Feeling a little tired of the same ol’ same ol’? Burnt out from your 9 – 5? Then why not fulfill a childhood fantasy and sign up to drive some cattle? That was never your fantasy, you say? Well, I didn’t say you were the child in question. A little egocentric, aren’t we? Anyway, why not make like Billy Crystal, wrangle some cattle, and get out there to find your inner cowperson? Only, instead of the American southwest, why not give it a shot on the slopes of Cotopaxi Volcano? You could be riding alongside the chagras (Ecuadorian cowboys) herding Spanish bred fighting bulls through the Andes in no time.
It may sound like a lot of work for a vacation, but rest assured, two things are surely going to make this absolutely worth your while:
1) The views - You’ll be on the slopes of Cotopaxi Volcano need I remind you. Cotopaxi is something worth seeing in your life (see picture for confirmation). Side note: Not all cowboys of the world look like John Wayne or Clint Eastwood (see picture again).
2) The food - You’ll also be eating traditional Andean dishes (locro, caldo, torilla de papa, corn). I won’t go into any more detail there. Those of you that have experienced this type of food will know exactly what I’m talking about, and those of you who have not yet had the opportunity will not be let down - believe me. After a day of rounding up cattle you’ll gather around the fire having achieved the famed appetite of a cowboy/cowgirl, and the food will not disappoint.
Not interested in chasing a bunch of moo moos around a mountain? There are tamer options, too. You could just have one of the chagras walk your horse on a leash for a while, for instance. Chagras are very accommodating.