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February 7-12, 2027 | 6 days, 5 nights
Cloud Forest Writing Retreat
Intag Valley, Ecuador
Join us February 7-12, 2027 for six days of writing and wild nature in the cloud forest of Ecuador. The retreat venue, El Refugio de Intag, is surrounded by the forest in 35 acres of the Intag Valley on the banks of the Rio Taobunche. Located on the western slope of the Andes, El Refugio is in the most biodiverse region on the planet. You’ll spend your days writing in the company of the greatest number of hummingbirds, frogs, and diversity of orchids in the world.
❋ WriteOpen to writers of all stripes – poets, novelists, narrative non-fiction, environmental - the retreat itself will be generative. Once you arrive at El Refugio, your time is largely your own. We will host several morning workshops to awaken your imagination and integrate your new surroundings, and gather on the final evening for a festive writing salon.
❋ ExploreIf you need a break from the page, six miles of forest trails wind through the property. We’ll also offer a guided nature tour to introduce you to the native flora and fauna on the grounds, and optional afternoon excursions to the nearby city of Otavalo, famous for its craft and textile market, and to the nearby volcanic hot springs of Nangulvi.
Tucked in the misty forest at 6,000 feet elevation, our home for the week is a lovingly-tended eco-lodge where you can always hear the river. Enjoy quiet mornings sipping coffee grown on the grounds, long afternoons to immerse yourself in your writing projects, evenings of communing over farm fresh dinners, and plenty of time to rest and explore.
What’s included:
5 nights accommodation
Transfer to and from Quito International Airport to El Refugio (limited shuttle service)
2 morning generative workshops
Ample protected writing time
Final evening writing salon
Guided nature tour of the estate
Excursions to nearby Otavalo textile market and volcanic hot springs
Daily breakfast, most lunches, and dinner with many ingredients from the property’s garden
Fresh coffee grown on the property’s coffee farm and farm tour
Fairly reliable wi-fi
Bridget McFadden
is a writer and book lover. She has attended the Kettle Pond Writers’ Conference in the Adirondacks, and the Black Fly Writer’s Retreat at the Schoodic Institute sponsored by the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance, and loves the magic that happens when a bunch of creative people get together in a place that is almost too beautiful to write.
Bridget has studied writing at Notre Dame, NYU, and The New School, and is active in her local writing and publishing communities in the Hudson Valley, New York, including All Ways Writing of Nyack. Her fiction has appeared in BlazeVox, Entropy, and The Platform Review. She is co-founder of Chum Bucket Press, an independent press that publishes illustrated short fiction.
Sunday, Day One
Arrive & Meet
Airport pickup in Quito (UIO Airport) followed by a scenic 3-drive to El Refugio. We will make a stop along the way for a bite and sightseeing. Then you'll have time to settle into your room before our first El Refugio meal together.
During our first meal at the lodge, we’ll get to know each other and talk about the week ahead.
Arrival in Quito Ideally between 6am-12noon
Arrive at El Refugio Between 12noon and 3pm
Dinner and Introductions 6:30pm
Monday, Day TwoHead in the Clouds, Feet in the Forest
Let the sights and sounds of Ecuador awaken your senses and permeate your writing. We’ll start the day with a home cooked breakfast, followed by a workshop with Bridget that will help integrate our travels and new surroundings into our work.
In the afternoon, esteemed naturalist Gabriel Willow, will take us on a tour of the property where we’ll get to know the local flora, fauna, and birds by name, a great exercise for writers who want to accurately describe the worlds portrayed in their poetry and prose. As we walk, we’ll talk about the dignity of naming and the creativity of specificity.
Breakfast 8:00 – 9:00amGenerative Writing Workshop #1:Sights, Sounds, & Weird Moments 10:00-11:00amLunch 12:30pmGroup Nature Tour 2:00pmDinner 6:30pmTuesday, Day ThreeWord Wanderers
Enjoy a leisurely morning and start to get into your groove.
In our second morning workshop, let the exotic and unfamiliar landscape infuse you and your work at the sentence level.
After that, the day is yours to wander the paths inside your mind and outside on the grounds. Enjoy hearty and delicious lunch and dinner prepared by our in-house chef.
Breakfast 8:00 – 9:00amGenerative Writing Workshop #2: Other People's Sentences 10:00-11:00amLunch 12:30pmAfternoon free writing + wanderingDinner 6:30pmWednesday, Day FourMarket day
Enjoy a big breakfast before we adventure out to the nearby town of Otavalo. Otavalo is famous for its artisans market, which has been an indigenous trading post since pre-Inca times over 1,000 years ago, and specializes textiles, alpaca sweaters, and Panama hats (which actually originate in Ecuador!).
In Otavalo, you’ll have an afternoon to explore, dine at a local restaurant, and peruse the market for colorful treasures.
We’ll return to the lodge to relax, write, and unwind over dinner.
Breakfast 8:00 – 9:00amDrive to Otavalo 10:00amMarket exploration + lunch 11:30am – 2:30pmDinner 6:30pmThursday, Day FiveSip, Soak, and Salon
What goes better with writing than coffee? This region is famous for its shade-grown Arabica coffee, and the coffee you’ve enjoyed every morning at breakfast is grown on the property of the lodge! Take a morning tour of the El Refugio coffee farm, where we will learn about coffee production from Oswaldo, the resident coffee farmer, guide and handyman.
After lunch, we’ll take restorative soak in the mineral-rich waters of the nearby mountain hot springs with epic views of the Intag Valley.
Back the lodge, we’ll toast to our final evening together with a festive writing salon. Enjoy a drink at happy hour, a final delicious dinner, and an intimate open mic where we’ll have a chance to share our writing.
Breakfast 8:00 – 9:00amEl Refugio Coffee Tour 10:00amLunch 12:30pmHot Springs 1:30 – 4:30pmEvening Writing Salon: 6:00 – 9:00pm happy hour, dinner, open micFriday, Day SixHasta la Proxima!
Wake up on your last morning to views of the mountains, bird song in the air, and new writing in your notebooks. After one more communal breakfast, we’ll make tracks back to Quito and deliver you to the airport for your travels home or beyond.
Breakfast 8:00 – 9:00amAirport Transport 11:00amAirport Arrival 1:00pmLearn more about your hosts, Gabriel and Bridget:
Gabriel Willow
is a naturalist with a particular passion for birds and urban spaces. He is an environmental educator and ecological tour guide in New York City, where he leads tours and teaches classes for The NYC Bird Alliance (formerly NYC Audubon) and Wave Hill, among others. His tours focus on seeking out the overlooked and ignored elements of wildness hiding all around us, ranging from boat trips on the East River, to kayaking on Newtown Creek, to seeking the elusive Peregrine Falcons nesting on skyscrapers near Wall Street.
He has created programs for The Audubon Society, Lincoln Center, the Morgan Library and Museum, the NY Botanical Garden, and more. Gabriel is a past Vice President of the Linnaean Society of NY. He is also an artist, illustrator, and DJ. gabrielwillow.com.