Our guide, a mountaineer, stops at this huge lechero tree that was planted hundreds of years ago to explain the indigenous significance. Any branch from this type of tree will grow when stuck into the ground. It is used for fence posts. The sap is milky white like its cousin, the poinsettia.
A visit to the weaving workshop of Jose C. In Peguche with our guide, Ivan Suarez on the left.
High sierras of Ecuador – my 17th year here – these particular ones didn’t exist last year – the country is always improving it seems.
He’s in the middle not feeling very photogenic!
This American eagle is named Gringo – he is just back from his flying demo over the Peguche valley on a beautiful day of mixed clouds! I’m visiting this Condor Park – again – this time with Salem College Women.
Small garden behind our hotel, Posada del Quinde (home of the hummingbird) in Otavalo. Everything is as beautiful as it looks here, but the sound track includes a call and response routine by the local canine population. We are so comfortable in the rooms, breakfast is a bowl of fruit and eggs, and the skies are changing all day! Ahh Ecuador!
Sunshine every day – don’t look at the weather reports ! It’s beautiful. Noisy with birds since 4:00 am…now by 7:30 the buzz of the community is well underway. Safe and sound here we are at Posada del Quinde.
Afternoon is well spent in a photo workshop with Maria Teresa Ponce, who has taught at university. She pared down her weekend workshop to 3 hours for us – time well spent to learn and review digital cameras techniques. She interspersed her points with examples of the finest images in art history – Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, Bresson, and her own amazing image of the Independence Plaza and Iglesia San Francisco in Quito shown below ( no people show because of the exposure).
Her two year old retreat and healing hotel, SachaJi is designed into the mountain with circles and curves and a respect for the views of I’m aburra mountain – a beautiful contrast to the historic Hacienda lower in the Valley.
Our first day
El Dueño, the owner, Sr. Nik Millhouse takes the Salem team around the grounds of the restored Hacienda Cusin, his property for 25 years… of long considering it was built in 1602! A colorful and informative intro to Ecuador.
Here is a way to spend the New Year – enjoy a luxurious stay at Sachaji from the vantage point of the best view in the High Sierras of Ecuador!
Sachaji is a new “green” hotel with excellent service and modest prices – first class all the way!
My SachaJí is a hillside getaway in the heart of the Andean region of Imbabura, just an hour-and-twenty-minutes’ drive from Quito Mariscal Sucre airport. A pioneer both in wellness and sustainability, the eco-lodge has a breath-taking view of a volcano and lake, imbuing the property with a unique natural energy.
There is also offer a range of wellness experiences and arranged trips to explore the surrounding area, including to historic haciendas, the Indigenous market town of Otavalo, and sacred pyramids.
Settle your mind. Refresh your energy. Watch the burdens of the dying year crackle away in flames, then feel the sun give off its first rays of 2017, lighting up the volcano and filling you with life.
Breathe.
My SachaJí New Year’s Eve program will leave you balanced, invigorated, and ready to meet new challenges, in an area of breath-taking natural beauty and energy in the Ecuadorian Andes.
Tree pose!
Join Michael Pulitzer on a Tour to Ecuador that includes daily practice of yoga while exploring a fascinating country located at 0 degrees latitude. Fly to the new Quito airport to begin in the comfort of SachaJi Retreat and Hotel, a sustainable “healing hotel” with glorious hot tub and views to the beautiful lake San Pablo del Lago. Find expansive views of Cotacachi Volcano, Mojanda peaks and the imposing Imbabura mountain – all within view here at 8,700 ft.in the High Sierras.
Days are designed to combine a balance of exploration of the region with art practice and yoga and meditation. Plan to visit villages, meet local artisans who are continuing their traditional Quechua way of life in this modern world. We explore the Otavalo market and see many other smaller versions on our way. We take the newly paved road to Intag Cloud forest to stay at El Refugio, a private retreat where we find an abundance of birds, orchids in a unique, diverse ecosystem that includes welcoming local people and guides to introduce us to this lush environment.
Activities include: a visit to the condor preserve, a walk/hike along the rim of volcanic Cuicocha lake, an explore of Cotacachi, the leather town with its small museum. We enjoy a trip to the indigenous community of San Clemente in the Zuleta valley. The final transfer takes us to Patio Andaluz in the heart of the colonial section of the bustling capital of Quito, a World Heritage City since 1978. It is an experience to stay in a vintage city hacienda within minutes of restaurants and museums. The history and style of this energetic city will keep us busy on our last two nights here.
Select activities or try them all: art class, morning yoga, evening meditation, bird watching; Spanish classes; an extended trek. A draft itinerary is available upon request – just for you. If you have a favorite time of year to travel, we can help you out!
This is a unique tour combining a balance of inward practice with travel exploration!
10 days – October 19- 29, 2017 (Thursday – Sunday) or start the New Year with a New View: January 4 – 14, 2018 (Thursday – Sunday)
Land cost: $2500 single occupancy; $1900 shared room.
Very powerful to find the reliquary of St Thomas Aquinus in the Jacobin cathedral of Toulouse built starting 1230. This is a very, very tall structure with a garden courtyard and many side chapels tucked here and there. One chapel is full of sand and a tent for an art exhibition!
Art exhibit in the Jacobin cathedral in Toulose. Most of the chapels off of the main church are this size. They have chairs or altars with special saints. In this one is a heap of sand and a tent with bishop’s clothing and plastic water bottles – a survivor experience – there is also an audio filling the room with sounds of many people whispering! Lots of conclusions we might draw from this entanglement!
Above – private castle overlooking the L’Ouissey river in Lot District of SW France. Below by a broken bridge is the very best inn with gourmet chef! Shhhh!
On the road to Toulouse we stop for lunch in St Cirq LaPopie – in an emerald valley where chrysanthemums are grown. French people voted this one their favorite city.
Castlenaux with Benoit as a guide – we climb through layered medieval fortifications built one century after another – stacked on top of each other. By the 15th century, they change their defensive position to be lower!
Christine Desdemaines Hugon opens the door to the Cougnac cave for a private tour of this magical place discovered under a private home. We see crystals on stalagmites and stalactites in several rooms….and then the ibex, mammoths and abstract marks. Totally quiet.whew!
We are taking reservations now for next September.
Plan for a ten-day tour to the Périgord region in the Dordogne valley in southwest France. With the best guides to accompany us, let’s visit the earliest artists works drawn in pre-historic caves. We find magnificent paintings and etchings created tens of thousands of years ago: the polychrome paintings at Lascaux II and Font-de-Gaume; the etchings at Rouffignac and Des Combrelles. We take time to explore ancient castles, Beynac and Castlenaud, where English and French kings battled during the Hundred Years War. Christine Desdemaines-Hugon, author of Stepping Stones, joins us for an in-depth private guided tour for three days on the tour. Her wealth of knowledge and experience in the region is world renowned. We include museum visits including Museum of Aquitaine in Bordeaux and the Museum of Human Evolution! In this pocket of the world, an enlightened culture developed the first troubadour traditions and fittings of finery. It all comes together in medieval bastides – fortified “new towns” built in the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
Domme, and others on the tour, are perfectly preserved models of life, commerce, and defense in the Middle Ages.
We are grateful for the assistance and support in developing this itinerary. Thanks go to Nancy Dawson who gave us generous amounts of her time and expertise to develop this tour. Read her article from the Wall Street Journal
Tour is limited to 12 travelers
Cost $4900 per person, double occupancy (based on 2015 pricing).
The tour is coordinated by Ramelle Pulitzer (p: 336-416-2390 e: ramelle@newviewtours.com)
12 nightsThe adventure begins in Guayaquil at sea level. After a city tour, we make a gradual
transition from the tropical Pacific Coast through the southern Loja region to the
beautiful colonial city of Cuenca. We’ll explore this walking city, a World Heritage site, then fly to Quito, the sophisticated capital at 9,300 feet. We tour the restored historic
section of the city; visit high end craft shops of Olga Fisch & Galeria Latina, then stop
at the unique village of Nono for lunch and spectacular views of Pichincha volcano. We
cross the equator at Quitsato, to explore a remote cloud forest of Intag in a private
preserve with extraordinary bird watching, hiking (4×4 available). The journey continues
to the garden paradise of Hacienda Cusin. From here, visit the rim of Cuicocha volcano,
see the condor park, explore leather village of Cotacachi & visit the weaver’s home and
music workshop. And of course, the Otavalo markets! $3,300 – per person/dble
DETAILED ITINERARY AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST
Contact us here:
Ramelle Pulitzer 336 416 2390 ramelle@newveiwtours.com
Michael Pulitzer 413 717 5459 mp@newviewtours.com
Leaving Bordeaux this morning – stunning clouds. We are in morning “traffic”. Not so bad thanks to Benoit, our driver and guide.
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