December 21, 2016

We did a little road trip to southern Ecuador for a couple of days. The bus trip in itself is always an experience - it is cheap and efficient. 

After a four hour bus ride we arrived in Loja, population about 180,000. 

This is Puerta de la Cuidad - "Door of the City".  From the top of the Clock Tower is a stunning view of the city.







We walked around the city a bit, checked out the vegetable market, had lunch, then walked back to the bus terminal. Not that there isn't anything to see - there are a number of churches and cathedrals, monuments etc., but our mission was to visit Vilcabamba, so on we went! 




This is the walking bridge that crosses the street at the bus terminal. 












Nestled below the steep mountains of Southern Ecuador, a winding one-hour bus ride south of Loja, lies the village of Vilcabamba in the Sacred Valley of Longevity. 
This place was made famous for the high percentage of people over 100 years old. This was actually determined to be a myth, however, overall the people here are healthier into old age!

Vilcabamba is clean, small and friendly. 

The population is about 7,000 people and from what we've heard, about half of these are expats. Many of the businesses around the square are owned by Expats and English seems to be the chosen language. 




In Vilcabamba the weather is almost perfect all year long, the fertile land yields abundant crops, people get lots of exercise, and they drink pure water which cascades down from the Andean peaks.




We stayed at a nice little hostel - breakfast included - which was only steps to the square (the heart of the village).

sharing a cerveza on the balcony off our room

The balcony overlooking the garden 

The garden of the hostel

I can certainly see the attraction to this little village, but it's far too small for us.

It's a nice place to visit, but I sure wouldn't want to live there!