As we got further from the city we noticed two peaks rather close to each other that looked like they could be our destination. The guide informed us that it wasn't where we were going, but that those peaks were to other volcanoes and that he had a good spot along the road that he could stop so we could take some pictures.
Once we climbed back into the car we were back on our way and came around another curve to see a much larger peak, confirmed to be our destination, Cotopaxi.
We were getting close! We drove the rest of the way into the park and stopped at the welcome center. Our guide helped us find a park tour guide that spoke English (Andrej and I can get to where we need to go in Spanish, but neither of us would be what you'd consider fluent), we stocked up on some warm clothes since we were again in a new climate that would include snow and glaciers, and we were off up the side of the volcano! A short drive in we stopped at a lagoon to see some birds and get another look at the road that we would be driving up on our way.
It was very quiet and peaceful here and it was a nice view to get from the ground, as later on we'd get to look back over this lagoon from over 3 miles up.
Once we were finished here Andrej and I stopped to put on some sunblock, just in case, as we were still feeling the pain of our mistake the day before. We climbed back in the truck and this time took a much longer, steeper drive. Our next stop was a parking lot at the base of the trails. We could already feel the temperature difference here and there was a little bit of snow on the ground, making us grateful for the alpaca fur gloves and scarves we had picked up earlier at the start of the park.
We saw two paths headed up toward the peak and asked our guide which we would be taking. He explained that one was very steep and would take us about an hour to climb up, while the other was much more moderate and would take us about 45 minutes. Considering the altitude, the cold, and the fact that we weren't looking to do anything too too crazy we were more than happy to take the moderate track.
We took a couple breaks on our way up to catch our breaths and take some pictures. One of my favorites is from when we were about 2/3 of the way up and we paused to look back over the lagoon we had stopped by earlier. It's that little spot in the left hand corner....
We were starting to get quite tired from the climb and lack of oxygen when we finally got in view of our final stop, the lodge! 
It was here that we were promised hot drinks and even soup if we wanted it. I was looking forward to a quick break and something warm as we were in the snow and glaciers at this point and it was quite chilly. We did stop to take some pictures by the sign before we entered the lodge though, we wanted to mark that we had gotten to the top and take note of the fact that the spot we were at was close to 3 miles up.
We took some time to refuel with snacks and water, even going for the warm soup, before we went back outside with the tour guide to stop in the restroom and make our way back down. As we were getting ready to head out we found ourselves inside a cloud. Literally.
Where we had just been able to see for miles and miles and had a good view of the lagoon we now saw nothingness. The change was fast and drastic and really interesting as the cloud also brought snow/hail with it which started falling as we took our first steps down the steep path, the one we hadn't climbed up.
The steep path was the quickest and easiest way to get back down to the parking lot, so it made sense to take it, but I did have a little bit of trouble with it. The ground was very loose and I found myself more sliding/surfing down the hill that climbing or hiking or even walking. At one point I had to stop and Andrej got a picture of me in my surfing stance, in which I was still slowly sliding down.
We were both tired and agreed to a quick dinner and turning in early for the night. It was back to work the next day and we both needed some down time and to rest up and get ready and refocused again.
Although it was back to work we weren't quite done with our adventures yet. A couple days later we headed to a new part of the city to meet a couple family friends of Andrej's. He had suggested that we meet on La Ronda Street and choose one of the many small restaurants, cafes, and bars to grab dinner. We found it was near the Basilica that we had visited the previous weekend, and that it had it's own charm and a lot of live music and interesting store fronts.
Not the greatest picture, but the only one I thought to take. We found a small restaurant that offered Cuy, as both Andrej and his friend were eager to try the local dish. I personally went with chicken, but both guys ordered 1/4 Cuy, but prepared different ways. We were joking around wondering which quarter they would end up getting when they brought out the plates. One was a hind quarter, you could see the leg, but didn't look too crazy. The other, however, was a front half, skull and all. They had just dropped the whole thing in the deep fryer and served it up just like that. I did try a tiny bite, but was very glad I hadn't ordered it as my meal. (Was quite gamey, and the whole guinea pig skull right on the plate thing just wasn't appetizing to me.)
It was a fun night and a good note to wrap up our adventures on. I headed home on the red eye that Thursday night, while Andrej found himself there over another weekend until the following Tuesday.
Although the change in plans was stressful for me at first, it was really great to be able to see a place that I never thought I would and gain some amazing experiences and memories.
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