Hacienda Cusín - 400 Years of Welcome
Hacienda Cusin is a restored 17th century Andean estate at 8,500 feet, 90 minutes north of Quito and 20 minutes south from the famous market town of Otavalo. The Equatorial line and snowcapped Cayambe Mountain are 30 minutes away. El Monasterio de Cusín , with its high buttressed walls, towers, garden and fountain courtyards is a garden-walk away.
Cusin’s terracotta-tile roofs, winding cobblestone pathways, courtyards and perennial gardens nestle beneath a deep blue sky in a wide, pastoral lake valley. Nearby, the often snowcapped 15,000-foot Cotacachi volcano is reflected in Lago San Pablo.
An ancient lakebed, cool nights and a predictable equatorial sun have conspired with avid gardeners to create several acres of ever-blooming gardens which include belladonna, bougainvillea, agapantha, acanthas, foxgloves, orchids and palms that attract over 50 species of birds .
MAIN HOUSE
Once in the main house: straight ahead, on a church altar, is San Pablo (Paul). On the stairway is Santa Barbarita, 18 th century, and a Flemish tapestry, perhaps depicting the 1571 battle of Lepanto. To your right, is Salon Bolivar and the diningroom and, left, past the bottom of the stairs, is the bar. The 1895 telephone, left of the bar entrance, was Cusin’s only shared line in 1990. Before a modern exchange was installed, San Pablo’s autocratic switchboard operator refused to connect foreign calls. After the burning of a New Year’s Eve effigy of her, she moved to Queens, New York City.
Individually decorated guestrooms and garden cottages, with private bathrooms and oversize towels, are furnished with selected fine Andean crafts, king-size beds with hand woven bed-covers, antiques, writing desks and views of prolific perennial gardens and often snow-capped mountains. Most of the guestrooms have garden access and a log-fire for cool evenings. Electricity, 110 v., plugs as U.S.
Public rooms such as Salon Bolivar, Salon Cotacachi, Sala de Lectura, library (where tea is served all day), dining room and refectory, are antique furnished and have log-burning fireplaces.
Relax in the uniquely furnished Salon Bolivar, the cozy bar, or the library and garden reading room with French windows that look onto an adobe-walled garden and lawns under an ancient cedro tree. Enjoy Cusín's Ecuadorian and International cuisine in a dining room with antique wall tapestries and chandeliers, dinner by candlelight and a log fire.
40 Guestrooms, suites and garden cottages, each with private bathrooms and garden and mountain views. 33 guest rooms have kiva fireplaces, beamed ceilings and furnishings of antique reproduction beds and Indian crafts. From the tower of #25, a double suite with roof terrace and private garden, Frederic Church's 19th century landscape can still be seen. Garden cottage suite, #10 with its pond and mountain view is magical and private. The spacious Dueños Suite, available for guests, is furnished with antiques and crafts. Public rooms have log burning fireplaces
MEALS
Delicious Ecuadorian and European meals are served.
Please request special diets in advance. The dining room water is potable.
Dress code is casual by day, smart-casual for dinner.
THE BAR
Facing the fireplace, from left to right, is a Peruvian manta (cloak or carry-all) from Titicaca, two Guatamalan huipiles (woman’s blouses); one from Chichicastanango, and over the fireplace, another from Solala, and at the far end, a Bolivian poncho (Titicaca). The white ‘masks’ are papier maché fiesta mask-molds from Riobamba. In 1991, Tigua artists from Quilatoa, South of Quito, created the bar painting of 19 th century north American artist Frederic Church’s imagined journey from Cusin (right) to Chimborazo (left). To the left of the exit are two bird prints by Paul Greenfield (Birds of Ecuador). To your right is brochure of Cusin, 1988.
Fabric, or textile, indicates wealth and social, military and religious rank. A manta, or aksu, was made by a woman on a back-strap loom. The loom represents a mountain, sacred and with human features. The dyed wool is intricately spun and woven; a complex engineering process Some of the finest examples of backstrap weaving can be found in Chincheros, Peru. After two strips have been completed, each the width of the room, they are sown together, worn over the shoulders, and fixed with a silver pin (tupu). The wearer represents the sacred mountain, and the manta is a landscape with mythical symbols.
THE GARDEN
Gardens, perennial, 7 acres. 58 species of plans attract 49 species of birds. Cusin's black soil and predictable equatorial sun have created seven acres of ever blooming gardens. Annuals have become perennials. The library's French windows look onto a large, walled, ever blooming garden filled with lawns, deep yellow blossoms of the cholan tree, palm, belladonna, bougainvillea, foxgloves, hollyhocks and orchids.
Hacienda Cusin Amenities
television/ VCR viewing rooms with 200 selected feature documentary video films.
Telephone, fax, email, copy machine, overhead projector, 35mm projectors, VCRs.
Conference room seating 55 / 100 for presentation, 4 seminar rooms (El Monestario de Cusin)
Spanish classes
Experienced teachers, under the administration of Ms. Sara Anthony, will offer tailor-made classes for individuals, families, and groups of all ages. Classes will meet in Monasterio, a garden walk from Cusín, set in a magnificent Andean landscape of lakes and snowcapped mountains.
Tuition costs, beginning at $7 per hour for individuals, become less per person in larger groups and far less than any U.S. urban course. Courses are tailor-made and designed on demand for any period year round.
Nanny by request
Electricity 110 volts, U.S. sockets. Bring a flashlight.
This trip includes some wine with dinner and can accommodate special dietary requests.