Day 2
Mindo - Rio Intag Coffee Region - Lake Cuicocha - Otavalo
Distance Covered :  188 km / 117 miles

After a hearty breakfast of fresh, exotic fruit juices, home-baked bread, pancakes, and eggs, we head out of the cloud forest reserve and take a dirt road leading north. We pass the region's rolling bright green hills, tomato, avocado, and fruit orchards.  We'll go for a short 5-minute hike into the rainforest and a refreshing swim in the Cascada de la Piragua - a swimming hole popular with the locals.

We pass through the town of Nanegal with its friendly residents and manicured town square, heading down in elevation and further into the lower hills using unpaved farm roads.  The weather is warm, and you'll cross other rivers with children playing in waterfalls along the way.   We enter the Rio Intag valley -  known for the premium coffee grown in this region.  We will stop at the Nangulvi Hot Springs.  The small complex offers several pools at varying temperatures and a fantastic fixed-lunch restaurant at the edge of the roaring Intag River.

The town of Apuela is home to the Rio Intag Coffee Growers' Association, and we will have a quick tour of their coffee drying, sorting, processing, and roasting operations here.  You'll want to take a few bags of coffee home with you.  From Apuela, the cobblestone road climbs in elevation, then descends, then rise again, achieving great views of 100+ foot cascading waterfalls and fragrances of pine, eucalyptus, and something that smells like an artificial "rainforest fresh" air freshener - only this is the real thing and so so much better!  You will arrive at the Cotacachi-Cayapas National Forest and the Cuicocha (guinea pig) lake - a crater lake thought by the indigenous people to be a tunnel to the Pacific Ocean. 

Dirt and ancient cobblestone roads take us peacefully into the city of Otavalo.  Otavalo textiles are famous for their history and quality. The Otavaleños were skilled weavers even before the Incan rule. The Spanish set up workshops to employ the already skilled weavers, and soon, through technological advancements, the Otavalo weavers supplied textiles to most of Latin America.  Today the area has several wool mills and looms and produces high-quality textiles.  A visit to the Indigenous market at the "Plaza de Los Ponchos" in the center of Otavalo is a feast for your eyes and an opportunity to bring back some great gifts for your friends and family.

Tonight, we are in for a treat!  We will stay in the renovated 17th-century comfortable and luxurious Hacienda Cusin.  The prominent Luna family purchased Hacienda Cusin at an auction from Philip III, King of Spain, in 1602. The purchased estate, an abraje or sheep farm, comprises two valleys of Gualaví and La Rinconada. All the land between the valleys and the lake, approximately 100,000 acres/50,000 hectares, was held until Land Reforms in 1945 and 1964. Hacienda Cusin was named for the mountain at the head of the valley of La Rinconada.  Today, it is owned by a wealthy American and her English husband, and they have put millions of dollars into its restoration.

The mountain’s name is uncertain, although three possibilities are likely. First, Cusin was the name of an indigenous chief who fought against the Incas in the early 16th century, just before the Spaniards’ arrival. Secondly, a type of white beetle, a cuzo, cut-zo, (Quechua), a delicacy that appears briefly in November.  Cusin’s coat of arms, found on dishware and stationary, is a cuso’s carapace.

We'll enjoy a dinner featuring traditional, local culinary flavors with a glass of wine in their elegant dining room before you settle into your room appointed with high-quality textiles made in Otavalo.