On the Origins of La Araucana and Araucana Lodge

“Of all the witches who roam the islands of Chiloe, Carmela is my favorite.” Alicia told Julio on their first date. “And why is that?” Julio asked. “Well, mostly because she loves to fly on her broom by the light of the moon with her little son Polifemo as her copilot. But she’s also the wisest and the best healer, ” she answered, smiling. “Those are all great reasons,” Julio agreed. Alicia’s rebellion against a deeply patriarchal system manifested in her quiet feminism. A lifelong learner, she devoured books, her knowledge evident in a sharp yet understated wit. They married within a few months. Soon, Julio completed his medical studies in Chile and they packed up their bags to make the month-long journey back to his homeland, Colombia. It was 1944.

Alicia and her roses.

Alicia didn’t quite know what to do with the chaos and heat of Cali. She had grown up in the temperate hilly oceanside of Valparaiso, without street vendors yelling at the top of their lungs, “AAAAAAA-GUAAAAAA-CAAAAAAA-TEEEEEEE,” somehow turning a four syllable word into a song. Julio wanted to make his Chilean bride happy, and he embarked upon a quest to find a property in the high Andes of Colombia. A cool place to garden, to ground, to heal, to rest. A refuge that resembled her roots, that would honor the spirit of Carmela, where they could launch (soon-to-be failed) attempts to grow the apples and peaches of her youth- peaches she would harvest and dry on the tin roofs of homes in the Chilean countryside. 

Julio found the perfect spot: a property perched high in the mountains, looking down on the basin of the Pacific Ocean. They named it ‘La Araucana’ and built a little brick home with a yellow roof, which was completed in 1957. That December, the family inaugurated their place with a gathering. It was a cool and rainy December and the aroma of minestrone seemed to mesh and dance with the fog. On Christmas morning, Julio planted an Araucaria to honor the spirit of the Chilean people, a tree which is now emblematic of the property. Araucarias grow in the South of Chile in a territory where the Mapuche Indians have lived for centuries. Masters of horseback riding, they remain one of the few unconquered tribes of the Americas and are now reclaiming the land that was taken from them. 

Julio grew roses. Alicia was happy. They loved to feed the birds and watch the bamboo sway elegantly from their porch. Soon, her flower shop in Cali was born. Over the decades, La Araucana blossomed as well. It was a place to gather, to cook and drink wine, and discuss grandiose ideas (and banal ones, too). If a place keeps a memory of its people, of the love it has witnessed, of the bonds of family, as Alicia believed, and then transmits it back to its inhabitants, then that would explain La Araucana’s enduring magic. 

In 2005, Julio and Alicia’s grandson, Christopher, had a brilliant idea. He would start a birdwatching tour company, Colombia Birdwatch, now that the country’s progress on the civil conflict made it palatable once again to birders. As the company grew and became well established, he realized that there was a need for comfortable lodging in the area, a birding hotspot, to cater to the influx of bird enthusiasts visiting. He proposed building ‘Araucana Lodge’ on the property and our little hotel was born. 

Our family’s vision for the lodge was to retain the spirit of the land-  a place to slow down, rest, connect with nature, gather and discuss ideas. We wanted a seamless indoor/outdoor experience, a place held and nestled by the forest. The architect in charge of the design, Veronica Restrepo, had studied green architecture in France and had worked in Singapore, bringing with her an international design sensibility. She designed the lodge around an atrium, a beautiful garden designed by Alvaro, Julio and Alicia’s son and Christopher’s father, that highlights Colombia’s rich biodiversity. The vision and philosophy of the hotel was an amalgam of the family’s diverse yet synergetic passions. Anna’s love for the kitchen and belief in farm-to-table sustainability informed the creativity you can witness from our cooks. Like our grandmother Alicia, we believe that love begins in the kitchen. Alvaro’s gardens are lush and enchanting. Michael’s penchant for rare plants have created our unique collection. Christopher’s clientele, the best in the world, are gentle people, lovers of birds and nature. Our wonderful staff are from our community and are committed to seeing this region develop in a way that is kind to the earth and its people. We invite our guests to let La Araucana enchant you, to embrace the ethos of our grandparents and to feel the decades of love and laughter infused in this special place, a place Julio and Alicia (and Carmela) would be proud of.