I can't overstate how much we liked our hotel in Torres del Paine, the Hotel Las Torres. Oh, the rooms could have been more luxurious, perhaps, but they were certainly comfortable. And the view? Come on! I've also commented on just how good the all-inclusive food was as well. And here's a cool thing about that food: a lot of it was very very local indeed.
We had some time between breakfast and our long ride to El Calafate to walk around a bit, so Conrad and I found ourselves wandering into the hotel gardens.
No, not exquisite beds of fragrant blooms, but a working vegetable garden. Not to mention apples, pears, and plums in the orchard!
We saw rhubarb and currant bushes and gooseberries, the source of ingredients for drinks and desserts. We saw the carrots that were served with dinner dishes and adorned the lovely salads at lunch. There were greenhouses as well. Guests were welcome to walk through the area, and I can only hope it made people appreciate the hotel and its food all the more.
In addition, there was the little brewery.
A small building standing near the garden entrance, it was the source of a beer that one of the Brits on our excursion the day before had raved about. Jenny, who lives in Belgium (where they know a thing or two about beer) ordered one before dinner the night before, and she approved. I just wonder whether there was the space in the there for distilling the gin they made!
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