Today I am going to attempt to climb Cotopaxi Volcano one of Ecuador's primary tourist attractions. As I will be doing on the cheap I need to catch a bus heading towards Quito, get off at the turn off for Cotopaxi and then hitchhike in 40km to the base camp - from here I will hike 1.5 hours to the refuge (hopefully if the snow isn't too thick). Luckily my hosts had some thick jackets, beanies and gloves to lend me otherwise for sure I would freeze. My hosts dropped me off at the bus terminal and I caught the first bus heading towards Quito, I had the driver drop me off at the entrance road to Cotopaxi and from here I was to hitchhike - I wouldn't have been walking two minutes before a guy parked on the side of the road said he would take me, wow that was quick just a second he just said dollars - s*** he wants $40 - hasta Luego! I kept walking and unfortunately the road was quite dead at this early hour about 15 cars drove straight passed me - some had loads of spare seats, trays in the back and tour groups. Finally after an hour of walking a ute with two Ecuadorian guys pulled over and let me jump in the back, as we approached the half-way mark the Cotopaxi Volcano came into sight and wow what a sight; probably half covered in a thick glacier of white white snow at over 5000 meters. We stopped and took photos and as we did some wild pony's grazed in the meadow next to us. We drive a bit further then the guys said they were heading to another refuge so it was back to walking. The good thing was the Volcano was in sight along with the refuge - the point I was aiming for, I walked for another 30 minutes with many cars filled with tourists driving passed me and my out reached thumb. All of a sudden in the distance I see a huge hummer raring down the strip - what the hell I will try and you wouldn't believe it they pulled over to Majors of the Ecuadorian Army - in the back I jumped Hell Yeah you couldn't pay for this haha. The best thing about it was the open back tray and the fact that the road was so rough the hummer just ate it up and made easy work of the trail, even funnier all the cars and people who had driven passed me we started passing and they were gazing in disbelief I had been picked up. We arrived at the car park I thanked the guys very much in my Spanish got some photos and then headed for the refuge. It wasn't actually that cold because the sun was beating down but I needed a scarf and beanie covering my face from the wind, there were two trails up to the refuge - one was smooth, longer and being taking by the majority of people, the other was straight, steep and very loose - I took the road less travelled and thankful I did. Every step up I would slight half a step back but for in that short hike up I was so concentrated on what I needed to do that my mind was clear and the silence was mesmerizing. I stopped every 30 meters or so and at the halfway point stopped for a snack - just as I did this guy pointed out a wolf - wow a mountain wolf very similar to a fox but much more majestic. After stopping for a while I noticed the Army guys who had given me a lift climbing up aswell. I continued on and it wasn't long before I reached the refuge, I didn't really feel like going in or resting here with the masses of people so I continued up with the thought to maybe reach the start of the glacier. I got to 4900 meters and decided that would be it and parked my arse on a huge water tank and took in the view. This is the highest I have ever climbed and I can feel it in my lungs, air really is thinner and my throat feels congested - could also be because of the flu I have had for last week. The silence up here to me is the best and most rewarding part - similar to meditating but more awe providing. I wondered if I could make it to the summit - apparently only a 6 hour hike in the night but with all snow gear etc and organized tour - I thought nah I am happy with this point and started my journey down. On the way down I met the army guys and they said I could get a lift back with them - Great another ride in the back of the Hummer. When we got back to the truck and was about to take off we spotted the wolf again and amazingly it came up to within 15 meters of the truck - I snapped some photos and was amazed how calm it was around people and vehicles. The ride back was awsome, the hummer made easy work of the track and we passed every car on the trek, we stopped at one point to look at a big herd of wild ponies and then continued on. The guys dropped me off at the highway where I then caught a bus back to Latacunga. It was only about 2pm so I wondered round the city and brought a heap of fruit, vegetables and meat for the next few days. I then made my way back out to my hosts farm absolutely exhausted when I finally made it back. A friend of the families came over and he was a mechanical engineer and his passion was building motorcycles so I chatted with him for hours and talked about the possibility of buying a cheap motorcycle here in Ecuador and going cross-country with it. The family all went to bed at about 8pm so I made dinner and cooked lunch for my big trip to Quilotoa Laguna tomorrow.