This post features student writing.

After an amazing time in Iltaqui, we arrived at a beautiful hacienda near Cotopaxi National Park. We were greeted with much needed hot drinks (it was snowing!) and settled in for the night next to a fire.

We spent the next day horseback riding around the plains near the hacienda. We all wore ponchos and many layers. Jack, who plays polo and knows horses well, showed some of us how to maneuver and trot.

After lunch, we went back outside for a short hike — we’d planned on taking a long route, but instead stopped for many pictures in front of the mountain. Later, we went back to the hacienda for dinner and prepared to hike Cotopaxi the following morning. The next day we arrived at the parking lot, which is 4,500m above sea level, and waited a few minutes to acclimate. We started hiking, taking it slow due to the cold wind and high altitude, and we zigzagged up a few hills to a refuge over the course of an hour. The wind was shockingly strong, nearly knocking us down a few times. At the refuge, we all rested and drank tea. Everyone at the refuge agreed to hike another half hour to the glacier – the highest we could climb without pickaxes.

After climbing the icy terrain, we reached the top. Some of us sang “We Are the Champions” and “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough.” We had climbed 500m up over a distance of 3km! Lastly, we celebrated with many more pictures, then began our descent back to the bus.

– Jaime and Allie S.