Cuicocha Crater Lake

Today we drove over narrow roads with cobbled paving, taking several hours of snaking up hairpin bends for 500 ft then snaking down to cross rivers. We saw the farms growing sugar cane, asparagus and tomatoes. The soil in the valleys between the east and west Andes is very fertile.

Eventually we reached this crater lake and set off on our walk. We started at 10,000 ft and climbed quite steeply 1000 ft as we continued along a ridge going round the caldera. One of the women I walked with knew a lot about the wild flowers so pointed out interesting orchids and Passion flowers on the way. Some of the group turned back, finding the climb in the 30 degree heat too much.

On the way back we came a different route, first visiting Cotacachi, a UNESCO heritage site. We watched a local marching band, and soaked up the atmosphere of the lovely old colonial buildings, before using a bit of the Pan-American Highway, a 6 lane motiway heading north. We met many vehicles returning from a day's shopping in Columbia, 60 miles away, where their currency is weak against US dollar which is the currency here.