Our Guide, Rafael, and his trusty truck!
On Saturday afternoon, I met our mountaineering guide and driver for the week, Rafael. He is short, probably 5 feet tall, but with broad shoulders and calf muscles the size of my thighs. Within the first 30 minutes of our meeting, I was informed that he had summited Everest twice, Manaslu once, and Denali eight times. It was an impressive resume. He explained to me that he also does personal training and fitness coaching, along with running his guide service. He trained in Chamonix and he happens to have climbed Cotopaxi over 670 times! We were in good hands and I couldn’t wait to climb some mountains!
Our first order of business was to went to fetch Tilden at the airport, then we would travel straight to Otavalo. It took us a couple hours to reach Otavalo and we stopped once for coffee and biscochos (like biscotti). I was so excited to see Tilden and we were both equally stoked to be climbing mountains in Ecuador.
Craft Market in Otavalo, Ecuador
The vendors routinely carry these bags to and from the market to the trucks for transport! It probably weighed 400 pounds and I couldn’t even lift it an inch!
After the craft market, we met up with Rafael for dinner and then walked around Otavalo. It would be an early start, for our hike up Fuya-Fuya, so we didn’t stay out too late.
Tribute to Ruminahui
