Christmas at the Black Sheep Inn

Christmas away from home is always difficult for me. Growing up, Christmas was something that we looked forward to for months and Mum and Dad managed to make it last not just one but several days. I am still such a big kid when it comes to the day itself and really enjoy the process of buying and giving gifts (I'm quite partial to receiving them too!) so this year was always going to be hard. We are not only miles away from home but quite literally in the middle of nowhere here at the Black Sheep Inn. While that is its great appeal we found that it didn't feel at all like Christmas here. We had decided to have a relaxing day as we'd done a couple of long hikes on the days before but with hindsight we probably should have planned an activity as a relaxing day can make for a long one when you're not really where you want to be. Don't get me wrong, we're having a lovely time but I really felt the distance yesterday and I think it dawned on me that we 're going to be away for a really long time.

It was not all doom and gloom though. Simon surprised me with a lovely gift (a gift token for Mallory jewellers to be used on our return) and we had a wonderful dinner with the other guests here on Christmas evening. The dinner was also topped off by a big sing song lead by a very musical family who were staying here. The day certainly ended better than it began!

We decided, after much deliberation, to travel with our laptop and it has really proved it's worth over the past couple of days with both Simon and I being able to call home via Skype to wish our families a happy Christmas. It was wonderful to be able to talk to them all (despite the delay on the satellite line) and it really made our day. I must say that the 'internet cafe' here really beats any I've ever been to before. We sat in the treehouse overlooking the hills and clouds below us to make our calls and check our email. This really is testament to the speed with which technology is making advances...that we can sit in a treehouse in the high Andes of Ecuador and call the UK via a wireless satellite connection! We were even able to lend out our laptop so that another couple here could call home and surprise their families which was lovely.

Today is 'Boxing Day' (although no such thing exists outside the UK) and we decided to go for a long walk to keep ourselves busy and get in some more acclimatisation for our Cotopaxi climb. We walked in a big loop from the Inn, passing through a small village, following the river past an unusual sand bar and gorge to a suspension bridge (which tested my nerve - see Simon's photos) and finally visiting an Italian mission and word work studio. The walk was again breathtakingly beautiful but we were caught out by a huge downpour on the steep ascent out of the valley. The walk was about four and a half hours long in total, with the first hour and a half being all downhill and the last two and a half hours being all uphill! We were both thoroughly exhausted and absolutely drenched by the time we made it back to the lodge at the Black Sheep. A hot shower, some food and a couple of cups of tea later, I feel revived.

We leave the Black Sheep Inn tomorrow morning to make our way to Cotopaxi National Park in preparation for our attempt at the summit of Volcan Cotopaxi on Saturday morning. We are hopefully going to share a lift in a truck to Latacunga and then make our way by bus to Hostal Valhalla tomorrow (that would surely beat the 4am bus out of Chugchilan, which is our only other option). We will sleep at Hostal Valhalla tomorrow (Thursday) night and then meet our climbing group on Friday morning. We then travel together to the edge of Cotopaxi, walking the last 45 minutes to the refuge which is at 4800m in altitude. Friday afternoon is spent doing some basic training in the use of crampons and ice axes on the edge of the glacier followed by some food and a very short nights rest in the bunkroom. We leave the refuge at 12 midnight and climb through the early hours of Saturday morning, hopefully making the summit 6 - 8 hours later! I'll let you know in a few days whether our attempt at the summit was a success (many people fail to reach the top due to altitude and exhaustion - we've been told it's a case of mental strength...not sure where I stand on that one!). Wish us luck.

S