Plaque at Hacienda Zuleta (1691)
Sign out at the main road for Hacienda Zuleta
Statue of President Gallo Plaza Lasso at entrance to the hacienda
In the town of Zuleta
Breakfast at Hacienda Zuleta
Nice view, nice horses
Horse maintenance
Caballero
Fido the hacienda dog (one of them) at the main door
Ready to tour the cheese factory
What else?
Garden of plenty
A condor up on a cliff wall on our walk
Prehistoric mounds, burial or ceremonial no one seems to know
Two ladies going home on our/their trail?
Condor in the rehab center
Long view of their cages
One of the courtyards at Hacienda Zuleta
Cow herder and helperThese will be the most luxurious days of our stay by far. Hacienda Zuleta is definitely top of the line in every way. The owners are part of the Ecuadorian elite and although they dismiss this place a "just a working farm" it's anything but. A museum that you live in would be how I describe it. The food is what I would call gourmet, although a little high in the creamy side in my mind. The staff has taken care to cater to my dietary needs, substituting lots of fruits and vegetables for starchy foods. Everyone seems to be raving about the place.
After breakfast we took a tour of the hacienda's dairy/cheese operation as well as a walk through their organic gardens. The farm processes 6.000 liters of milk a day (that seems a lot to me) and uses a portion of it for their private line of cheeses. We toured the cheese factory and learned some about that process. Then it was out into the massive gardens to see where all the food that comes to the table came from. They also have an area where they create compost used in the gardens (cows byproduct) and where they create liquid fertilizer for sale. Everything that they have on the farm is used in some way.
We took a little walk into the countryside this afternoon to their condor rehabilitation center that is on the grounds. When I say a little walk it's all relative since we are at a pretty high altitude - 9,500 feet so all walking takes a bit of an effort. We probably walked for about an hour to a spot where 8 condors are kept in captivity. All of these condors have either been shot or injured in some way. They are in cages but have a little room to walk and flap their wings for a while. It appears that they cannot be released due to their injuries and an attempt is being made to breed them in captivity.
Then back to our house for a fine dinner followed by coffee or tea in the study. Everyone sat around by the fire talking and planning tomorrow's activities and it was off to bed. This is pretty simplified but you get the idea of what we did. As always, more as I can!
After breakfast we took a tour of the hacienda's dairy/cheese operation as well as a walk through their organic gardens. The farm processes 6.000 liters of milk a day (that seems a lot to me) and uses a portion of it for their private line of cheeses. We toured the cheese factory and learned some about that process. Then it was out into the massive gardens to see where all the food that comes to the table came from. They also have an area where they create compost used in the gardens (cows byproduct) and where they create liquid fertilizer for sale. Everything that they have on the farm is used in some way.
We took a little walk into the countryside this afternoon to their condor rehabilitation center that is on the grounds. When I say a little walk it's all relative since we are at a pretty high altitude - 9,500 feet so all walking takes a bit of an effort. We probably walked for about an hour to a spot where 8 condors are kept in captivity. All of these condors have either been shot or injured in some way. They are in cages but have a little room to walk and flap their wings for a while. It appears that they cannot be released due to their injuries and an attempt is being made to breed them in captivity.
Then back to our house for a fine dinner followed by coffee or tea in the study. Everyone sat around by the fire talking and planning tomorrow's activities and it was off to bed. This is pretty simplified but you get the idea of what we did. As always, more as I can!
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