The Meeting Point of Las Tanusas

How lucky for us that the exact meeting point of sustainable living and culinary flair is in Ecuador, by the crashing Pacific, and right on the beach. It’s called Las Tanusas.

The property itself is cozy, pretty and charming – a best friend’s house on a gorgeous deserted beach. Some rooms are in the main house and others are in villas with private plunge pools. Good luck taking issue with any of it.

But the thing about Las Tanusas that really sticks in the memory is the food, and it’s no surprise that the chef is the owner – Rodrigo Pacheco, sourcing his ingredients either freshly caught from the ocean, picked from their organic garden or made on the property.  Appetites both small and large will enjoy the simple menu up to the 5-course dinner, but my recommendation is to surrender control to the cook. I liked every single dish I was served, from simple Ecuadorian specialties like Ceviche de chochos, to original gourmet courses like Mushroom Cappuccino.

There’s plenty to do in the area but to stick to my theme, my favourite activity was a simple oyster lunch with Rodrigo who showed me how to pick them, opened up a few, and squeezed out fresh lemon for a lunch fresh from the ocean!

While we may edit out some of Carola’s ubiquitous exclamation marks, it’d be hard to snuff out her sheer enthusiasm, continuously fuelled by her wide-ranging travels in Latin America. Contact her to start planning your trip.