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By Wendi Carman

Quito - The phone rang at 11:00 Friday night. It was Santiago, inviting me to spend the upcoming four day holiday weekend trekking in El Altar, a spectacular cathedral shaped volcano located near the Central Andean city of Riobamba. The adventure, he advised me, would involve waking up at 5 the next morning to drive seven hours south of Quito. I told him I would think about it and call him back. I had each day of the long weekend already planned out. I was going to sleep in, correct a pile of my students' essays, and have leisurely lunches with fellow teachers.

In a fit of inspiration, brought on by the realization that I had already lived in Ecuador for over three years and had yet to visit so many beautiful places, I decided I could accomplish these mundane and comfortable activities any weekend. I was going to El Altar!

At 6:30 AM on Saturday, we were on the road to Riobamba, our two cars packed full of gear and six climbers -- Santiago, Diego, Matthew, Mariano, Margarita and myself. Most of us were experienced mountain climbers. Santiago, having already climbed every significant snowy peak in Ecuador, was the most seasoned.

I met Santiago eight years ago while studying at a local Quito university. Since then, we have become good friends (and sometimes more). Diego and I met a year ago at Santi's 33rd birthday party, and, since then, we have been climbing and hiking buddies. Mariano-- a Spanish banker and a friend of Diego-- I met a few months earlier when I was invited to join him and Diego in a 14-km biking and running race. I was meeting the last two members of our group, Matt and Margarita, for the first time. Matt, a gringo like me, teaches at another English immersion school here. He is married to an Ecuadorian woman who, fortunately for him, also loves climbing, trekking and camping, but, unfortunately, couldn't come on the trip. Matt had already been to El Altar so it was decided that he would serve as our guide. Margarita, a lawyer and friend of Diego as well, confessed that it would be her first time carrying a back-pack or climbing a mountain. She seemed gutsy, so no one worried.

We arrived in Riobamba at 11:00 AM. Not far from the Plaza de Sucre, we stumbled upon the cozy Cafeteria Monte Caria, where we stopped to eat. After brunch, we piled into the cars again and headed for Penipe, northeast of Riobamba. From Penipe, we drove South towards Candelaria. Paved roads gave way to gravel and mud. Two hours later, we arrived at our destination, the Hacienda Releche. There is a hostal here called Capac Urcu, which is named after El Altar's Quichua name, meaning "most powerful lord of the mountains." Despite their invitation to hot showers and wholesome food, we decided to take advantage of the fleeting daylight to make it up to our campsite.