The minute Molly and I returned from the islands, we were whisked away from the Quito airport to Cotopaxi. After about 90 minutes, our van made its way up a cobblestone path to Hacienda El Porvenir. I was sad to say good-bye to the Galapagos, but the mountains surrounding us reminded me of Montana back home. Cotopaxi Volcano welcomed us in the distance by looming out of the clouds, and the chilly air was a much welcome change for my sunburnt skin.
Comfy & Cozy Hacienda El Porvenir (Kate Arntz)
Hacienda El Porvenir is a working ranch that opened its doors to visitors in the late 90s. Located just outside of Cotopaxi National Park, the hacienda offers a quaint cozy vibe with a variety of excursions available. If you can tear yourself away from the warm and comfortable rooms, or fabulous restaurant, the excursions offered will allow you to explore the area of Cotopaxi. A few of these incredible excursions include:
Horseback Riding: Bundle up in true chagras (or cowboy) style to ride horses specially bred to be unaffected by the altitude. As Cotopaxi is located above 10,000 feet, this is an important factor. Over the course of the two-hour ride, you’ll explore the countryside. If you’re lucky, you may even spot a condor. Molly and I were fortunate enough to see 9 during our ride; a feat most never accomplish!
Cowgirls for a day (Kate Arntz)
Mountain biking: Mountain bikes can also be used to explore the lush countryside of Cotopaxi. El Porvenir offers a range of courses that can accommodate various distances and experience levels.
Mountain Biking at El Porvenir (Kate Arntz)
Cooking Classes: Upon arrival to the hacienda, we were greeted with canelazo and empanaditas. These local favorites are meant to keep you warm in the chillier climate! Canelazo is a warm tea-like drink made from local fruit juice and spices, which can be served with or without alcohol. The empanaditas (or mini empanadas) are flaky pastry dough stuffed with mozzarella cheese and fried. If you love these treats as much as Molly and I did, Porvenir offers a cooking class where you can learn the very same recipes. I’m not sure my empanaditas will ever look as pretty as the head chef’s, but it was sure fun to try!
Learning to make empanaditas (Kate Arntz)
Other excursion options on-site can include a ropes course, trekking, and even relaxing in the new spa set to be released in July of 2017. Additionally, a 25-minute drive from the hacienda will bring you to the base of Cotopaxi volcano. The truly adventurous are even invited to attempt to summit it!
View from the bottom of Cotopaxi Volcano (Kate Arntz)
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
1 day ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.
