The idea was we have a day at leisure around the hotel. Ah well, breakfast stopped at 9 am so that prevented any long lie. And I was also keen to explore the environs. So after breakfast, equipped with coffees, water and, luckily, our walking sticks, we set out to explore the hill behind the hotel. There are some terraces there so we got up on these and got some good photos of the nearby smoking volcano. Sadly iPhone photos just don’t that clearly enough. Anyway, feeling a little trapped by the terrain, I was keen to get on further.
We found a good path, and, along with a group of horse riders, we found our way up to the nearby village of Coporaque. A lovely quiet little village, much like I imagine Shapinsay in the 30’s, we wandered into the Square just before closing time at mid day. Howard bought some beer and ice cream and we enjoyed that while watching village life wash around us. They had a tractor! Others we have seen are only hired at great expense we hear.
We then headed home, and came across a group picking tatties. For once I saw them using cattle to hoe up the tatties, something I’d never seen before here. I’ve got a video but here are the photos I took as unobtrusively as possible.
Just unhitching the kye from a very rudimentary digger. Great crop of tatties though!
Their dyke building always includes a pricky top!
After a slight detour down a path that petered out, we got back to our original path, and walked easily back to the hotel. The village was at 3580 metres and our hotel is at 3381 so it was only a 200 metre climb, but it was tough enough.
A thunderstorm was brewing so we quicky got changed and head to the hot pools, just along the river bank from the hotel. And gosh they were hot. The coolest was hot enough for us.
After that we were pretty tired so chilled until dinner – a Pisco sour at the bar first, and then Scott and Carol joined us at dinner. Back to the room around 8.45pm, packed and bed, all ready for our early start tomorrow.
