vilcabamba

We took our first overnight trip away from Cuenca last week since our arrival in Ecuador last month.  The town of Vilcabamba is approximately 150 miles south of Cuenca, nestled in a lush green valley.  It is surrounded by gorgeous green mountains, the most notable being Mandango ("Sleeping Incan"), which looks like the face of a person laying down with his/her face turned up to the sky.  This area is also known as the Valley of Longevity because many of its residents are reported to live well past 100 years old.  Some studies have suggested that this may be due to the local diet, but it appears that the accuracy of the residents' reported ages has come into question.  We made sure to drink lots of the local water, just in case.

We made the journey with our new friends, Rich, Jen and their 5 year-old daughter, Clara.  A private van can be arranged to take you straight from Cuenca to Vilcabamba, but we decided to take a bus to Loja, a larger town approximately 45 minutes north of Vilcabamba, and then a taxi for the remainder of the trip.  The scenery along the 4 hour bus trip was stunning, however, not for the faint-of-heart.  The road rises and falls sharply as you cross the mountains with hairpin turns and Ecuadorian drivers are not afraid of speed.  We made it safely and enjoyed a relaxing 4 days, complete with horseback riding, hikes, swimming (briefly!) in the freezing hotel pool and professional massages.  I have been toying with the idea of making a video slideshow of some of our photos and this trip seemed to lend itself well to the process.  In lieu of photos on this page, I have included a link to my Vimeo page where you can see the slideshow.  Another HUGE thanks goes to Rich Cameron for the use of some of his photos… if you see a photo that takes your breath away, it's probably his.

Vilcabamba slideshow

--  Ileana