Starting from the panamericana at Lasso, i followed the paved road to Sigchos. After being a bit boring for the first ten kilometers, this changed luckily soon.
The second part to the lagoon is also popular with hikers. But as the road is taking a rather long way around the mountain ridges with the views staying mostly the same, i was happy to have the bicycle with me to get me around the next corner a bit quicker. The first kilometers out of town i was riding with a boy who was just coming out of the colegio and asked me if i would be going the same way. The pedals of his bike were gone but he still made the hour ride to the colegio everyday. The sky is something most people arriving in Ecuador are mentioning as being special. Maybe it is the colour or the clouds or the combination with the mountains, but it keeps being interesting.
Quilotoa is not only the name of the lagoon but also of the village next to it. I found it rather strange that there is a gate at its entrance where people who want to enter have to pay two dollars. The village itself is rather a cluster of shops and hotels next to the big wooden viewing platform. Not too excited about the atmosphere, i decided to camp slightly above the lagoon outside of the village. I found a place sheltered from the wind and was rewarded with this sunset.
In the morning though, i had to scrape off the frost first before packing the tent.
And since i was still close, i paid another visit to the laguna in the morning. If you enter the village before seven, nobody seems to be in charge of collecting the entrance fee.
I met another group of germans which i met on the bus ride back from Quito to Cotopaxi and they were about to start the walk around the lagoon. Having already spent some time the last evening and seeing it now again in the morning, i decided to push on and after a quick downhill i was in Zumbahua, from where the next part of this leg around the vulcan Chimborazo starts.