Day 902
Laguna de Cuicocha
We had a day’s rest in Ibarra, well it was for me, Tom managed to finish editing our latest film so we’re bang up to date! Rested, we set off for our next challenge, to ride up to Laguna Cuicocha, and then hike around it. The name comes from Tsuish Kucha, meaning Lagoon of the Gods, but it’s also known as Kuychi Kucha, Rainbow Lagoon.
First though we had to get there, and as its 3,068 metres above sea level we had quite a climb. We rode for 21 miles and over 16 of those were up! It was pretty tough going, especially the climb from the river, but we ploughed on and by early afternoon the climbing was done. We had decided against wild camping as we had read of an attempted robbery in the area. We also read of many safe visits and knew it was probably a one-off event but it certainly made me think twice about visiting the lagoon. We camped at a small finca, the owners were really friendly and the setting was stunning. We had mountains, volcanos and valleys all around us. We rested up for the night and hiked the 8.5 miles around the lagoon in the morning. The lagoon has been formed in a crater at the foot of the Cotacachi Volcano. We may be bike fit but the hike was hard work, although the views left us speechless. We saw a few people near the visitor centre, but apart from that we barely saw a soul all day. We had a memorable meeting with a scout group, one young lad was particularly keen to show us how he can bend his fingers and thumbs literally into knots - just wait for the film!
We returned to the finca tired and hungry. Fortunately they served food, a fantastic traditional soup with beans and new potatoes. We do get spoilt with these homemade dishes made with fresh local ingredients. Fuelled up, we loaded up the bikes, and rode just over 7 miles with barely a turn of the pedal, ready for more hills tomorrow.