After an early 6am start and a minor passport scare (Nicky had packed mine thinking it was her postcards) we set off on a 2 hour bus journey stopping on the way for a yummy breakfast of pancakes, omlettes and toast. Our group voted that it was our best breakfast so far!
We then continued on to the mighty Cotopaxi and could feel the altitude as we went up higher and higher. I thought our guides were being a little OTT giving us so much hiking gear and layers of clothes but once the bus stopped and the door opened I realised every layer was required! It was freezing!
Our excellent guides Pablo and Fernando took both the lead and the rear advising us to take things slowly as the high altitude meant we were out of breath a lot quicker than normal. We hiked for an hour in the wind and snow and made it the the base camp of Cotopaxi having a well deserved cup of hot chocolate. Quite the accomplishment as it's 4800 metres above sea level which is as high as Europes tallest mountain Mount Blanc!!!
Five of us then made the further trek to the glacier but turned around at 4910 metres as the weather was getting worse and breathing was getting tougher! At base camp we got another hot chocolate and made a much faster trek down.
Back on the bus, we drove further down the mountain (away from the snow) and biked to the lake where our tour guides took numberous pics in our CarpeDiem t shirts.
Afterwards, we went back to the place we had breakfast and had an equally tasty lunch, and caught our first public bus to Banos.
Despite the snow and the altitude, it was one of the best experiences so far!!

High - hot chocolates
Low - frost bite
Altitude - 4,950m