Hola amigos,
This week we will tell you
about our adventure to Vilcabamba, the “youthful valley”! We call her that way
because of her high amount of very old centenaries.
Vilcabamba is a small village located at an approximating 1200 meters of altitude, in the depths of Loja province’s mountains, at south of Ecuador.
This “hole in a mountain” as the particularity of having his own permanent mid-climate. Here, it’s never too cold, nor too warm and there’s barely any mosquitoes.
Furthermore, what makes it a “paradise
on earth” is, contrary to regular mountain weather, the incredible amount of
fruits and veggies growing : oranges, bananas, avocados, beets, kales,
potatoes, onions, tomatoes, lime, etc.
There
is rivers everywhere, waterfalls at an 4 hours walk and unforgettable sunrises.
But in Vilcabamba, the
expats-ecuadorian ration is way more noticeable than Cuenca
Like Cuenca
For example, we rode more than 11
hours on horseback with the Rajaona!
We ate pizzas and vegetarian
samosas, Belgian waffles with ecuadorian chocolate fondant, olive french bread
and emmenthal cheese and drank tap artisanal beer.
But mainly, we gave Soa many hippie
gifts for her birthday.
Unfortunately, like many expats communities
through the world, few of those « added values » really comes back to
local people.
And since a huge amount of lands
have been blindly bought by wealthy retirees, you won’t be surprised to learn
that land is un-buyable for us.
Nevertheless, it didn’t stop us
from starting our land search in the vicinities of Vilcabamba. We shopped
around one or two mountains in the middle of nowhere looking for home.
Prices were unbelievable… Mont Orford is probably cheaper. But it
was refreshing to start our few steps of the landbuying process.
WOW... We’re shopping for land!
It’s quite crazy, the amount of
details to take account of. And we’re not even picky.
The summum of our trip in
Vilcabamba was our week honeymoon in a not-so-rustic wood rustic cabin in
Rumi-Wilco reserves; thank you Soa’s parents!
We optimised our
wonderful time there by making unforgettable meals in our all-inclusive-rustic
kitchen, prepared coffee from Malacatos, aromatised tea from our herb garden and
batidos all day long.
We also had many Backgammon games with Soa and her father!
We slept with many forest sounds.
And, let’s not lie to ourselves, we
exaggerated our hammock-time!
We also bathed ourselves with
Gerard in the magic youth water river that was surrounding our house.
This water would be the secret to the
unique concentration of centenaries in Vilcabamba.
Well… they also tell us that this
centenaries story is more of a governmental propaganda to rise up tourism.
No matter what, as for tourism, it
worked! Simon even managed to meditate in this river without drowning.
Meanwhile, Gerard is flirting with
Monique like when they were in college.
We also went trekking in the
reserve, sometimes to go nowhere with the Rajaona! There quite in shape! And they hadn’t
drink the “juventud” water yet! We were looking for a waterfall… never
found it, not even on top of the Podocarpus mountain. (Make sure you don’t miss
the 3rd green metallic door, then walk 40 minutes without any indications
on private land, until the 4th green door, locked with a lock; but that gives
you just enough space to crawl under. From there, through the corn field but
keeping your left, open up your ears and follow the sound of water! Yes it’s
that complicated!
What
we found, completely randomly, is David meditating in a tree, in Sacred Suenos
community.
Sacred Suenos’ story is that, 10
years ago, a Canadian bought 10 ha of very poor land with the goal of giving it
a second life.
Meanwhile, a rich man found this
fellow very inspiring and decided to buy the entire mountain (90 ha) and give
it as a Christmas gift!
Note to Ecuadorian karma: we expect
nothing less from you!
So, after saying a quick hello to
David, we horseback ride a lot more… and more. The family got quite excited on
the riding-racing tracks of Vilcabamba. Good thing Juan Carlos was prepared!
It’s a miracle that Simon can still
walk today. More miraculous is the Spartan challenge he gave himself, just for
fun. Because David had to come down of his mountain, Simon decided to “save”
his friend with his heavy luggage.
Simon decided that David needed a
donkey.
A nice birthday gift for David, mostly
because he loves donkeys.
It was hard to evaluate, but from
our Rumi-wilco cabin, we would say it was a 10 km hike. Not really a Spartan
race for its lack of obstacles and also because in those races, you go downhill
sometimes!
Uphill at Sacred Suenos, another Christmas
gift, a machete-cleaning was awaiting the courageous (or crazy) Simon.
Meanwhile, the Rajaona, tried two
very good hotels. Simon and Soa spent half their trip in one of them, the
“Rendez-vous”. Breakfast, view, room and receptionist are all reasons that made
the stay worthwhile. The atmosphere is not so cosy though and the hotel’s name,
quite hard to pronounce in Spanish.
After that, Soa left her boyfriend
to escape to the beach with her parents. Simon found himself all single with
his best friend in Ecuador
Tap beer, campfire, dancing on the
church plaza and lots of reading in hammocks was on the menu.
They visited lands too.
But they also met wonderful friends
from Argentina
So, Vilcabamba was very much worth
it.
Our buttocks still hurt but
we will always remember the mountains, the forest, rivers, waterfalls and
friends and family moments.
Next stop : Zamora
During our stay:
We slept:
Rumi-Wilco Ecolodge (2 types of accommodations tested)
Tested: Luxurous cabin
Price: 28$ per night
Full kitchen and eating space,
fridge, oven, private bathroom, hot water, 2 double beds, hammocks and balcony.
Very fancy!
At 25 min walk from downtown (half
of it in the forest)
Tested: Rustic room
8$ per person
Simple room with not so firm
matress
Shared kitchen with fridge, shared
bathroom, hammocks
At the park entrance
Both give access to the river
(100 meters) and are located inside the
Rumi-wilco reserve!
There is a camping!
The park guardians Alicia and
Orlando live there and are very nice!
Ps: Go by the bridge to get there!
Rendez-vous
Price: from 10 to 20$ per person.
Downtown
Clean, comfortable beds, shared or private
bathroom, big garden, tasty breakfast included
Unfortunately, the owner has a
weird attitude spoiling the wonderful site.
Izhkaluma
Price: from 10 to 25$ per person
2 km from town
Very clean room
Private or shared bathroom
24/24 security
Panoramic views of the valley
Taxi almost necessary
Breakfast included but not filling
Pool, hammocks, relaxing areas
We ate:
Natural Yogurt
Organic yogourt, salty and sweet
crepes, burgers (vegetarian and non-veg), etc.
Around the plaza
Ecuadorian prices
Shanta's
Artesanal and extremely tasty
pizzas for 6$
Microbrewed beer (3$ a bock)
Unique cowboy design; hats and
cactus everywhere!
The owner has a unforgettable
moustache!
El Colibri
Mexican tacos
Tacos and mexican dishes with many
veg options
Del Paramo
Chocolat and coffee shop
Tasty waffles
Jose, the Belgian owner, is full of
knowledge and kindness
La Baguette bakery
We rarely find bread that tasty in Ecuador
He helped us prepare a huge birthday
cake for almost nothing within a 12 hour notice.
Juice Bar
Very foreigner, very expensive
But : High quality products
Including: Vegan cakes and kale
chips
More :
No-name restaurant next to the bus
terminal
