Cotopaxi: hike hard or hang out

A TikTok we saw 5 months ago that promised gorgeous views of a volcano from your bed in the morning coupled with llamas has finally come to fruition. The Secret Garden Hostel at Cotopaxi has a magical formula: a snow-topped volcano, copious amounts of food, family dinners where people can’t help but get to know each other, 15 llamas and happy hostel staff.

We arrived on a free shuttle from its sister hostel in Quito, along with about 20 other people. One of the managers greeted us and explained all the possible hikes we could do and the routine of the day at the hostel before seating us for a delicious lunch of beans, chorizo and salad. They have a pot of coasters with various allergen issues or diets people follow so we collected a V and a GF and were duly served our version of the dinner. The GF pizza was a bit wobbly around the edges! In fact I forgot to take photos of the best food; was so busy eating.

After lunch we were shown to our accommodation and given a time to meet back up in the garage to collect a pair of ‘wellies’ to do the first free hike to a waterfall. The guide was explaining to another guest a river crossing and some rope work to climb up, which gave me ‘the fear’ but I decided to put my big girl pants on and smile. Stewart was fab, hoisting me by the arm up the steep bits, and encouraging me across the river before we climbed up the rocky embankment using a rope. Just having his footsteps to follow through the thick oozy mud and arm for balance was super helpful. I was not in my comfort zone but I was still enjoying it as a novelty: I think having a big group of enthusiastic peeps and my favourite Learoyd guide buoyed me along and made it fun. When we got to the waterfall, the younger lot stripped off into bikinis and shorts and jumped in. It was freezing but they loved it.

When the walk was done, ‘wellies’ were washed and we’d cleaned up and unpacked, it was snack time. Pitta (plantain chips for me) and hummus in front of the fire with the dogs, whilst you make plans for which hike you want to do the next day so they have time to organise. Fortunately my valiant effort on the waterfall hike, precluded me from having to choose another hike.  Stewart didn’t feel the need to suggest I join in the next day – ahaha! He chose the Pasochoa hike (the second free one included). 5-7 hours to the top of the opposite mountain to the volcano. I chose … blog and lesson writing with long reading sessions and free green tea and hot chocolate instead – bliss!

Dinner at 7pm was pasta pesto and chicken (or rice noodles for me and tofu for Stewart) followed by brownie and ice-cream. We chatted to people we’d done the free walking tour in Quito with, and I realised how much I’d missed being social and chatting about something and nothing.  Stewart and I chat well when we’ve been apart during the week with work and so on, and I know I have limited words and listening capacity after a school day anyway, but we’ve realised being together 24/7 has brought out how differently we communicate. I chat about everything and anything, processing my ideas externally; he processes internally and only speaks it when he has formulated his idea or thinks it is worthy. We’ve had to try and adapt to the other but being here has meant I have been able to just chat, listen and be curious about others which would be part of my normal everyday life back home. He has been able to walk mountains, pet dogs and feed llamas – his comfort zone.

He was so chuffed the next day when 6 of them went on the Pasochoa walk, and they were accompanied by 5 dogs! The 5^th one had been confined to camp due to a parasite illness he’d picked up from catching rabbits, but had broken free about an hour in, torn up the mountain and caught the them up. He was not missing out on bunny chasing and being part of the pack.

The Pasochoa walk was moderate to difficult but largely because of the pace the guide took off at.  Having climbed in the Himalayas, Stewart is only too aware of how you should operate when walking at altitude, starting slow to let your lungs adjust but the guide was not trained and keen to meet a deadline for those needing to have lunch and leave that day. He ended up overshooting that and being back 45 minutes earlier than they had to be, which made the walk uncomfortable.  One girl felt sick and had to sit and wait for them to come back as she couldn’t go on. Sooo glad I didn’t go. Lots of guests seem to struggle with the altitude – the hostel is at 3450m above sea level, whilst the top of Pasochoa walk was 4200m – it may also be because they didn’t have long enough in Quito at 2850m before they came.

Having relaxed all day and chatted to people from Switzerland, New Zealand, America, Canada and even Nottingham, I felt good. There is no WIFI for most of the day – a 2 hour slot is available in the cold garage and it isn’t particularly fast – so people play cards, take pictures, journal and read. It’s lovely. On our last night, we toasted marshmallows on the fire, which was sweet!

Stewart didn’t do any of the other hikes as they are not only steep in altitude but in price! When we listened to others come back from their various trips, they weren’t quite what he was looking for. We took the ‘resting’ dog for a walk down the road for 6km through the Teletubby-like mounds of farming land, instead.  He took my free Pasochoa spot on the last day, just to get out again.

I would definitely recommend the place, just for the experience not necessarily for the paid hikes. The price of the extra hikes don’t always give you value for money, as the weather interferes or the guides aren’t necessarily geared up to make it the right experience. The free hikes are sufficient especially if you do the 3 day-2 night package.  (This doesn’t include the big summit one which does have a properly certificated guide but even then it is pricey for what you get.)