Vilcabamba: Paradise on Earth?

Tuesday 5^th April

It was a short one hour flight from Quito to Loja airport where I was met by the driver from Madre Tierra resort for the one hour plus drive along amazing mountainous roads first to the turning for Loja town, which is almost 30 minutes from the airport, and then to Vilcabamba where I was greeted enthusiastically by Gail, who sounds American. After settling in, had an excellent set dinner of soup, a big, tasty chicken burrito accompanied by delicious salad, including avocado and red cabbage, and flan for dessert, all for $8.50 plus $2.25 for a beer. Also at dinner were two American couples working through their lives to find geographical intersections as American always manage to do.

Wednesday 6th April

After a tasty breakfast of scrambled egg, fruit, toast and coffee I arranged with Gail to have a guided walk tomorrow morning. Had a look round Madre Tierra; the views over the mountains are magnificent. 

View from the Terrace

Walked into town where eventually I found the Movistar phone shop which sells bus tickets to Piura in Peru, just as Gail had described. According to the woman who sells the tickets, there is only one day time bus leaving at the ungodly hour of 7 am. Looks like I have no choice so I buy my ticket for $14. The town of Vilcabamba itself isn't very exciting but every street leads to an amazing mountain view. Stopped for a slice of passion fruit cheesecake and a coffee at a cafe on the main square which seems to be a hub for North American expats.   There was a guy from Vancouver with a big dog complaining that the Hong Kong Chinese have taken over, Vancouver not Vilcabamba. During the time I was in the cafe at least three of his acquaintances dropped by for a chat, one of them passing him a mosquito net that looked like a bride's wedding veil. Another couple were talking about going back to Canada before returning to Vilcabamba in November. 

Laid Back Vilcabamba

Surrounded by Mountains

Town Square

Thursday 7^th April

Just walking around before breakfast I am struck by the incredible views; definitely a piece of paradise. At 9.00 Ernesto arrived for our tour. He gave me the choice of climbing the mountain or heading for the waterfall. I could see the height of the mountain, so chose the waterfall. We took a taxi a short distance out of town and started walking. Ernesto is in his early 40's and incredibly knowledgeable about all the plants, telling me their names, which ones have medicinal properties, which are native and which are introduced.  He also tells me how destruction of the forest is a huge problem as farmers burn it to clear land for crops and grazing. His main job is farming, growing coffee, bananas, yucca and some others I forget. He is very environmentally aware and thinks the growth of tourism in the area and foreigners buying property will help prevent the destruction of the remaining forest, but the downside is that they push up property prices. Where have I heard that before? Most of the land is privately owned and essentially if you own the land you can do what you like on it. Ernesto was doing most of the talking; I was too busy breathing, trying to keep up with him on the steep path. Exploring the area on horseback is popular here but I decided to take a walking tour since I'm not particularly fond of horses and don't feel very comfortable on them. But seeing people riding up the path I could see the advantage of having a four legged friend doing the work. Horses are supposed to be one of the factors that enabled a few hundred Spanish conquistadores to conquer the mighty Inca Empire. Ernesto was patient as I stopped to admire the views and regain my breath but after about an hour or so, as the path continued onward and upward, walking punctuated by rest stops turned into resting punctuated by walks so we decided to stop at the next viewpoint. Many of the tracks are several feet below the surrounding hillside which surprised me since they seem to have been worn through layers of shale or slate. Ernesto tells me that they are worn by animals and during wet weather water rushing down plays its part.  The view from the ridge was fantastic and it was great to have a long two way conversation with Ernesto. We headed down a different, even narrower, track into the valley to a cool mountain stream where at Ernesto's suggestion I dipped my feet in the water. From there the track was wider and later turned into a dirt road from which Ernesto arranged for a taxi to take us back. Ernesto asked for only $20 but I felt it only fair to give him $40 for his effort. He tells me he would love to travel and see other countries so I hope one day he manages it. 

Vilcabamba down in the Valley

Ernesto Relaxing

Ernesto Leading the Way. Downhill is easier!

Cool Mountain Stream

Various Flowers along the Path

Susana de los ojos negros, an invasive species

Back at Madre Tierra I felt exhausted after our walk and was quite shocked to find it was only 8400 steps or 6.5 km according to my phone's pedometer. In the evening dinner was onion soup with chicken curry and flan. Settled my bill and arranged a taxi for tomorrow morning.