kuixihe's blog

As of today i only have $260. Ive set aside $40 for emergency, as in, it should be good enough to cover food for 3 days, taxi and bus ticket back to quito where my flight leaves... and 2 nights at a hostel if need be. that leaves me with $220 to spend on bs.

Doesnt help that tomorrow im going to Banos and will be droping all my cash on doing some fun things as Banos is the adventure capital of ecuador.

I think ive got just enough to not be in a dangerous situation, my credit card is in Quito, so I have no access to it, not that i would spend it anyway, i have aboslutely no problems buming around for a day. it would be pretty cool, well for me atleast. Some solitude would be nice.

I cant believe its been a month, no....thats a lie, i totally can because its driving me nuts.

I really need to learn spanish this year. Thats my new years resoltution! I really want to come back to South America next year, to Peru especially, but i want to do it myself. So learning spanish will be tough considering my class load.

Ive been feeling a lot better as far as my stomach pains go. I dont have a scale on me, but it looks like ive lost a lot of weight from the photos ive taken of myself.

im trying to organize my thoughts into a blog, but im just too hungry, but have no appitite to really eat. i think im going to roll to the super market here buy some beef and make myself a burger, or as my friend dane calls it, a bubba burger!

I dont know when it happened but for the past 4 days ive been sick. Just constantly in the bathroom. Might of been some questionable food i ate ( ya'll know how i just about eat anything). Ive been feeling pretty weak lately because nothing i eat gets absorbed. But my friend isha said to take some immodium and ive been taking it easy for the past 2 days, though tomorrow is a trip out to the amazon rain forest for several days. Hopefully I won't die there with malaria or some other crazy shit.

I had a chance to make it back to sea level in a beach about 6 hours away for teh weekend. It was great to finnaly breathe again. I'm used to 9000 feet now, i dont get head aches or anything any more. Though when i bend down to tie my shoe lace and i push the air out of my lungs i still feel a bit out of breathe, i still need to take deep breathes like i was doing some strenuous activity. The amazon is onlyu several hundred feet above sea level, so the air there, though moist will be much denser.

as far as this bowl issue goes, getting sick on a trip is never fun. Just hope i get better soon!

see you guys!

Cotopaxi, A Beast of Nature (Day 8)

Cotopaxi....the big one. My first volcano, and my first real climb. I've been fighting altitude sickness since the day I landed, lack of sleep and diet issues. Suddenly jumping to 15,000 feet to begin the climb isn't the smartest thing to do at this point. You are suppose to take a few weeks to fully acclimatize yourself to this type of altitude if you are used to sea level like I am (born and raised in NYC)

The drive started to Cotopaxi National Park from Latacunga at 10am at 8900 feet. 2 hours through rough terrain will make your stomach queasy if you get motion sickness easily. After getting off the Pan American highway, the roads were completely unpaved and filled with cracks from the shifting terrain.

Our first rest stop was at the entrance to the park...or what is to be the entrance, you'd think with this much tourism here....oh wait, never mind, most people aren't dumb enough to climb an active volcano in the middle of the night! Or should I say adventurous enough? There were some small items for sale but nothing of real interest. I later realized that most trinkets in Ecuador repeat them selves from town to town.

A few more miles down the road was an official rest area. You are suppose to be able to see Cotopaxi from Latacunga, but the cloud cover was too great this time of year (rainy season). At the rest stop however, we could see a bit of her as the clouds passed by. This was the first time I'd seen the volcano it self. Aside from flying over her on the way to Guayaquil.

Some breakfast, corn and...coca leaves???? Not sure if thats coca as in chocolate, or coca as in cocaine... I've never seen this until I got to this rest stop. It was a refreshing tea none the less.

Of course an obligatory eating pic! The driver and our guide in the background.

This was a random mailbox that I sent a postcard out from. I really didn't trust that it would even get to a real post office. The guy said it would take 5 days to get there, and I eventually got word that it took about 15 days to get to Staten Island New York. This mailbox was literally in the middle of no where. I guess its the thought that counts!

We changed into our hiking gear and got ready to drive up to the parking lot where we would begin our trek. On the way to the parking lot was through wide open flatlands that were littered with volcanic rocks from millions of years of eruptions. Our next stop was the parking lot to the Jose Rivas Refuge. The parking lot is 1 hour from the refuge. Unless you had a crazy 4x4 that could make it up the hill, otherwise you'd need to hike it.

Heres our driver with his little car that could. This car has probably been in service for more than 10 years! Surprised it has lasted this long!

Once we made it to the parking lot, we had to hike it to the refuge. The hike sucked because we brought so much crap with us. Its just uphill for 1 kilometer. You can see my wolf ear hats. By the time I reached the Jose Rivas Refuge, my hat was frozen solid from the dew that was developing and sub zero temperatures. Of course I was sweating bullets from all the insulation I was wearing.

After an hour of hiking, we got sight of the refuge with the yellow roof.

I sent out a post card with the image of the refuge camp, this is the little yellow roof thats in that postcard. If you look at photos of the jose rivas refuge, this is where the climbing begins. But we will spend the next few hours eating and sleeping.

The welcome sign at the door

steaming off the sweat.

We were fed 3 meals in 3 hours to pack us full of energy for the climb that begins at midnight. Our guide cooked us some Ecuadorian Lo Mein with brocolli (a vegetable that I would never see again in Ecuador).

I had such a huge headache by the time we reached the refuge that I spent as much time sleeping as I could, which really wasn't much time. The altitude was causing so much pain in my inner ear and eyes. I would fall asleep on the dinner table every few minutes and wake up in immense pain. This whole altitude thing can really compound on you if you are sensitive or unprepared to the pressure changes. I was hoping the pain would subside if I went to bed.

I went to sleep around 7pm and woke up several times with massive headaches. I don't think I've ever wanted to be at sea level more than that instance. At one point I was trying to walk to the bathroom, but I kept stumbling and tripping over myself because I was so unbalanced. The bathroom was an out house about 50 ft away and getting out of bed, down the stairs to the outhouse nearly resulted in me falling off the volcano just because I tripped and fell several times. If no one was looking, I might of shed some tears! Its okay for grown men to cry! Just not in the company of others!

I didnt manage to sleep and most everyone woke up between 11 and midnight preparing their pack for the climb.

Breakfast was just some bologna and cheese with bread and hot tea.

I know I should of spent more time taking pics, but I honestly couldn't even think straight. My headache was getting somewhat better, though in reality I think it was just the fact that I was getting used to being in pain. I looked like I was drunk the whole time. Which is how cristhian described the whole time I was there. Id take 2 steps and trip. Get up and repeat.

The moon and Orion's belt with Betelgeuse in a fashionable red hue right before we begin our accent into frozen hell.

Our guide checking Cristians gear and a steam coming of a hot jug of water in the foreground.

We began our accent at midnight making our way up slowly. As we go up, the snow begins to turn into hard chunks of frozen snow, and slowly into full ice. To help us climb in these conditions, we wear things called cramp ons, which are basically chain spikes that we strap to our boots.

In this picture our guide is helping Cristhan strap his cramp ons onto his boot.

Here is another group of people doing the same.

After an hour of climbing I began to really run out of breathe. I hadn't spend much time prepping for this considering how poor my sleep and diet has been in the past several days. Compounded with really bad altitude sickness and increasing altitude and high physical exertion, I didn't give myself long before I really had to give up. But I pressed on for as long as I could. Wobbling and tripping the whole way up.

After another hour, I was really at the point where I couldn't do it anymore. The guide said that I wouldn't last much longer because the air just gets thinner and thinner. If I continue at this pace, I would never make it to the top. So in the best interest of the group, I turned around. If it was up to me, I would of let them pressed forward and continued on my own pace. I knew I would of never made it to the top, but I'd at least get to watch the sunrise. But that thought never occurred to me since the headache was getting worst and I was in a robot mode where i did what the guide told me and headed down.

This is where I stopped. About 17,000 feet

I can't even begin to describe how disappointed I was when I turned around.. Its hard to describe the feeling you get when you know that you could of done it if you spent more time preparing for it. But in the end, I wasn't ready. I made it 1/3 of the way up before losing out.

But that wasn't the end of that story for me. I have a knack for getting into sketchy situations.
I was following the moon light back down, tracing our tracks. But as we ascended a snow storm must of came by because the tracks suddenly stopped and disappeared. The refuge was definitely down there somewhere so I continued on, but one bad stepped led to me losing my footing and next thing I know it I'm sliding down the side of a mountain that has a slope over 45 degrees. I don't know how long or fast I slid, but I couldn't stop. I dug my ice pick into the snow and stuck my boot into the shoe, but the snow was too soft to stop me, so I couldn't do anything but enjoy the ride down.

When I finally stopped, I snapped this pic. It is a no BS pic of how steep the volcano really was.

And then here I am stuck somewhere lost with no idea where I am on the side of a volcano. No lights to guide me, no beacons to tell me where I am in reference to the refuge.

I spent the next hour or so trying to figure out where I was. I either slide passed the refuge camp, or I had not yet reached it. I wasn't sure and there wasn't enough light to figure it out. I remembered I snapped some photos earlier on with the GPS information (my camera has built in GPS for lat and long coordinates) so I decided to tag this photo with the GPS coordinates and then compare them to my earlier photos. But strangely, the GPS coordinates were't saved with the old photo, just the altitude (thanks techonolgy!) and even more unfortunate was that the altimeter is based on local air pressure which kept changing because of moving wind systems.

With a heavy fog coming in (or really because we were so damn high, its just clouds at this point) and howling -10 degree winds, I sat there trying to figure out what to do. So I did the first thing that came to mind. I broke out my food and had a nice little meal of chocolate, nuts and some Gatorade. I didn't bring a fire starting kit. It wasn't like there was anything to burn anyway.

I was already tired as hell from being constantly out of breathe from the altitude, so it didn't help that I was lost in the middle of a huge patch of snow with a insanely steep cliff and no one around to help me. What a crappy way to end a night! Luckily I'm a hot body, so I wasn't cold. And the Jose Rivas Refuge had a bright yellow roof, so one of my options was to just wait till the sun rise and ill make my way there. Not that big of a deal. Then I saw several people making their way down. More than hour had already passed and I guess this is where most people gave in. I waited to see their headlamps and which way they went hoping that I would know if the camp is below me, or above me. All the lights disappeared behind a giant rock, so I thought making it up hill was the right call. The giant rock was probably the refuge. I spent an hour trying to reach the refuge, but I had a hunch that I was going the wrong way.

This is all I could really see the whole time.

Then I remember I had a green flash light on me so I started flashing it at people. Eventually my guide noticed it from several thousand feet high and took all but 5 minutes to come rushing down what took nearly 4 hours for him to climb. Turns out I made the wrong choice and was heading the wrong way. The refuge was still below us. We eventually made our way to the camp, Cristian linked up with another group and was still up on the mountain about 3 hours from the summit but he ended up turning around as well.

So congrats to Cristian for making it as high as he did, and here is a pic of him near the summit. Jealousy ensues!

Of all the people in the camp, I only know about 5 people who said they made it to the top, considering there were probably 30-40 people at the refuge to begin with, its not a lot. Most of those who made it up were people who were used to the altitude (people from the mountains in Norway, Switzerland, or the french alps).

On the way back down that morning and finally a clean shot of the volcano on top

The guide and myself on the way down

and my freezing ass in the parking lot

and by some random lagoon with another mountain in the background.

In the end, the refuge camp was at 15,500 feet, the summit was at 19,000 feet. I stopped at 17,000 feet and I think Cristian was at 18,000 feet. The last 1,000 feet is suppose to be the most difficult.

This was definitely the most challenging thing I've ever even attempted to do and it will stay at the top of the list until I decide to go back and finish it. And I definitely will come back with more physical training to finish this and then perhaps the 3 other volcanoes in this area.

In this case, determination and will power can only get you so far. You still need to take that extra step to really make something you want, happen. So Cotopaxi, I will be back for you! I feel a bit ashamed that I didn't train harder for this because I'm usually the guy who is over prepared. The altitude is what ultimately killed me. My body isn't as efficient with oxygen usage as I thought, so that just means that I need to really step up my gym training and get that endurance up before I attempt this again. However the challenging aspect of it is something I really enjoy so I will definitely plan some climbs back home in New York because you give 110% when you are up there. You dig so deep to really figure out who you are, and nothing can really push your limits until you try to conquer mother nature her self.

My eyes, hands, head, feet, legs...quite literally every part of my body was aching. While I was up there, every time my heart pumped, I could see the blood vessels in my vision swelling.

There are a lot of things I wished I did or didn't do. But in the end what happened happened. I don't leave business unfinished, especially something of this magnitude. But for now, I will have to say I was defeated and need to come back with a new strategy to conquer Cotopaxi.

This is a picture back at 11,000 feet. Feeling somewhat human again from a lesser headache, and lesser pain overall.

A Day of Rest (Day 5)

What a relaxing day it was! Finally some good old rest and no physical exertion! I woke up around 9am and had some Ecuadorian eggs for breakfast, which means they are all yolk and no egg white. I guess we are spoiled back in the states with our JUMBO eggs.

The goal for today was to find a guide that will take us up to Cotopaxi. Somewhere in the central part of Latacunga were about 4-6 touring agencies that will take you on a 2 day trip to Cotopaxi. We ended up getting a good deal with a group called Volcan Route (volcanroute.com).

The final price was $150 per a person, gear included. This includes a nights stay at the refugee at the base of the volcano, transportation to the site and the guide himself. What's insane is that the guide does this all the time, just goes up and down all the major climbing sites. That guy has to be a beast!

Pics of my gear

The owner gave us a pack list outside of the gear. He said 2 liters of water, 1 liter of Gatorade, lots of chocolate, and he also gave us some tea to help deal with the altitude sickness that we will run into. Something that I think I will be very susceptible too. Cotopaxi's summit (the very top) is 19,000+ feet. As we ascend we will be zig zagging the face of the volcano to avoid climbing such a steep slope. As of writing this blog, it is 7:44pm Monday the 9th. We leave tomorrow morning, Tuesday the 10th at 10am for a 2 hour drive out to Cotopaxi where we will spend that day learning to use the cramp ons and navigating icy terrain. A little bit of sight seeing, and in bed by 4-6pm. After which we will begin our bid to summit cotopaxi at 12midnight. Or to be exact at 12:00am Wednesday 11th. The goal is to reach the summit by 6 or 7am and be back by afternoon.

This is the tour owner, Cristian and myself (we'll be meeting the guide tomorrow). Notice how my neck looks a bit chubby.

For this particular trip, we will be having the aid of a waning full moon (just 2 days past a full moon to be precise). We will also be in the comfort of -5 degree Centigrade, or about 25 degrees Fahrenheit. In my motorcycling experience, 25 degrees in my full gear is more than enough. That is including the fact that I am moving about 50-70mph and completely immobile on a bike. With full gear on and moving, I will damn sure be sweating my ass off, and if there are cold winds, I will be just perfect.

As far as food goes, I will be bringing some chocolate, almonds, Gatorade and maybe some bread. This should be a good way to sustain my energy through the top.

On the issue of food, Ive lost a lot of my appetite because I'm not used to the food here. It tastes great, but it lacks a lot of what I'm used to. At some points I'm eating for the sake of eating, even though I'm not hungry. I just know I need to keep my energy resources high enough to last me this whole climb.

Then there is the lack of oxygen. Quiltoa took 1 hour to climb less than 1,000 feet. We have a little over 5500 feet, and 6 hours to climb for cotopaxi.

From the experience I've had so far There is a SERIOUS issue with not being able to breathe at that height for me. I don't know if this will be what ultimately knocks me out or what. The Laguna, and the first mountain we hiked, I was having severe headaches already and Cotopaxi will be even higher than that.

As for load bearing, I weigh 145lbs. With all my gear, I will be coming in at a total of 180lbs or about 35lbs of gear. About 10lbs of that will be shed in terms of water and food as we reach the top. It doenst seem like a lot, but it really heavy once you throw it on.

Then there is not being able to see in the dark. Since our climb begins at midnight, we will be climbing with only the reflection of the moon and a LED headlamp. It is really up to guide to get us up there. But with the moon and some headlamps, I'm confident this shouldn't be much of an issue, but it will make pictures difficult.

So thats really about it. Its just time to grab some dinner now and call it a night. Hopefully I wont run into as many sleeping problems as I did yesterday. What am I craving right now more than ever? Rice!

Now that we are done talking about the Cotopaxi prep, lets take a look at the town of Latagunca.

Latacunga is quite a small place, and its not too populated. Most tourist here are here for the climbing tours of the 2 local volcanoes and the laguna.

The town has a really French quarters feel to it, just without the arcitecture.

Theres also a central perk here! I just hope that weird waiter gunter isnt the same owner!

Most of the town was closed since it was around 2pm when I took these photos. They all close down for lunch time and reopen around 4ish.

This is a local university.

Some wall muruals

A park with a small reservoir that has ton of moss growing on it

And I finnaly found some Chinese food! Okay, it sucked! You really get spoiled eating food in New York. But I chomped it down either way.

at high noon the sun can beat down and make it feel like a scorching 90degrees even though its only 70. long sleeves or sun block is a must.

This is the local JROTC equivalent. Running to cadence.

if you look closely, it was a young boy that was trying to sneak some candy through the crack of this gate that leads to a elementary school. It seems like im taking a cold war photo!

We ended the day at an americanized sandwich shop called Que Vida. They had decorations from all types of American shows from the simpsons, betty bop, various disney characters, of course the fonze, scarface and so on. It later turns out the owner is a good friend of someone that I'm staying with. This is how their menu looks like, which is pretty original and unique.

and of course since today is monday, it is also a full moon....hiding behind some midnight clouds

And with that, it is now midnight, good night to everyone! And off to cotopaxi tomorrow! Ciao!

From Ecuador! I told a bunch of my friends to check this page for my blog updates, but the reality is that the internet where i am is crappy. Not much i can do as far as uploading pics, so ill keep this brief. When i make it back to Quito ill find some better internet and hopefully upload all the blogs ive been keeping on my own computer and pics.

We linked up with a tour guid for cotopaxi already. its $150 per a person for 2 day trip up to the top. There are apparently 2 routes. One is more challenging than the other, but the good thing is, cotopaxi is only -5C so its not too cold. Defintely doable with just long johns and some good pants. No need for a thick heavy jacket.

We are planning to hit the amazon next week, and this weekend will be some beach and finnaly back to sea level.

The altitude here really takes its toll on you if you try to be physically active the moment you get here. I´ve been hanging out at 8900 feet the whole time and its been several days. so im feeling pretty good now.

Even though ive only been here for just 5 days, its felt like much more than that.

Everyone is really nice and apparently, my name is pronounced the same way as a popular local dish called Cui. which is actually roasted guinea pig. Doesnt taste too good, but well worth a try!

Ive been feeling pretty foodsick since im so used to a lot of rice and veggies. Theres definitely rice here, but its not the same and veggies are far and few. I need my bak choy son!!!!

The best part about this trip is knowing someone who is local so we can get away from the tourist spots and really get to look at this place.

I´ve hardly been able to sleep more than an hour or 2 at a time here. So my sleeping pattern is REALLY messed up. Ive only got 1 movie on my computer, and ironically, its INCEPTION! Ive seen the movie over 4 times by now trying to fall asleep.

Anyway, ive got some great pics coming in a few days (most likely thursday).

For any one who ive meet, or anyone back home who wants to reach me, my cell is 084 352 523. thats the local number, and the area code is 593, not sure about country code or what not. Well ring me up! ciao!