One of my milestones of 2013 was to see the Cotopaxi Volcano during my trip to Ecuador.

Unfortunately, a visit to the Cotopaxi National Park was not possible. But before I left Quito I got to pay my respects to this wonder of nature...

On our last morning in Quito, my best friend Giuseppina, her sister, her mother and me had breakfast at our friend Santiago's house, where we were staying. We hurried because we had to catch an early flight to Guayaquil, and we had heard from our ecuadorean friends that traffic jams heading to Tababela (The town nearest to the new international airport Mariscal Sucre) were pretty normal.
So, that morning of blue skies and sunshine turned into one of the most moving moments of the trip: I got to see the magnificent cone-shaped snow-covered Cotopaxi from the car.

Cotopaxi volcano as seen from the car!

A morning drive heading to the airport

When we got to the terminal of domestic flights it was chaos. No lines, no signs, no help. We had to fight our way to the avianca counter where we luckily checked-in and relaxed. While waiting for boarding time, I remembered the sights from earlier that morning. But that wasn't the last time I was gonna look at the Cotopaxi...
Already in the plane, I sat next to 2 men. My seat was facing the aisle. I guess I must have looked very touristy, so the guy sitting next to me started a conversation. To be honest, I don't remember his name, but I will forever cherish what was about to happen...
He asked me about the reason I was traveling through Ecuador and we spoke for a couple of minutes. I began to listen to music, when he pulled my cardigan. "Look outside", he said, "You're right now looking at the Cotopaxi Volcano". My eyes couldn't believe what they were seeing: the absolutely most breathtaking views of the Cotopaxi Volcano. 

Cotopaxi Volcano

I was taking pictures and recording videos, when the guy sitting next to the window suddenly closed it. My hero, the man sitting next to me, was there for me and kindly asked the window guy to open it for me so I could enjoy the view. There, in front of my eyes, not only the Cotopaxi, but other volcanoes appeared through the oval-shaped hole. Later on, the man explained I was now looking at the inactive volcano Chimborazo, Ecuador's tallest mountain.

Chimborazo volcano, Ecuador's highest peak

To sum it up, I had a great morning between chaos and volcanoes and by the time I arrived in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest and most populous city, for the last part of my trip, I had already fallen in love with Ecuador.