behold, as we took a taxi to Lloa the clouds started to burn off. Traditionally, to do Guagua, you either hike from Lloa or take a 4W truck up the road to a parking lot at 4050m. We had planned on the hike, but it's a heck of one: over 6 hours with a 1800m elevation gain. However, when we got to Lloa our taxi driver offered to find out about the chance of us getting a ride up further, as we were short on time. We stop in the center of town in front of the police station and the taxi driver runs in. He comes out in about 3 minutes with a man in a nice suit, who is introduced as 'el jefe de la policia,' or the chief of police. After introductions, he immediately begins bargaining with us for a ride up the road! A few moments later and its agreed, and off we go! We get up to about 3800m before a landslide blocked the road, forcing us out of the car.
We hiked along the road, all making good pace. Parofes was taking his time, enjoying the view (clouds had cleared up and we were getting great views of the valley around us) while Danni and I kept a strong and steady pace. We quickly made it to the parking lot and then on to the refuge, following the switchback road. The refuge sits at 4550m, and from there we had two options: follow the easy, clear trail to the left up to the crater's rim before following the rim to the summit, or traverse the base of the summit pyramid and then follow scree up. We opted for the later, working our way up along the fresh snow that was sporadically present. We reached a ridge line and then quickly followed that to the summit. The summit push was 30 degree hike, nothing too serious. The summit was awesome, marked by a large pillar that, when held, allowed to lean over the lip of the crater and peer down into the active volcano. Unfortunately, we could only see steam and fog, but we sure smelled the sulfur! Time to summit, 3850m to 4776m: 2 hours even.
We were joined at the summit by three Spaniards, seen below traversing the rim.
Notes on Guagua: Equipment was insufficient; very cold and windy at summit. In addition to base, thin soft shell, and hard shell, thicker soft shell was needed. Clear path to refuge, and from refuge to rim. If taking traverse, follow higher where scree is more stable. Avoid the direct path up the scree, as this is the descent path and is very tiring to try to hike up. No altitude effects. Drank 1 L of H20. Boots were still damp at start, but dried quickly.
Photos shared with permission from Paulo Roberto, aka Parofes. See more at http://parofess.blogspot.com/.
The next morning we awoke to gray skies. We ate breakfast before running down to the internet cafe, trying to find out what the weather had in store for us. On our way out, we met another American, Danni, and invited him along. The weather forecast did not look good, but we said to hell with it and decided we would try. Lo and behold, as we took a taxi to Lloa the clouds started to burn off. Traditionally, to do Guagua, you either hike from Lloa or take a 4W truck up the road to a parking lot at 4050m. We had planned on the hike, but it's a heck of one: over 6 hours with a 1800m elevation gain. However, when we got to Lloa our taxi driver offered to find out about the chance of us getting a ride up further, as we were short on time. We stop in the center of town in front of the police station and the taxi driver runs in. He comes out in about 3 minutes with a man in a nice suit, who is introduced as 'el jefe de la policia,' or the chief of police. After introductions, he immediately begins bargaining with us for a ride up the road! A few moments later and its agreed, and off we go! We get up to about 3800m before a landslide blocked the road, forcing us out of the car.
We hiked along the road, all making good pace. Parofes was taking his time, enjoying the view (clouds had cleared up and we were getting great views of the valley around us) while Danni and I kept a strong and steady pace. We quickly made it to the parking lot and then on to the refuge, following the switchback road. The refuge sits at 4550m, and from there we had two options: follow the easy, clear trail to the left up to the crater's rim before following the rim to the summit, or traverse the base of the summit pyramid and then follow scree up. We opted for the later, working our way up along the fresh snow that was sporadically present. We reached a ridge line and then quickly followed that to the summit. The summit push was 30 degree hike, nothing too serious. The summit was awesome, marked by a large pillar that, when held, allowed to lean over the lip of the crater and peer down into the active volcano. Unfortunately, we could only see steam and fog, but we sure smelled the sulfur! Time to summit, 3850m to 4776m: 2 hours even.
We were joined at the summit by three Spaniards, seen below traversing the rim.
Notes on Guagua: Equipment was insufficient; very cold and windy at summit. In addition to base, thin soft shell, and hard shell, thicker soft shell was needed. Clear path to refuge, and from refuge to rim. If taking traverse, follow higher where scree is more stable. Avoid the direct path up the scree, as this is the descent path and is very tiring to try to hike up. No altitude effects. Drank 1 L of H20. Boots were still damp at start, but dried quickly.
Photos shared with permission from Paulo Roberto, aka Parofes. See more at http://parofess.blogspot.com/.
Succesful Rucu Pichincha Climb
On Tuesday, though I was still a little tired from Corazon, I awoke and made my way to the teleferico at the base of Rucu. While getting tickets for the ride to 3850m, I met two German climbers, Juergen and Peter. Juergen is a engineer taking some time to study business administration and travel while Peter is a electrician traveling and climbing. After meeting at the teleferico, we agreed to climb together.
The trek out went well, we made great time from the teleferico to the base of the summit pyramid. We traversed across without difficulty and ascended the scree. However, at the top of the scree, as we began our traverse along the ridge, the clouds really closed in. As we got past the two false summits, it actually began to hail! The hail was larger than last time, reaching the size of marbles and really hurt. I used my bag to create a shelter for myself, but still could only cover my head and chest; my arms and legs took a little bit of a beating. Thankfully the hail cleared up after about 5 - 10 minutes. As we continued, we bumped into Jim Spark (makes the second time I've bumped into him on Rucu!). He gave some critical beta for the summit push, helping us identify an awesome section of rock scramble marked by rock carrins and one white painted marker. After a fun section of scramble, we reached the summit at 4627m and enjoyed the view! We got a few good glimpses of Quito and the surrounding area as the clouds lifted at times. We didn't stay too long though, as we were concerned about the weather. Time from teleferico to summit, 3850m to 4627m: 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Notes on Rucu: Equipment was sufficient; had to climb in sneakers as boots were still soaked from Corazon. No noticed altitude effects. Consumed about 1 L of H20. Trail is clear till you reach traverse. Follow upper trails as they are drier. Follow trail farthest to the right of the scree fields up to ridge, and then follow trail below ridge line past the two false summits. Pass to the left of the false summits, as right side is very exposed to large falls. Descend through scree fields.
The trek out went well, we made great time from the teleferico to the base of the summit pyramid. We traversed across without difficulty and ascended the scree. However, at the top of the scree, as we began our traverse along the ridge, the clouds really closed in. As we got past the two false summits, it actually began to hail! The hail was larger than last time, reaching the size of marbles and really hurt. I used my bag to create a shelter for myself, but still could only cover my head and chest; my arms and legs took a little bit of a beating. Thankfully the hail cleared up after about 5 - 10 minutes. As we continued, we bumped into Jim Spark (makes the second time I've bumped into him on Rucu!). He gave some critical beta for the summit push, helping us identify an awesome section of rock scramble marked by rock carrins and one white painted marker. After a fun section of scramble, we reached the summit at 4627m and enjoyed the view! We got a few good glimpses of Quito and the surrounding area as the clouds lifted at times. We didn't stay too long though, as we were concerned about the weather. Time from teleferico to summit, 3850m to 4627m: 2 hours and 40 minutes.
Notes on Rucu: Equipment was sufficient; had to climb in sneakers as boots were still soaked from Corazon. No noticed altitude effects. Consumed about 1 L of H20. Trail is clear till you reach traverse. Follow upper trails as they are drier. Follow trail farthest to the right of the scree fields up to ridge, and then follow trail below ridge line past the two false summits. Pass to the left of the false summits, as right side is very exposed to large falls. Descend through scree fields.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Cool Mountaineering Quote
"We who go mountain-scrambling have constantly set before us the superiority of fixed purpose or perseverance to brute force. We know that each height, each step, must be gained by patient, laborious toil, and that wishing cannot take the place of working; we know the benefits of mutual aid; that many a difficulty must be encountered, and many an obstacle must be grappled with or turned, but we know that where there's a will there's a way: and we come back to our daily occupations better fitted to fight the battle of life, and to overcome the impediments which obstruct our paths, strengthened and cheered by the recollection of past labors, and by the memories of victories gained in other fields." Edward Whymper
A mini-epic?
This update covers Pichincha Rucu, New Years in Quito, and the mini-epic of Volcan Corazon.
I met up with a crew from SAE on Wednesday night for pub trivia. One of the other members there, Jim Spark, and I struck up a conversation and learned he was a seasoned climber. He has done Kiliminjaro, Aconcagua, Denali, Everest, and Cho Oyu, among many other mountains. After talking to him for about three hours, our team went on to win the trivia challenge!
The next morning I met up with two Americans, Dave and Jeb, and their Ecuadorian friend Belang. We went up these trolly carts on the city limits to Cruz Loma, the starting point for the ascent of Pichincha Rucu (4627m).
We bumped into Jim on his way back; he had just done what is supposed to be a 2 - 3 hour ascent in an hour and 19 minutes! We continued on our way but were forced to turn back from the summit base as clouds and rain moved in; Dave and Jeb's bags had been lost by the airline, so they didn't have any of their shells with them.
Though we were frustrated, we had a great time. Belang's mother invited me over for dinner at their house, were they were all staying, and cooked an awesome meal that put a great finish to the day.
The next day New Years eve, so I hung with Dave and Jeb while Belang visited family. We went into Old Town Quito and had a great time walking around and seeing the sites. We even got off onto some side streets, giving us the chance to see lots of Ecuadorians in their pre-festive shopping. Unfortunately, on the ride back we were pick-pocketed. Thankfully they only got both of our phones, but still it was frustrating. It was ironic because as we had gotten on the trolley, I told them: "If there is anywhere where you will be be pick-pocketed, it's going to be on this bus, so watch your stuff!" We did good till the last second, as we had to take our hands off our pockets to fight our way off the bus.
That night was another adventure in itself. Traditional New Years festivities in Quito are a bit unique as far as I've heard. They build effigies of people from the year past, and then the men dress up as the widows, dancing in the street begging for money for the effigies' funeral. Well low and behold, Belang gets Dave, Jeb, and I dressed up in some of her outfits and had us dance in the streets for money! It was a very... unique experience, but I don't think I will ever want to do something like that again! After we embarrassed ourselves, we went to SAE and enjoy bringing in the New Year with the other members. We played some games, ate grapes (another tradition), and then burned and jumped over the effigies. As this all wrapped up around 1 am, Jeb and Dave went home while Belang and I went out clubbing with some of her local friends. We had a good time, but I didn't get back to the hostal until 6 am. And then found someone else sleeping in my bed!
The next day I met a group of Canadians and spent the day around Quito with them. We had a good afternoon walking around the giant statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking Old Town. However, after a rough ride back to the hostal I started feeling very ill. A hot cup of tea, all of my climbing fleeces and base layers, and Motrin made the world feel alright though. Went out to dinner with the Canadians before an early bedtime.
Woke up the next morning at 6 am and met with Dave, Jeb, and Belang for our train to Aloasi. We arrived at about 10:15 am, intending on climbing Volcan Corazon (4788m) after leaving from the station, what is supposed to be a 9 - 11 hour hike. We left some stuff at the haciendo (farmhouse-style hotel) before starting our hike at 10:30 am, with the wind carrying the haciendo's owner's voice saying we were crazy to start so late in the day for the summit. Undeterred, we made great progress initially. We past the first landmark and followed a very rough dirt road higher and higher up the face.
We took a short cut, following a direct route instead of some switch backs, but we lost time with a long lunch and recovery spell. We finally made it past the switch backs and then went cross-country through some underbrush to the mountain's saddle. At this point it was about 3:45 and we were concerned about night fall (regularly about 6:30), but we decided to push on. I used my trekking poles to mark the sand with arrows and stacked rocks, all meant to aid our descent. As we made it from the saddle to the actual summit pyramid, we found the climb increasingly difficult. We were on lots of harsh grade three and even some grade four for very short spells. Belang was hesitant at first, but she quickly grew to like the scrambling. At one point we were on the Eastern ridge, looking straight down a 200-300 m drop. We made our way aside from the ridge, not wanting the unnecessary exposure. While we bumped into two climbers at about 4:05 who said we were only an hour from the summit, by 4:30 we decided we had to turn back. The clouds were thickening, and we thought we had heard thunder. Not wanting to push our luck, we reached the second and last false summit (maybe 50 m below actual summit and 500 m horizontally away) before we turned back. The moment we started back, however, it began hailing. For most of the hail, it was very tiny stuff, only as large as the 'o' in this font. We worked our way down, luckly having no trouble following our markers out back. However, after about 20 min, as we got lower the hail turned to rain. We all had our hard shells on, but it was pretty rough going. After we got off the cross-country trail back to the road, we found the roads nothing more then a giant muddy slip and slide. At about 6:30 it finally grew too dark and we had to all put on our headlamps (I cannot stress enough how lucky we were to all have brought them, even though we all thought we'd be done by 4 or 5). We got back to the haciendo at 7:30 pm, 9 hours after our start and just caked in mud.
Though we were frustrated with our failure to summit, we were proud of our effort. We tried hard and failed for no fault of our own. Indeed, we could have pushed on for the summit, only 30 minutes away, but with the way the weather went, it could have been an even more dangerous descent. As is, we stripped at the haciendo, took warm showers (it never felt so good to put on clean, dry clothes), and had an AMAZING dinner. The haciendo served us a fixed menu, offering a course of cheese empanadas, a cauliflower/carrot soup with fried egg pieces (a real highlight), a selection of beef, pork, or chicken all served with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli (they made me a cheese omelet in place of the meats), and then some sort of bread cake. All in all, the best meal I've had in a long, long time. We then passed out!
After another great meal at the haciendo, we got a ride back to Quito. Before we left though, I found a snake in my boot! Not really though, it was just a scorpian in my clothes!
Rest and recovery is on the menu today, and maybe another stab by myself at Pinincha Rucu tomorrow?
I met up with a crew from SAE on Wednesday night for pub trivia. One of the other members there, Jim Spark, and I struck up a conversation and learned he was a seasoned climber. He has done Kiliminjaro, Aconcagua, Denali, Everest, and Cho Oyu, among many other mountains. After talking to him for about three hours, our team went on to win the trivia challenge!
The next morning I met up with two Americans, Dave and Jeb, and their Ecuadorian friend Belang. We went up these trolly carts on the city limits to Cruz Loma, the starting point for the ascent of Pichincha Rucu (4627m).
We bumped into Jim on his way back; he had just done what is supposed to be a 2 - 3 hour ascent in an hour and 19 minutes! We continued on our way but were forced to turn back from the summit base as clouds and rain moved in; Dave and Jeb's bags had been lost by the airline, so they didn't have any of their shells with them.
Though we were frustrated, we had a great time. Belang's mother invited me over for dinner at their house, were they were all staying, and cooked an awesome meal that put a great finish to the day.
The next day New Years eve, so I hung with Dave and Jeb while Belang visited family. We went into Old Town Quito and had a great time walking around and seeing the sites. We even got off onto some side streets, giving us the chance to see lots of Ecuadorians in their pre-festive shopping. Unfortunately, on the ride back we were pick-pocketed. Thankfully they only got both of our phones, but still it was frustrating. It was ironic because as we had gotten on the trolley, I told them: "If there is anywhere where you will be be pick-pocketed, it's going to be on this bus, so watch your stuff!" We did good till the last second, as we had to take our hands off our pockets to fight our way off the bus.
That night was another adventure in itself. Traditional New Years festivities in Quito are a bit unique as far as I've heard. They build effigies of people from the year past, and then the men dress up as the widows, dancing in the street begging for money for the effigies' funeral. Well low and behold, Belang gets Dave, Jeb, and I dressed up in some of her outfits and had us dance in the streets for money! It was a very... unique experience, but I don't think I will ever want to do something like that again! After we embarrassed ourselves, we went to SAE and enjoy bringing in the New Year with the other members. We played some games, ate grapes (another tradition), and then burned and jumped over the effigies. As this all wrapped up around 1 am, Jeb and Dave went home while Belang and I went out clubbing with some of her local friends. We had a good time, but I didn't get back to the hostal until 6 am. And then found someone else sleeping in my bed!
The next day I met a group of Canadians and spent the day around Quito with them. We had a good afternoon walking around the giant statue of the Virgin Mary overlooking Old Town. However, after a rough ride back to the hostal I started feeling very ill. A hot cup of tea, all of my climbing fleeces and base layers, and Motrin made the world feel alright though. Went out to dinner with the Canadians before an early bedtime.
Woke up the next morning at 6 am and met with Dave, Jeb, and Belang for our train to Aloasi. We arrived at about 10:15 am, intending on climbing Volcan Corazon (4788m) after leaving from the station, what is supposed to be a 9 - 11 hour hike. We left some stuff at the haciendo (farmhouse-style hotel) before starting our hike at 10:30 am, with the wind carrying the haciendo's owner's voice saying we were crazy to start so late in the day for the summit. Undeterred, we made great progress initially. We past the first landmark and followed a very rough dirt road higher and higher up the face.
We took a short cut, following a direct route instead of some switch backs, but we lost time with a long lunch and recovery spell. We finally made it past the switch backs and then went cross-country through some underbrush to the mountain's saddle. At this point it was about 3:45 and we were concerned about night fall (regularly about 6:30), but we decided to push on. I used my trekking poles to mark the sand with arrows and stacked rocks, all meant to aid our descent. As we made it from the saddle to the actual summit pyramid, we found the climb increasingly difficult. We were on lots of harsh grade three and even some grade four for very short spells. Belang was hesitant at first, but she quickly grew to like the scrambling. At one point we were on the Eastern ridge, looking straight down a 200-300 m drop. We made our way aside from the ridge, not wanting the unnecessary exposure. While we bumped into two climbers at about 4:05 who said we were only an hour from the summit, by 4:30 we decided we had to turn back. The clouds were thickening, and we thought we had heard thunder. Not wanting to push our luck, we reached the second and last false summit (maybe 50 m below actual summit and 500 m horizontally away) before we turned back. The moment we started back, however, it began hailing. For most of the hail, it was very tiny stuff, only as large as the 'o' in this font. We worked our way down, luckly having no trouble following our markers out back. However, after about 20 min, as we got lower the hail turned to rain. We all had our hard shells on, but it was pretty rough going. After we got off the cross-country trail back to the road, we found the roads nothing more then a giant muddy slip and slide. At about 6:30 it finally grew too dark and we had to all put on our headlamps (I cannot stress enough how lucky we were to all have brought them, even though we all thought we'd be done by 4 or 5). We got back to the haciendo at 7:30 pm, 9 hours after our start and just caked in mud.Though we were frustrated with our failure to summit, we were proud of our effort. We tried hard and failed for no fault of our own. Indeed, we could have pushed on for the summit, only 30 minutes away, but with the way the weather went, it could have been an even more dangerous descent. As is, we stripped at the haciendo, took warm showers (it never felt so good to put on clean, dry clothes), and had an AMAZING dinner. The haciendo served us a fixed menu, offering a course of cheese empanadas, a cauliflower/carrot soup with fried egg pieces (a real highlight), a selection of beef, pork, or chicken all served with mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli (they made me a cheese omelet in place of the meats), and then some sort of bread cake. All in all, the best meal I've had in a long, long time. We then passed out!
After another great meal at the haciendo, we got a ride back to Quito. Before we left though, I found a snake in my boot! Not really though, it was just a scorpian in my clothes!
Rest and recovery is on the menu today, and maybe another stab by myself at Pinincha Rucu tomorrow?
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