Two Heads in Ecuador

Mr. Hunter feels an affinity for other carved and sculpted heads.

Here's one -- the bust of a monk, presumably -- that he encountered at Hacienda Cusin.

Nice haircut!

Hacienda Cusin

Imbabura, Ecuador

June 2011

Molino San Juan

After visiting the equator, we drove further on the Pan American Highway to Molino San Juan, where we'd be having lunch.  Molino San Juan is an old grain mill in Cayambe.  

Mr.  Hunter introduces himself to some clay figures on a shelf at Molino San Juan. 

Mr. Hunter liked the colors on this door.

Sign as we drove up to Molino San Juan.

Before lunch, we were treated to a demonstration on how to make bizcochos, a biscuity, buttery sort of cookie that is quite popular in Cayambe.  Here's one traveler's blog post about bizcochos.

The bizcochos are served!

Molino San Juan's bizcochos recipe

Cutting the bizcochos

We saw many signs
advertising bizcochos in Cayambe.
This was my favorite one.

Some more places to find bizcochos...

Cute dog at Molino San Juan

Rooster and hens at Molino San Juan

Hacienda Molino San Juan

Cayambe, Ecuador

June 2011

Hosteria La Cienega

After our exertions on Cotopaxi, we were all hungry and ready for a break.  

It took awhile to drive back down all the bumpy dirt roads since we'd been up near the refugio on Cotopaxi, but once we turned back onto the Pan-American Highway, it was a short ride to the place we'd be lunching: Hosteria La Cienega.

Beautiful sight: the driveway is lined with eucalyptus.
Eucalyptus aren't native to Ecuador, but we saw various kinds
of eucalyptus trees all over the place.

This symbol repeated on the backs of the dining room chairs.

Hosteria La Cienega

Eucalyptus trees

Mr. Hunter rests on some eucalyptus leaves.

Naranjilla juice --
and a naranjilla fruit beside the glass

We all ordered soups.  I had vegetable soup.
And there's some more salsa de aji in the middle.

At Hosteria La Cienega,
they served a big bowl of popcorn to go with our soups!
It was tasty.  This is our guide's bowl of ceviche.

After our late lunch, we walked around the grounds of La Cienega, 

which is a hotel as well as a restaurant.  We stepped into the chapel, wandered around the gardens, and even got to look into one of the hotel rooms.

Mr. Hunter and one of the carved chapel doors.

The chapel

Mr. H liked the papery bark on this tree.

The bust of Mr. Hunter
poses with a bust of explorer and naturalist, Alexander von Humboldt.
Von Humboldt slept at La Cienega in 1802.

This couch in one of the sitting rooms
 reminded me of one of my favorite picture books:
Spectacles, by Ellen Raskin.
More on that in a separate post.

Our guide pretended that he was going to add Mr. Hunter to the fire!
I should point out that we saw a number of guests hanging out in different sitting rooms,
and more than one of them mentioned that they were COLD.
(Haciendas can be chilly -- hence the need for fireplaces and stoves.)

Hosteria La Cienega

Cotopaxi Province

Ecuador

June 2011