#4 Hacienda la Esperanza - Vacas, leche y dulce de leche
Hasta luego Duraznillo, let's quit the Amazonian forest and go to Ecuador ! After two days of bus and sickness (f***** turista...), we arrive to Montañita. We decide to stay at the Guacamayo hostel on the beach. Planned : surfing, slacklining, video editing and of course partying ! The hostel is owned by an Argentinian couple. Montañita is a melting-pot : the spot is well-known for its waves and night clubs ; Argentinians, Venezuelans, Peruvians and Brazilians come to set up here. Chill and rastaman vibes to be expected.
Going to fish
Deserved beer with our toes in the sand
Maxime loves it : he started the adventure with us knowing that he wanted to set up in Ecuador until December ; he will thus stay at Montañita. We may meet him again in Colombia... As the waves can't match our surfing level, we leave Montañita for Latacunga, in the Ecuadorian Sierra. We stop at Guayaquil, the economic capital city of Ecuador. We have the great pleasure of being welcomed by Noémie, Santiago y Camila (couchsurfing) during the week-end ; they showed us how the Ecuadorian people use to party and go out.
With love from Guayaquil
Let's stop joking. Before we begin our next farming experience, we decide to test ourselves and have a sporty week. First step at Baños, the extreme sports city in Ecuador. We dedicate our first day to mountain biking, and we do not joke : we follow the waterfalls road, a quite touristic way and get back to Baños (30km round trip). As it is not physically hard enough, we go up to the Casa del Arbol ; we wrestle a lot (11km and 1000 climb) but we find a great downhill way as a reward. Finally some adrenaline ! We spend our next morning canyoning and bathing ourselves in the renowned Baños thermal baths.
Our racing monsters
From fall to fall
And now let's go to Latacunga ! The Hacienda la Esperanza is located at Culanguago Bajo, a small village 15 minutes away from Latacunga. We are ahead on our planning and decide to hike the Quilotoa trekking, a four days hike between canyons and volcanos. The first day is quite easy. We move up a gear and realize two steps of the hike in one day : we walk for 25 kilometers and 8 hours (well, we run a little bit...) and we are allowed to contemplate the Quilotoa laguna at the end of an exhausting day. We tour the laguna the next day.
First day through the canyons
The Quilotoa laguna
Happy
When do we work ? Don't worry, we finally face it ! After the Quilotoa hiking, we arrive at the Quintana family's hacienda. An hacienda is simply a farm. Osvaldo, Blanca, their 5 years old daughter Zoé and their 3 weeks dog Tequila welcome us. Camy, their oldest daughter, studies in Quito and come back for weekends. The farm relies on livestock : pigs, turkeys, horses, chickens, calves and mainly cows ! Fourteen beautiful cows we have to milk and care every day.
Hacienda la Esperanza and the Cotopaxi volcano
La Zoé
No time to mess around : Osvaldo describes us the typical day : we wake up at 4 a.m. to milk the cows (about an hour), we breakfast at 7 a.m., we do several farm works from 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., then we lunch and milk the cows again at 4 p.m. Of course everybody is asleep at 8 p.m.
Our new girlfriends
Here everything is about cows. Each cow produce between 20 and 30 liters of milk per day. As Blanca explains it to us, cows don't wait : no holidays, and Christmas and birthdays are celebrated with cows ! While Blanca bring the cows to the barn we prepare all the equipment : the food (dry food and salt), water to clean their udders, the milking machines and the containers. The cows come, we tie their legs, and clean and dry their udders. Thirty minutes later, all the cows are milked ; we filter the milk and put it in cold water to fresh it - of course we drink a few cups. This cannot be compared with industrial milk you can find in supermarkets ! Then we clean all the equipment and get back to sleep (Yvan mostly). The first part of the day is done ! Milking is a intense work : we have to do it quickly and well so that we do not loose time. Blanca learnt us everything so that we could help her the best we could.
Blanca and Yvan milking
At 7 a.m., Zoé and her small dog - her child she says - wake us up to breakfast. On the menu : coffee, hot milk, home bread and dulce de leche. As Osvaldo enthusiastically say hello - in french - we begin the second part of our day. From 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., we do several works in the farm : we feed and water the animals, we drag manure pats across pastures, we cut shrubs, etc. Most of our work is about watching the cows and being sure that they have food and water. At 4 p.m. we milk them again. Our working day ends at 5h30 p.m. and we are exhausted ! A few cups of milk, bread, a movie or a book and we go to sleep.
The machete whiz
Love and milk
We thought we were about to see the birth of a calf. Unfortunately, he died. We thus had to dig a grave and bury it. We do not have pity. Death is around when you work with animals and you must get used to it. This is the life cycle as Blanca and Osvaldo remind us.
Requiem
This first week was physically exhausting (and we do love it actually). Days are hot and dry, and nights are freezing. We work intensely and seize the resting moments with a deserved nap on the grass. Blanca impress us. She wakes up at 4 a.m. and go to sleep at 8 p.m, and she never stops working with intensely. As Osvaldo likes to tell us, she is the Jefa (the boss). Her abnegation and discipline were inspiring for us, apprentice farmers.
Deserved nap in a bucolic setting
The picture is idyllic. From the top of the hill above the Hacienda, we enjoy watching the volcanos around, especially the Cotopaxi (5897 meters) and its snow-capped peak. We celebrate my birthday (Tanguy) the 28th of October ; as a gift, after blowing the candles, Osvaldo put my head in the so creamy cake bought for the occasion. We never stop to be amazed by the generosity of the Quintana family, who welcomed us so easily.
Birthday cake in your face !
The first weekend we spent with them was more than pleasing : we attend Hagros, the annual Latacunga party where horseman clubs from all the region parade. Sunday, we decide to climb the Putzalahua (700 meters climb) to attend sunrise. A show we won't forget soon. We intend to stay a week more, before going to Colombia.
Sunrise on the Ecuadorian Sierra and its volcanos
Stay tuned, the video is coming soon. You can also read our interview on Farmitoo !
Hasta luego amigos,