Mansfield Alumni Climbing Cotopaxi
Paul McEvoy (Geography, 1983) describes life in Ecuador
Scaling Cotopaxi’s Glacier Fifteen years in Latin America have given me the opportunity to live in a number of different countries, including Guatemala, Paraguay, Honduras and Panama. None of these countries is quite as special as Ecuador - a geographer’s paradise! Coincidentally, my boss (Tim Bower, Mansfield, Law 1980!) is also a keen fan and, during his visits, usually manages to put more mileage on my car than I do myself in six months.
mornings for a 30 to 40 minute ride. Within minutes one is in the countryside, riding along a disused railway line amongst dairy farms (where they still milk by hand). Dogs are the main hazard. At least the goats don’t bite! Ecuador offers incredibly varied landscapes, from Pacific coastlines and mangrove swamps to snow capped Andean volcanoes, and from the islands of the Galapagos to the Amazon jungle. Ecuador’s highest peak is Chimborazo and, at 6,310 metres above sea level, is actually further from the Earth’s centre than is Everest (I’ll let you try to work that one out – answers on a postcard, please!)
I work as Country Manager, Ecuador for Lloyds TSB Bank. Though the office is in Quito, we live a dramatic 20 minute drive (and 400 metre descent) into the valley of Cumbaya (still 2,400 metres above sea level.) The weather in Cumbaya is noticeably warmer and drier than the capital in which, given the altitude, one can experience the four seasons in a single day.
Ecuador’s most loved mountain is Cotopaxi. At 5,897 metres, it is the world’s highest active volcano. Whilst its last eruption was 200 years ago, the 2 metre boulder (erratic) in my neighbour’s garden (60 kilometres from Cotopaxi) is testament to its power. It has a classic
Here I have switched from Oxford’s traditional form of transportation (mine was an upright with 3 gears) to a much more sophisticated mountain bike. I go out most
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