Cotopaxi ... what a volcano!!!

The trip to Cotopaxi is our last Ecuadorian excursion.  Cotopaxi is a stratovolcano in the Andes Mountains, located about 50 miles south of Quito.  It is the second highest summit in Ecuador, reading a height of 19,347 feet!

 

Cotopaxi erupted more than 50 times in 1738.  The most violent historical eruptions of Cotopaxi were in 1744, 1768, 1877 and 1904.  Its eruptions often produced pyroclastic flows and destructive mud flows (lahars).  Some lahars have traveled more than 100 km and reached the Pacific to the west and the Amazon Basin to the east.  At the moment, it has been dormant for over 70 years, which is an unusual long interval in its recent history.

 

Cotopaxi has an almost symmetrical cone that rises from a highland plain of about 12,500 feet with a width at its base of about 14 miles.  It has one of the few equatorial glaciers in the world, which starts at the height of 16,400 feet.  The mountain is clearly visible on the skyline from Quito (remember my photo I took at the airport when we landed?).  It is part of the chain of volcanoes around the Pacific plate known as the Pacific Ring of Fire.

 

Here's the sign to the entrance of Parque Nacional Cotopaxi.

Our first stop was the visitor's center where we got information about Cotopaxi and viewed the different exhibits.  As you can see from the sign below, Cotopaxi is known for its "everlasting snow" capped peak.



Here's Romy (left, 5-years old now) and Malin (right, 3-years old now) standing in front of a replica of Cotopaxi in the visitor's center.

It was a gloomy, cloudy day and we weren't too sure we'd even get a glimpse of this magnificent beauty because as the photo below shows, the top of the volcano from this overlook near the visitors center which was hidden in the clouds.

 Here are the girls giving Grammy directions on where to go next on the trail!

You know how much I love flora and fauna photos by now, don't you???  Anyway, here are some beautiful flowers that were lining the trail to the overlook.



 

 

Here's Grandpa walking the girls back to the car because our next stop will be driving up to the base of Cotopaxi for an up close and personal view ... hoping beyond hope that the clouds will clear!

 

Well, our trip to the base of the volcano disappointingly did not produce any clearer weather.  And to make things even worse on the way back to lunch the car had a flat tire ... it started to rain ... and Michael had to change the flat in the rain with all of us out of the vehicle ... and I had the distinct pleasure of entertaining the girls in the rain.  So what did we do?  We played ring around the rosie, we explored the tundra and the different small, delicate flowers, and we jumped in mud puddles ... of course!  Here's cloud-enshrouded Cotopaxi.

On our way back down, we came across a herd of wild horses.

These are the grounds where we ate a delicious lunch and spent a few minutes sitting in front of the big fireplace in the lodge. 

 



While sitting in front of the fireplace, Michael went out to do something (I just can't remember what) and he came running back in ... LET'S GET GOING ... THE CLOUDS HAVE LIFTED!!!  So we drove partway back up the road ... and this is the beautiful scenic view that God so graciously gave us of majestic Cotopaxi!

 

 

It's a fond farewell we are bidding to Ecuador.  We had a great visit with our grandkids, son, and daughter-in-law.  Their next State Department posting is in Nicaragua (he starts in August of this year) and it is a three-year posting.  So you may see something from us in a couple of years from Nicaragua!

 

In the meantime, Erica (our daughter-in-law) will be having baby girl #3 (late April).  Stay posted!

 

 

Revelation 1:7-8
BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."