HACIENDA SAN ISIDRO
On Sunday Mike and I, along with our friends Jim & Rachel, went up to Hacienda San Isidro for the brunch they host on Sundays. The hacienda is located on the side of the Cotacachi volcano and is about a 30 minute drive from Cotacachi, along trails that are best maneuvered on horseback! We arrived by cab around 10:30am and forgot that they don't start serving brunch until 1:00pm. This gave us a lot of time to wander around the premises taking pictures and listening to Andres tell us about the history of the 300-year-old hacienda, and their horse ranch.
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Receiving a warm welcome |
They made a special breakfast for us which they served at 11:30am.
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Our table with a view |
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(Standing L to R) Graciela, her son Andres, Jim, Rachel
(Seated) Me, Mike |
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After our breakfast, Roscindo (the patriarch of the family) loaded us up
in his pick-up truck and took us on a tour of the hacienda, all the way
up to the top of their property.
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On a short hike in the forest |
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Looking out over Cotacachi . . . |
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. . . and Otavalo |
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The ranch down below | |
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So peaceful |
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Jim, the horse whisperer.
(He's actually quite a horseman himself.) |
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Curiosity getting the best of the llamas and alpacas |
What a wonderful time we had with the Jara family, and Jim and Rachel want to come back and take a horseback ride with Andres from the Hacienda to Lake Cuicocha, about a two hour ride round trip.