Hello again!
So, we have currently spend about 15 days in mainland Ecuador and thought we would send you all a blog update before heading into Peru, for Christmas and New Year!
After Galapagos having settled in our minds, we signed up for a 30-hour intensive spanish course in Quito, the capital of Ecuador. The program was set up so that both of us would live with different Ecuadorian families and therefore restricting us from speaking english. So, for nine days we studied spanish one-to-one for 4 hours in the morning, and in the afternoon we had a bit of time to do some sightseeing and socialize with the families. I stayed with a lovely big family, where my host mother Olga, cooked all day and talked so much spanish! Anders house, was a bit smaller, with a single lady, Pati, and her mother, taking care of him. Both of the families were really nice! We were living about five minutes away from each other, both situated in a very nice area and very close to Quitos gigantic area of international restaurants and diverse nightlife. This turned out to be quite practical, as the Quito festival started the first week of december..We didnt really understand what it was all about, but it sure did involve a lot of drinking and partying on buses (Chivas) and what a perfect way to get to know new friends (and for Anders to give a memorable cover of an Elvis song whilst sitting on the bar at a pubquiz! It earnt us 3 points!). We had a fiesta at the school where games such as egg and spoon race took place! Charlie took part in a "Reining Queen contest" where she had to answer a question in spanish by a member of the audience and take part in other tasks! She got the banner that said "Chica Bonita" which I think meant she won!!
We really did enjoy Quito and were able to learn quite a bit of Spanish, although if we really wanted to get into it, a month of lessons and homestay would have been much better! Quito itself has got some nice sights too that we got to see - The historic centre with its nice buildings and cobbled streets, some hills and mountains to enjoy lovely views and not far is the Equator line, which we got to set foot on!
Just south of Quito is the so-called avenue of the volcanoes. A perfect stop for a new required dream - Mountaineering. Cotopaxi, at 19,300 feet its the highest active volcano in the world, and so forth a summit we wanted to reach. At this altitude, breathing is a real problem and proper acclimatisation is necessary if you want to make it to the top. Therefore we spent three days walking around the highlands at around 12,000 feet, before we set out to reach the summit of Cotopaxi. We started climbing around midnight, (after a torrential snow storm!) with the moon and stars out, making the fresh snow glow like diamonds. Unfortunately the fresh new powder made it even harder to walk. We began the climb already with headaches and a feeling of nausea, but we chanced it and said that if it got worse we would return back to base. You start at almost 15,000 feet and climb vertically to 19,300 feet - a five mile trip!! We needed ropes between us and crampons as the climbing was extremely dangerous and the pathways were very narrow with sheer drops of pure snow within inches of us! As you get higher and higher, you feel your breathing getting more and more out of control, and the mountain seems to get steeper and steeper, the hardest being an almost vertical icewall at 19,000 feet, where we were required to use a rope and an ice-axe to pull us up! Anders had to physically push me up towards the end as I had no energy left . Reaching the summit after almost eight hours of climbing we both collapsed in the snow - at this point breathing was merely impossible and the tiredness had reached exhaustion levels! Anders vomited right on the summit due to altitude sickness and I cried with exhaustion! Our guide forced us to continue back down the mountain after a short 5 minutes at the top - he even left us at the end once we had taken off the ropes that were connecting us - Not the best guide we have seen, no tip for that idiot!
We have just endured a 12 hour bus ride which has taken us to the south of Ecuador, in a quaint little city called Vilcabamba. We are staying in a gorgeous brand new hotel/hostel, and are recovering very well from the climb! Climbing Cotopaxi was, for the both of us, the hardest thing we have ever done... but at the same time an amazing achievement. Also, we reached the top of the mountain about the same time as an american guy who climbed to the summit Everest last year - and only 30% of the climbers made it to the top that day due to the heavy snow storm the day before. So not too bad going ey!!

So off to Peru we go!!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!


Anders and Charlie
Hej hej alle i Danmark. Den danske udgave af de sidste to ugers oplevelser folger her!
Efter vores Galapagos eventyr fandt vi det begge nodvendigt at ove os lidt paa det spanske sprog - Det er jo det eneste de taler hernede! Vi indlogerede os ved hver vores familie i det centrale Quito (Ecuadors hovedstad) for 9 dage. Vi havde fire timers eneundervisning hver formiddag og om eftermiddagen legede vi turister og ovede spansk sammen med vores respektive familier! En herlig uge, hvor vi faktisk fik laert en hel del spanks og hvor vi i ovrigt laerte meget om Ecuadors kultur. En maaneds ophold ville dog have vaeret langt at foretraekke, men det havde vi jo ikke tid til. Begge vores husmodre var virkelig imodekommende og alt i alt herligt selskab, saa det var da lidt sorgeligt at sige farvel til dem, da vi lige havde laert dem at kende. Den forste december uge var der samtidig masser af fest og farver i Quito, paa grund af en ugeland festival. Vi fandt aldrig rigtig ud af hvad det gik ud paa andet end en masse byture og drikkelse - Det var vi selvfolgelig ikke sene til at tage del i!
Efter knap to uger i Quito rykkede vi lidt syd paa blandt mange vulkaner! Den ene, Cotopaxi, (verdens hojeste aktive vulkan) blev maal for et klatre-eventyr! Det perfekte bjerg straekker sig 5897 meter over havets over flade, omkring dobbelt saa meget som Quitos traettende hojde!
Naar man kaster sig ud i bjergbestigning er det nodvendigt at vende sig til hojderne! Ens krop er nemlig slet ikke vant til den tynde luft! Vi brugte derfor tre dage omkring 4000 meter som tilvending.
Aftenen for vi skulle forsoge at naa til toppen faldt der uheldigvis 30 cm sne - Det gjorde det ikke ligefrem lettere at klatre fra 4800 meter til 5900!! Desvaerre skulle det ogsaa vise sig at vores guide var en idiot! Han pressede os alt for haardt, hele tiden skulle vi afsted, op op op!!! Efter 5500 meter er det umuligt at faa nok ilt! Man kaemper konstant med hovedpine og kvalme, og da vi naaede til 5800 meter skulle vi klatre op ad en naersmest lodret isvaeg!
Paa toppen kolapsede vi begge af udmattelse, jeg kastede op flere gange og vi kunne knapt nok nyde den storslaade udsigt! Hele vejen op havde vi fantastisk vejr, med udsigt til maane, stjerner og isspraekker! Efter kun ti minutter paa toppen var det tid til at lobe ned og vores guide forlod os halvejs mens jeg kastede op i sneen!! Ti minutter senere modte vi en amerikaner som naaede toppen lidt langsommere end os, han fortalte at vi var sindsygt hurtigere (og det var ikke en hr. Hvem som helst - han besteg nemlig mount everest sidste aar!)
Det lyder maaske ikke som den bedste oplevelse, men naar man kommer ned igen og det saetter sig i en, er det helt fantastisk. Det er det haardeste jeg nogensinde har provet!
Nu prover vi at slappe af et par dage for vi rykker mod Peru. Her skal vi holde jul og nytaar, men der er desvaerre ingen juleand til mig igen i aar! Det er jeg lidt traet af! Jeg har allerede nu mareridt om ris og bonner for den 24.!!! hahahah
Bedste hilsner
Anders og Charlie!