Amelia and I visited La Casa del Venado, which translates to The House of the Deer. It’s a magical animal sanctuary nestled in the rolling hills of Ecuador near Cayambe. We were joined by our Ecuadorian friends, Gene and Mateo. Gene was SO excited to to see the small Peruvian deer!

While we waited outside the gates, I heard a cat meowing, but couldn’t locate it. Upon further inspection, he had been sleeping in the branches of a dense shrub-like tree. After a short chat from the tree, he climbed down and posed for a picture on the grass, still damp from the morning dew.

The park greeted us with a menagerie of creatures. Tiny Peruvian deer with velvety coats nibbled on leaves, while majestic emus with dinosaur-like feet strutted about. There were alpacas with fluffy fur, peacocks with iridescent feathers, and bunnies with twitchy noses hopping about.

We excitedly fed carrots to the animals and Amelia giggled as the Peruvian deer ate from her hand. The emus gobbled up the treats with the typical mechanical precision of a bird, and one almost snatched Amelia’s necklace! We were in awe of the incredible beauty and diversity of the creatures that surrounded us.

It was so peaceful and relaxing to roam the grounds, taking in the sights and sounds of the animals. We snapped pictures, marveling at the exotic birds with bright, jewel-like plumage, and the friendly cats that meowed loudly while following us around like dogs.

There were several other stops on our itinerary for the day, so we reluctantly said goodbye to the animals and made our way back to the outside world. But we carried with us memories and photos of the magical creatures we had encountered.

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