After a tearful goodbye to Iltaqui, we got back on our yellow school bus with our friend Fernando and his wife, who drove us up to Hacienda Porvenir, a gorgeous farmhouse at 3,600 meters that has been in the same family for four generations. We spent the first day relaxing in the spa (!!), acclimatizing to the altitude, and reading by the fireplace. The next day we took a horseback ride out to a valley to catch an awesome view; Cotopaxi peeking through the clouds. Yesterday, we headed to the mountain and climbed through wind and sleet up to the refugio at 15,953 feet! We rewarded ourselves with a hot chocolate and then headed up even higher to reach the beginning of the glacier at more than 16,200 feet. On our way out of the park, just when our day couldn’t get any better, we saw three Andean Condors, the largest birds in the world, soaring above our heads. These birds are highly endangered and there are only about 100 individuals in all of Ecuador.

It has been an incredible few days. It’s hard to believe that this morning we are headed to the Galapagos! More updates to come!

-Julia & Gregorio