A Little Hacienda Time

Amazing views on the way up our volcano
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Well….our little adventure in the lovely city of Cuenca had to come to an end and it was time to make our way to our next destination of Cayambe! We didn’t really know what to expect in Cayambe as the lonely planet guide said little of our destination, except that there was a volcano nearby, so we travelled by plane and then taxi with a little curiosity.

When our little taxi turned into a long tree lined driveway, we knew we were in for a bit of a treat….and we weren’t wrong! Our hotel turned out to be a 400 year old Hacienda (the oldest Hacienda in Ecuador) which had been beautifully restored, nestled in a huge estate complete with two churches, a lovely old courtyard, horses, a pool and to top it all off, a fireplace in every room! We felt very spoiled. The place was just spectacular…it really felt like you were in a little bit of heaven with the sounds of nature all around you and the beautiful stars just above you. It was evening by the time we arrived so we tucked into a lovely meal with the group and then Mike played some pool with the boys while I jumped into bed with Harry and my nice open fire keeping me (moderately) warm!

A little bit of heaven with the sounds of nature all around you and the beautiful stars just above you

The rough ride up
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Little did we know that the beauty of the town of Cayambe was just beginning to unravel itself for us! We set off early the next morning on the back of one of our trusty pickup trucks and headed for the Volcano Cayambe, the beautiful snow-capped peak that towers over the little town. We stopped off on the way at one of the town’s famous biscuit and cheese shops, which amazingly makes over 10,000 biscuits a day! Its amazing that this many biscuits can come from such a small shop….just shows you how hard working the Ecuadorian people are! So we stocked up on biccies and continued our journey to the refuge. The road was very steep and bumpy (due to the many holes in the road) which was not good for our sore legs and bums, but it was all worth it for the amazing views the entire way up. This was the real Ecuador, with rolling hills and local farmers working in their fields with what seemed like very archaic farming tools. But this was nothing compared to our first good view of “our” volcano! As we came around a bend, the peak of the Volcano Cayambe came into full view for the first time, and Mike and I were just blown away. We had never seen anything like it before…so beautiful and majestic. It was just spectacular, and the view just kept getting better as we got closer and closer!

Is it a bird? Yes, its a Condor!
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And to top off what was looking to be an amazing day, we spotted a Condor on the way! We just couldn’t believe our luck. To think that there are only 30 of these beautiful birds left in the whole of Ecuador and that we were looking at one of them souring gracefully above us over these mountaintops was one of the most humbling things we have ever experienced! They really are lovely creatures. We found out when we went to Otavalo just how big they really are, but at this moment they just seemed so graceful and peaceful, gliding around us. It was only a brief moment before it ducked behind a hill, but it was one we will never forget.

I think I can, I think I can
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About 2 hours into the journey, we hopped out of the pickups and began the hike to the refuge, in an attempt to acclimatise our lungs to the altitude (4600m…the highest Mike and I have ever been). It was not a difficult climb, but the headspins made it a little challenging. About 45 minutes later, we turned that final bend to the refuge of the volcano and we were again blown away by what we saw! The summit of this magnificent snow-capped volcano was so close that we could almost touch it and there was a beautiful glacier running down its middle. It was almost too much for two Aussies who have hardly seen snow! We just couldn’t stop saying “Wow”! I just sat down on a rock looking down at the glacier enjoying the breathtaking scenery, which was tinged with a bit of sadness when Marcello told us how much bigger the glacier was just a few years ago. It is really a sad thing to think this town of beautiful Ecuadorian people who use hardly any electricity at all are suffering from global warming! The volcano was just such an amazing, breathtaking experience….definitely one of the highlights of our trip so far.

Can you believe we are here?
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After many Oohs and Aahhs, it was finally time to head back down to town, so we jumped back on to our pickups and headed home. The 2 hour trip went very fast as we played a lively game of “Categories” with our group, which was such a barrel of laughs. We really were blessed with a lovely group of travellers who were a lot of fun!

Since we missed out on the baths in Banos, we thought we would use the rest of the day to make the most of the local hot springs in Cayambe! Thinking that the baths closed at 6pm, we arrived in time for a nice soak at 4.50pm, but to our dismay the sign out the front said they closed at 5pm! So we raced down the stairs, quickly derobed and jumped straight in to the beautifully hot water. It was just sooo lovely and we were almost the only ones there so it was very peaceful. Luckily the manager let us stay in until 5.30pm so we got a lovely soak in these supposedly healing waters. Just what we needed after a big day in Cayambe!

I can see the peak!!!
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The next day, it was time to leave the beautiful town of Cayambe after such a memorable stay, we were sad to leave. We decided to make an early morning trek through the farm across the road from the Hacienda for one last look at our Volcano! Then it was off to a rose plantation not far from our Hacienda where many of the roses that are sold in American supermarkets come from! It was amazing to see the workers sorting through the thousands of roses of every colour imaginable! A beautiful (and rosy) end to our beautiful stay in Cayambe. Although we had heard little about it before we arrived, we will never forget this little town with the big volcano!