Black Sheep Inn

Black Sheep Inn

So someone asked the question, “Why Ecuador?” Places like The Black Sheep Inn are the answer. I can live with all the modern conveniences I need or want in Quito. However, when I want to escape for some real hiking, nature or just to breathe, I can hop on the bus and travel to places like Chugchilan, in the province of Cotopaxi (about 6 hours by bus from Quito) I’m staying at this wonderful eco-lodge, The Black Sheep Inn (www.blacksheepinn.com), nestled in an Andean indigenous community. This is community tourism/sustainable development at it’s best. Now, I’m not paying just a few bucks to be here. It’s quite expensive, but worth it in every way. This place has won numerous awards from travel magazines, vegetarian magazines, eco places, etc. For example, National Geographic named them Top 50 Eco lodge, Delta SKY magazine named them top 10 Eco-Resort, Outside Magazine, Top 10 Eco-Lodge in the world, etc. Now awards are one thing…but what makes this place so unique and special?

The Layout

OK, so you’ve arrived here from the city. You walk up a steep (and I mean STEEP) driveway to your main lodge, the Black Sheep Inn. You’ll need to catch your breath (we are high here-over 10, 500 feet). They have a wood fire going (it gets cold up here at altitude). You are offered fresh brewed coffee, tea, water and a map of all the hiking trails in the area. I was shown to my room-with a wood burning stove, lots of blankets on the bed. There’s several rooms like mine. Also a yoga studio that overlooks this majestic panoramic view of the Andean mountains and hills. To describe these hills without pictures…it’s as if the hills were draped with a patchwork quilt made up of different textures and colors-greens, yellows, browns even reds. The studio is all windows with hammocks, yoga mats, a station for tea and coffee. The perfect place for relaxation. The main lodge is where all the meals are taken. Meals are all delicious, vegetarian cooked by local women that the lodge employs. (Breakfast was fresh fruit with muesli and milk (straight from the cow), lunch was packed cheese sandwiches (cheese from a local cheese co-op, dinner was one night mushroom Shepard’s pie and fresh veggies from the garden).

The Journey

As the owners say, getting to the tiny hamlet of Chugchilan and the Black Sheep Inn is half the fun! I think since the inception of the Inn, the roads have improved (another example of development for the better for this town, as a result of the inn). So, I had to travel to the provincial capital, Latacunga from Quito (about 2 hours). Then catch another bus from Latacunga to Chugchilan. This bus goes on winding roads, some paved, some bumpy, some dirt, some dusty. The road cuts right through the steep mountains and hills. The views really were breathtaking. Lots of little patches on the mountains with crops like potatoes, fava beans, wheat, quinoa, barley. Makes for a beautiful trip!

The Owners and the Community

Michelle and Andres are an American couple. They were backpacking through Ecuador and specifically the Chugchilan area in 1994. They fell in love with the people and the scenery of this village. They did not want to leave! Someone asked them, why they don’t buy this land that was for sale. So, they went back to the US, worked several jobs, saved up every penny and bought the land. They returned to Chugchilan, built the Black Sheep Inn and have been open since 1996. Their vision (taken from their website is) “to provide a comfortable, educational experience for guests while contributing to and improving the local community and the natural environment. Our goal is to be a leader in environmental stability and ecotourism.” They are a couple that has so much energy and creativity. For example, in addition to running this entire Black Sheep Inn, Michelle teaches English and Computers in the local high school. Andres often repairs the town water system and phone lines. They have donated computers, phone lines, and a copy machine to the local school, health clinic and police station. They have subsidized school text books and extra teachers too. One of their most successful projects has been the establishment of a local Library/learning center stocked with Spanish language books and 8 computers. Children and teenagers are now interested in reading and have a place to conduct research. All this was possible by donations from Black Sheep Inn guests. They also have encouraged the community to open hostels, restaurants, become hiking/tourism guides. They hire all local folks for the running of the Inn.

The town of Chugchilan has one of the elementary schools for the parish. Although just 100 people live in the town, over 300 kids attend schools here, some walking over an hour each way. Still 41% of adults in the community cannot read. I think that Michelle and Andres description of the town is perfect. “Tourism is new to Chugchilan, starting when the Black Sheep Inn opened in 1996. Since then tourism is providing a necessary source of income for the community. While hiking in the area, you will see campesinos in the fields, caring for their crops, planting and harvesting. The main crops are barley, potatoes, fava beans, corn, squash and lupines (chocho beans). There are still many traditional adobe buildings and thatch huts called chosas. People are very poor and live simply and traditionally, yet they are happy and have an unusually strong sense of humor. The opportunity for cross cultural learning and exchanges is high, but please be sincere, humble and polite. If you can speak a few words of Spanish you can usually share in the tasks that the local people are doing, but please be careful as they work very hard and they are used to the thin air of high altitude.” (So have I convinced you yet to come! Check out their website at www.blacksheepinn.com)

Activities

So you’re here, relaxing in the yoga studio, eating great vegetarian meals, chatting with the guests, but you want to get out and explore the community. There are tons of hiking trails in the area. Yesterday, I did two hikes. One down a steep hill to this beautiful canyon area and the other up, up, up walking along a ridge with a panoramic view of the mountains on both sides. Today was Laguna Quilota hike. (more about that later)

Come here!

So, I know I’ve convinced you to come. Check out their website: blacksheepinn.com for more photos and more about this place. It’s really a find J I’m here for two more days, yay! so I’ll write more later.

Amazing photos to come...