Lagos 1, 2 and 3

9th April, Playa Catrite to Camping Lago Falkner (31.1M)


Beautiful it might have been last night, but freezing it was this morning. We'd set our alarm to get up in time to watch a beautiful sunrise across the lake, only to find this morning that the lake and ourselves were encased in a freezing mist. I pulled on pretty much all my clothing and then practically sat on the stove to keep warm while I cooked the porridge. Gareth had the refuge of the warm tent for a bit longer while he packed away our gear from inside the tent, but soon joined me for some warming coffee and porridge.

By the time we'd breakfasted and packed away the sun had started burning through the fog and it was slowly dispersing and lifting away from the lake. Those first rays of sun that eventually reached us were absolutely lovely to feel.
Back on the bikes, we had 1km of steep ascent out of the campsite to the main road and this soon completed the warming process. We were now above the fog, in the sun and soon back to wearing just shorts and t-shirts.  We continued up the road for another 16km, it was a constant steady climb, but felt easy today. The scenery was beautiful and it was lovely to be cycling in the sun again.

salon de te

Still on the fairly leisurely cycling theme we stopped twice this morning. Once for some food on a rocky outcrop over a gorge with lovely views down the valley and the second time was after a lovely but cold descent to Rio Hermosa and a 'Salon de te' (tea room), where still in our relaxed mode we decided to stop for another break and a coffee.
The rest of the days ride was equally delightful, we stopped at various miradors and sights and really took our time, It was really really enjoyable.

Gareth took 'relaxing' to heart

On reaching Lago Faulkner I still felt good and full of more cycling, but the campsite here had been recommended by the parks office so we decided to stop and enjoy the beautiful views across yet another beautiful lake. There was a free campsite with equally good views nearby, but we decided that hot water and a covered area to cook in tonight were worth the extra money. We pitched the tent on a grassy bank with lovely views across the lake. I think that we are just a couple of weeks too early. Autumn is beginning and the trees are beginning to change colour, but haven't reached there real deep fiery red colours yet. Most important in our tent pitch selection this evening was to keep out of the shade. We wanted the sun for as long as possible! When the sun did go down the temperature plummeted and we were very thankful for the covered cooking area and the hot showers.