So out of the Amazonas and into Quito, the Capital of Equador. I´m really happy to be in a Spanish speaking county as I speak loads more Spanish than Portugese, which still isn´t much. It´s much colder here (at 2800m) but a welcome change to the Amazon. I spend the first day wandering around the new town, which is apparently super dangerous at night time with numerous stories spreading around the hostel about muggings.....maybe chinese whispers, not sure. I´m trying to get a super good value to the Galapogas Islands but including flights there´s nothing cheaper than about US$1000 so I opt out of that idea. However, I do book a two day expedition to the top of Volcan Cotapaxi, which is 5897m above sea level and for you Aussies that´s almost 3 times the height of Mr Koswiosko. The girl booking me in said that I must do some acclimatisation hikes before this so that I don´t get altitude sickness as being all new to the mountain climbing game I had no idea.

So, that next day I venure off with Shaun, a Californian dude to summit the Pichincha at the top of the town´s cable car. The top of the chair is 4100m and the summit is 4700m so it seems doable. There are a couple of dodgy looking local chaps following us so we pick up the pace and cause they´re all short here they can´t keep up with us. It´s tough going up grades of circa 35 - 40 degrees in the altitude but some austrian bloke catches up to us. Turns out he´s a ski instructor and mountineer who flies up the mountain, dragging us with him.

If you haven´t experienced altitude sickness then you won´t understand this but at around 4400m I started to feel dizzy, drunk and really tired. I had to concentate on every step and it was such a hard slog to get to the top of the mountain. Not like the usual 2.5hour hike at sea level....Mr White will understand what I mean. Anyway, we made the top, had lunch and climbed down, although this was when i really started to feel the sickness. By the time we´d finished hiking i had nausea, headaches and fatigue but realised this is why the girl in the shop wanted me to hike this ´small´mountain first.

The next day i rested my weary limbs and trundled around Quito, which is a heritage listed old town. However, the guide book built this up so much that in the end it really wasn´t all that special. On Thurs 12th i set out with two brits and an American guy to summit Volcano Cotapaxi. We slept in the refugio (4800m) that night with our two guides and this is a good first test for altitude sickness. We were sent to bed at 6pm to try to sleep. My heart was racing so fast that sleep was impossible but I had the pleasure of hearing others snore and fart until midnight when we all rise for the start of the climb at 1am.

Head torches on and following our guide we commence the climb. I feel really good to start with and it´s beautiful setting with a crescent shaped moon hanging next to the mountain, the stars are big and bold and the sillouette of the mountain lies ahead of us. It´s steep going at an average grade of 35 - 40 degrees and we need cramp ons for the ice and snow. At roughly 5400m I start getting slighty nausous and then massive fatigue sets in due to the altitude. Now it´s a battle of mind over body. Body wants to crumble and mind says I can´t be the only wussy on the mountain who quits. (Keep in mind though that only 60 - 70 percent of climbes are successful on Cotapaxi) My mind keeps winning by concentrating on each single footstep for the last 2 hours of climbing. I can´t explain in words how hard it was to complete but the feeling of exhilaration when i finally made the top will never be forgotten.....it was the greatest physical feat of my life and I even got emotional at the top! Check out the pix.

Anyway, what goes up must come down and coming down was a come down. Straight away I felt really nausous with a massive headache, eye migraines and severe tiredness. It was 3 hours of absolute hell getting off that mountain I tell you, but with the help of our guide Pablo and Dave I made it. I´ve never felt that sick in that way before and I ended up with my head over the bin back in the refugio. Would I climb a mountain that tall again....probably not, but it was an unforgettable experience.