Cotopaxi Questival: A Questivus for the rest of us
There’s a difference between a race and an adventure race. You can’t train, you can’t really plan, your nutrition is likely to go out the window. But you still need a competitive spirit, endurance, and “llamazing” teammates and supporters. Without giving away all the surprises, here’s some of our adventures and mis-adventures on the Cotopaxi Questival.
Breakfast at a moon tower. Austin is the only city in the world known to still have moon towers.
When my hiking friend, Kimberlee, told me about this race, I was in. And yes, as a matter of fact I do have four other crazy friends, Kari, Rich, Dana and Bill, who would be up for it. This is the pitch: spend 24 hours with little sleep traveling around Austin c
ompleting unknown tasks. I feel like I should have asked more questions, but surprises make the journey. Kari, Bill and I competed in the Cap2Coast Relay together, so spending many smelly hours in a car with little sleep wasn’t new to us.
Even though you don’t know what the tasks are until 24 hours before the race start, we did know they would fall into the categories of camping, teamwork, food, service and adventure. Basically the challenge is to do things you don’t normally do – and some of those things are for good reason.
The first step was to come up with a clever team name. We chose “Llama said knock you out”, since Cotopaxi’s brand mascot is a llama. The night before the race we met up for about four hours of strategizing. We finally called it a night knowing we needed a good night’s rest. We only planned for a mere four hours of sleep during the race (we ended up getting less than three).
The race started at 7pm on Friday, and most of the team took off work to pack, plan and organize. We arrived at the race start at 5pm, and would end at 7pm the following night. Each team is given a totem that must be in every task’s picture or video, so you don’t try to complete any tasks before the official start. We downloaded the Questify app, which listed each task, every team page and rank and sent notifications. Being unprepared for technology to fail was part of the mis-adventure.
Every adventure should start with a dance party!
Two hours in, we had already completed five tasks. Each task is assigned points, so completing many tasks is as important as completing high value tasks and we could follow our ranking in the app. And then we got a flat tire. None of us had a vehicle big enough for the six of us, so we had to take two cars. After changing the flat, we switched out that car with another, so we wouldn’t waste time getting it fixed.
From beginning…
to the end. We took a lot of selfies.
We arrived at our camp site about 12:30am, and were on our way again by 6 so we could catch the sunrise. It was nice when we could take a few minutes to be still and enjoy the journey. I was worried we would be so stressed trying to complete the challenges that we would stop having fun, but for me that wasn’t the case. When I looked back at the photos we were laughing in so many of them, and we are still laughing about some of the stunts we pulled.
Our expressions speak volumes. Yes, he ate worm and yes, it was horrible.
Getting creative with our photos.
Not only were we tasked with completing as many challenges as possible, we also wanted to take creative photos. If you
make the top ten teams, then you judged by your peers based on the photos and videos you submitted. While we weren’t even close to the top ten, we finished in a respectable 69th out of 523 teams. Considering my goals were to finish top 100, and to have fun, I feel like we won.
The Questival is stopping in about 45 cities this year, and Austin was just the first stop. The organization of the event had some hiccups, but for the $35 entry fee which included a Cotopaxi Luzon backpack we didn’t have much to lose. The backpack itself is pretty cool because the seamstresses who make them pick the colors, so no two are exactly alike.
The race is chose-your-own-adventure style, and you can stop at any time. We competed until the very last minute, but there were so many tasks we wanted but didn’t have time to do. I have to say I was definitely stretched out of my comfort zone with the lack of sleep and having to talk to strangers, but for all the laughs we shared it was worth it.
Tips:
- Decide ahead of time what’s your mission; to have win or to have fun. We are super competitive but wanted both.
- Bring healthy snacks. It was a long day and we had no real meals. High brew and candy only get you so far.
- Have fun! I was worried we’d kill each other, but nope I just adore my teammates more!
Photo credits: Bill Maroon, and Kimberlee Arce
Singapore slings and Bali beaches
Singapore
I have to confess I almost didn’t go to Singapore. My friend, Lynda, got a stellar deal on this specific itinerary, but since I didn’t know anything about Singapore I contemplated spending a couple more days in Tokyo. I’m so glad I changed my mind, despite the seven hour flight.
I didn’t really know what to expect in Singapore, except that they spoke English. Our two days there were jam packed and perfect. The first day we walked around the Botanical Gardens and then paid to enter the rightfully famous orchid garden. The orchids were some of the most colorful I’d ever seen, and worth the $3USD entry fee.
Chili crab is best eaten with friends and while wearing plastic food service gloves.
This was probably the most time all six of us were together, so we went looking for chili crab, one of Singapore’s national dishes. We knew it was going to be messy when we saw food prep gloves on the table, and it was. I also enjoyed a Tiger prawn and Tiger beer before I headed to the Marina Bay Sands Hotel; after two nights in capsule hotels, I splurged. The threatening rain clouds couldn’t even keep me out of the hotel’s infinity pool that overlooked the city 50 floors up.
Met A Space Pod – Capsule hotel. From this…
To this. Palm tree in the sky at the rooftop infinity pool.
The group decided to split up, so I spent about a day checking out the sites by myself. And there was plenty to keep me
busy. There’s a light show that runs three times each night on the bay for about 15 minutes, I watched it twice. The Gardens by the Bay also has a light show and because it was November it was Christmas themed. I walked over to the Gardens by the Bay and laid down under the trees to enjoy the show. The holiday spirit was upon me when I heard Mariah’s All I Want For Christmas! As I walked by the food court, I was surprised to see a restaurant called ‘Texas Chicken’, who’s logo looks a lot like Church’s Chicken. Mariah and fried chicken? I felt right at home.
Texas Chicken!
I hit the hay about 11:30 pm and set my alarm for 4 am. While we were walking around that first morning, I saw a banner for a women’s race that was starting right by the hotel. 
Problem was everyone I asked either didn’t know anything about it or told me there was no day of registration, but I had to find out for myself. I didn’t know the distance, how much it cost or if I would even be able to register but I knew it started at 5 am, and that I would be there if only to cheer on the runners. But God is good and when I showed up at 4:30, of course they let me register. The race would highlight a half marathon, but also included a 10k and 5k. I handed the volunteer all my cash which gained me a 5k entry and a feeling of home. To line up with all those ladies at a start line reminded me that we really are very similar. I couldn’t have been more thankful for that moment. The weather in Singapore was quite warm and humid, similar to the weather at home, so I ran quite well. After collecting my metal and customary finisher photo, I headed back to the hotel for one last dip in the infinity pool.
The best thing I ate in Singapore were these soft bread ducks filled with yam, and they look cute too!
I met up with one of my travel buddies, and we decided to take the cable car from Faber Peak to Sentosa Island. Sentosa is a touristy area with a Universal Studios, Wax Museum, aquarium, restaurants, and a beach. It was a pretty cool area, but basically the same tourist trap as every big city. While my friend did the Luge, I took a nap on a bench. Ten days of go-go-go was catching up to me.
This is not what I expected to see in the vending machine.
Prawn and crab flavored snacks are popular, as are hotdogs for breakfast.
Our last stop was the Raffles Hotel, the spot that originated the Singapore Sling. This drink has too interesting of a backstory to skip. Now we could officially leave. I recommend checking out that hotel, it’s beautiful and the gin isn’t so bad either. Now we just had a short flight to our final destination – Bali.
A bag of peanuts accompany your drink. It’s ok to toss the shells on the floor, but don’t get caught littering anywhere else.
Bali
We would spend our last three days in Indonesia. Relaxing on the beach was exactly how I wanted to end a long two 
weeks of traveling. The food in Bali was quite good and cheap. So, we ate well, got massages and bought cheap souvenirs. Our second morning we decided to explore more of the island, so we hired a driver to drive us around for the day. The first stop was a place to snorkel. After negotiating the price of about $25 for each of us we got on a little boat that took us to a nearby cove. I had to laugh when one of the girls asked where the life jackets were and the guy said back on shore because we didn’t pay for them. The snorkeling was just OK at that spot, but it was the first time I saw an octopus and that alone made it worth my $25. The beaches were quite nice but the water wasn’t crystal clear there like other places I’ve been. Apparently, those beaches are located on nearby islands.
It was our last day and I was determined to surf before we left. I stepped into a surf school and for two hours it only cost about 25 bucks. Although I didn’t really need a lesson, my coworker did so I joined in. We surfed in the white water for an exhausting hour and a half and it was a blast.
Time to get some souvenirs!
Now one more massage before we are off to the airport and head home. I had no desire to spend any time in Jakarta but our return flight started there, so we took the last flight out of Bali. We only had about 4 hours to sleep before we caught our flights home. I was impressed that the free continental breakfast started at 3am, I guess there are a lot of early flights. I wasn’t looking forward to the 30 hour travel time, but I was ready to get home.
There is an excessive amount of zeros. 100 Rupiah was worth about half a cent.
Tips:
- In Bali get a massage…everyday. An hour massage costs less than $10.
- Kuta beach in Bali has great beginner surf – give it a try!
- Be willing to throw away your itinerary if something comes along that moves you.