With a new vacation coming up I feel the urgency to finally get some notes up about the last one (August '07, yes, I've been derelict in getting my thoughts organized here). Other than the posts about our Quito apartment rental, I really haven't done much. So this begins a new flurry of posts (hopefully) over the next 5 weeks or so before we head to Nicaragua.
Last August we finished our Ecuador trip with 2 days and 3 nights in the Otavalo area. The thinking was that after spending 5 days and nights in Quito, we could use a couple of days of pure relaxation to decompress before heading back home. Working from Moon Handbooks Ecuador
as well as the Insight Guide Ecuador
, along with some online research, I had narrowed the options down to these three:* Hacienda Cusin
* Casa Mojanda
* Hacienda Pinsaqui
Hacienda Cusin was actually booked (and I was inquiring ~6 weeks in advance). Good for them that business is that strong and my decision just got 33% easier.
I really liked Casa Mojanda's story and mission and the views looked spectacular, but I couldn't quite get a complete sense of their rooms. They seemed like they could be a bit more spartan and austere than what I was aiming for to wrap up the vacation, so I went with the Pinsaqui.
We actually wound up visiting Betty at Casa Mojanda during out time around Otavalo, dropping off some supplies for their school. And Judy had a chance to make friends with their dogs.
. All in all a good little visit. We took about 20 or so shots while we were there, starting with this one.
After an interesting ride from Quito to Pinsaqui (a subject for another post at another time, but the gist is it took probably two or three times as long as it should and there were tense moments between us and the husband/wife driving team who were giving us a ride), we arrived at Pinsaqui just in time for dinner. Between the elegant surroundings and the relief at finally being there the meal that ensued was probably the most enjoyable and appreciated one of our trip. I wish I took better notes of what we had, but I know there was locro (which was simple yet amazing and we had it each night), some steak and a Chilean red wine. (Just writing about this I feel a wave of relaxation recurring ...)
But back to the Hacienda Pinsaqui itself. It was truly an oasis of calm for us.
You access it from a main road that runs north-south to and from Otavalo, but once you are through the gate and onto the beautifully landscaped grounds you're immediately transported to a different place and time.
It isn't hard to picture El Libertador swinging through on one of his trips back and forth to Bogota, as the Pinsaqui website claims was rather common.
It has a comfortable, rustic kind of elegance. The whole complex feels lived in and authentic, not overly manicured and staged. Five minutes of walking around the property soaking in the tranquility can be more relaxing and restorative than a full day of couch loafing in Chicago.
Our room, #8 I believe, was huge. High ceilings, solid walls a foot thick or more, our own fireplace and jacuzzi plus a view of the back gardens. Incredible value. (One interesting note is that you do need to ask the staff to prepare the jacuzzi for you, giving them a good hour or more of advance notice. The process is kind of amusing and charming in its no-nonsense kind of way: they run a hose from the kitchen through your room and into the jacuzzi.).
But if you plan to stay here, be prepared for a hiccup or two in your experience. On our second night there we had trouble with the jacuzzi. The helpful staff tried a number of things to get it working, but it just wasn't meant to be. Missing that was disappointing, but having a roaring fire with some sheep skin rugs to lounge on in your living room is a decent plan B.
The restaurants are probably more enjoyable for their atmosphere than their food (which is decent, just not spectacular --- aside from the locro). But altogether the dining experience is unique and refreshing. There is, to me anyway, a palpable sense of being among travelers rather than tourists. The breakfast room with its mammoth fireplace serves simple items. The vibe here is one of people getting ready for various excursions and day trips --- whether that's to the market, the Volcan Imbabura or Laguna de San Pablo.
Each night in the dining room we heard 3 or 4 languages from the 7 or 8 tables in the lodge-like setting as you shared a meal with folks from South America, Europe and North America all in one little spot.
Finally, they also have a 'cavern bar', which unfortunately I didn't bring my own camera to, so I have nothing to go on besides this little image from the Pinsaqui website which I've blown up a little bit, hence the slight blur:
After dinner on our final night there we were invited into the bar by Andres, the property manager who is seemingly there 24/7. We almost declined because we had an early start the next morning (a 4am pickup in order to get to Quito airport by 6:30), but I am glad we didn't because we wound up having a pretty unique experience.
The bar, which if I remember the story correctly is one of the original elements remaining from first construction in 1790, holds maybe 15 - 20 people. On this night there was a group of local musicians, all from an extended family I believe, playing traditional songs of the Ecuadorian Sierra and Otavalo in particular. (Through the marvels of the web and Flickr, you can see a shot of the band here from another traveler who has been there.) During a break between songs Andres provided some of the hacienda's storied history for us and introduced the grandson of the family that has run it since it was a 19th century textile plantation. Also, perhaps a bit exuberant himself from a few adult beverages, he then initiated a group drinking ritual where a single shot glass was passed around the room. Each person (or one person from each couple/group) was to take a shot of the local liquor (which for the life of me right now I cannot remember the name). Suppressing my reflexive instincts to avoid this symbolic but hygienically anachronistic exercise, I took the hit for Judy and myself before passing it along. It was by no means the smoothest cordial I've ever had, but I have to say there was something oddly unifying about doing it side-by-side with the three generations of a Canadian family, the Colombian couple and the French (maybe Swiss?) group who collectively made up the crowd that night. Despite the sense that this whole scene is at least partially contrived, I couldn't help but feel for a moment that we had a small, brief place in the continuum of travelers and two hundred years worth of traditions that those walls have witnessed. And that sense, however fleeting and ephemeral it might be, is one of the primary reasons I travel in the first place.
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