A Cotopaxi Farewell

Waiting for the clouds to clear from the peak of Cotopaxi, my husband and I set off on an exploratory hike around the grounds of Hacienda el Porvenier. Our guide, Giovi, remained at the lodge to watch Chile vs. Brazil in the world cup, a game I would have watched myself had I not been standing at the base of a volcano which contained one of the world’s only equatorial glaciers. We started the incline through a field of lavender and quinoa, encountering horses and llamas the higher we climbed. When Cotopaxi was finally revealed, we eagerly snapped a few photos, knowing that the moodiness of the weather wouldn’t allow us to glimpse the giant for long.  Lowering our cameras, we watched as the clouds lovingly tucked Cotopaxi back into bed, then returned to the hacienda just in time to watch Brazil defeat their Chilean neighbors. We toasted the victory with steaming mugs of Canelazo before returning to Quito, luggage in tow, for our flights back to the United States.