Wide Open Spaces

Despite all the unusual charm, at the end of the dia, Quito is just a city, like countless other cities... we craved the great outdoors.
There are 10 major volcanoes in Ecuador, and the world's tallest active (it has erupted in the last 100 years), is called Cotopaxi, which happens to be a few short hours from Quito.
The preparation of this arduous undertaking went something like...
Riad: "Hey Heather, anything to do in Ecuador that will freak the heck out of my mom?"
Heather: "hmmm, well we could climb the world's tallest active volcano"
Riad: "Perfect!!! "umm do we need to bring our own virgin, or do they provide?"

The details were very sketchy, mostly because we don't speak Spanish and Ecuadorians volcano climbing guides all tend to speak Spanish...
But details can be worked out at the volcano,..
After an interesting and arduous drive, which mostly involved constantly gesturing to the bus driver that we wanted to go closer closer closer to the volcano, we were dropped off at the only hosteria in the National Park, a few miles from the start of the volcano traverse.

Once we secured a room, and by room, I mean two singles in a shared room with an Aussie on summer school break and two Chilean runners (training in high altitude), we immediately inquired about the volcano, how do we get up? guide, gear, virgin requirements etc.

Juan Carlos, the inn keeper, gently walked us outside and pointed... see the volcano? No? right so no one can see the volcano due to all those darn CLOUDS. (sarcasm needs no translation).

Apparently clouds live at over 19,000 ft (5900 m), which happens to be the same height of our friend the volcano.

We could acquire all the necessary stuff to climb, which included crampons, an ice pick and ropes, however if you climb to the start of the glacier and the weather sucks... no mas, you are out o luck, go straight to bed, do not pass GO, do not get back your dinero.

By the way, the crampons, an ice pick and rope are necessary since there are giant crevasses covered in snow, which can sometimes break, and plunge climbers to their screaming deaths (freaked yet mom?).

Nothing left to do but sit, and pray for the clouds to part.
It just so happens that the volcano sits on the high Andean plains, which is stunning in its raw, naked, unadulterated beauty.

We went for a bit of a walkabout, aimlessly wandering the soft rolling hills, constantly glancing over to the volcano and the cloud situation.

We followed this stream for a few miles...

finding a small trickle and sense of serenity...

and some new friends... herds of wild Andean horses.

Oh my dear dear Cotopaxi, please sleep tight, but tomorrow, open up your warm embrace to us weary travelers, let us gently scale your glacier, skipping across your delicate rock scree and dance over your menacing crevasses, finally allowing us to plant our flag into your soft pillowy summit.
The above was strictly Riad's interpretation of what he believed Heather to be thinking the moment this photo was captured.