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Published: August 17th 2009
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View of Vilcabamba
From our new casita. We are now official residents of the mystical, magical valley Vilcabamba—at least for a month. We rented one of four casitas owned by a member of a family of wealthy landowners, a gracious attorney who lives mostly in Quito. Tucked into the hillside above the town, the grounds are reminiscent of an Italian villa and used to be the family home of our host. Meandering paths lead past lush vegetation and offer spectacular views of Vilcabamba below. In the distance, church bells chime to the faithful. And, thankfully, dogs and roosters—ubiquitous in small Latin American villages—are far enough away that their deafening cacophony is a mere occasional annoyance, a symphony of the world's most discordant voices.
To get to our cottage, we must descend a cobbled path and 35 steps down three levels on the hillside, past banana trees, bouganvilleas, and a variety of other colorful plants and trees. Two terraces are outfitted with lounge chairs and garden swings. Our casita is a spacious two bedrooms, with majestic views from each room. We're renting it for $400 a month—high by Ecuadorian standards. We have access to tennis courts and a swimming pool that appear to be floating in the Andes.
Where in the World Is....
By Podacarpus way down south. We share our hillside compound with an adorable young American family of three, a glorious older Argentinian woman with streaming white hair who used to own an art gallery in the San Diego area, and a kind refugee from New Mexico. It's a little like one of those great little British films that mingles the lives of various disparate characters in an exotic setting. I guess I get to be the narrator in this script.
Indeed, Vilcabamba is the stuff of which novels and films are made. It has it all... a spectacular setting, colorful characters, greed, lust, passion, conflict, and even some danger. The most popular hike here is to the sacred mountain of Mandango. Women are warned not to hike up alone the because of the sacrilege of a couple of rapes on its cliffs in the last few years. Two weeks ago, armed robbers hit three different hiking parties coming up the mountain, threatened them with guns, and relieved them of their valuables. A cab driver coming to Vilcabamba from Loja recently wasn't so lucky. He tried to resist and was killed. Locals usually say the guilty ones are outsiders who come from nearby Peru
Nice Pool
Lots are available to buy and build here. or Guayaquil.
Yet, in spite of those horrific episodes, this truly is a peaceful, non-threatening place. It's the kind of place where parents let their four-year-olds cross the street by themselves to play in the Plaza at dark. People look out for one another and are friendly and accommodating—even to ignorant gringos who can't speak the language. While drivers outside the village act like Mario Andretti on steroids, drivers inside the village seem to consider that children and horses and dogs are equally entitled to use of the flagstoned streets and drive accordingly. Of course, it makes a difference that most people here—with cheap cabs and even cheaper bus service—don't even have private vehicles. Let someone else have the worries and expense. And walk in the street if you want.
But people don't always walk easily here. Part of what fascinates me about Vilcabamba is the level of acrimony we've witnessed... mostly among the gringos. (Of course, if we were allowed into the lives and thoughts of the local people, I'm sure it would also be an education).
Most people blame the acrimony on one thing—greedy realtors.
Some characters you can't make up.
A VILCABAMBA
FAIRY TALE
Once upon a time there was a Fairy Princess with a crown of flowing hair who'd led a magical, mystery tour life, full of amazing happenings that included working with space program giants and the great LSD guru, Dr. T. Leary. In fact, she became such good friends with T. Leary that when it came to his final days she was the chosen one to be by his bedside, help him cross over and then dispense of his ashes, most of which were sent into space, the ultimate high. The remainder of T. Leary rested in a jar on her fireplace mantle in Vilcabamba.
She came to Vilcabamba with her former Broadway star Prince and the two of them lit up the valley with their presence as they made a success out of a Shangri La retreat that hosted visitors from around the planet, toasting them with horchata, a local fruit drink made with 16 herbs and spices and said to cleanse impurities from your mind and body. (Jack recalls he was a little too cleansed).
When we arrived in the enchanted valley, the Princess enveloped us, as she did many others, and warned us
about the evil realtors in town. "Trust none of them," she said, "except for One..."
Now the story turns, for the Fairy Princess herself was accused of being involved in a scheme with the One that resulted in gringos being charged a much higher price for homes and property than the local people were asking. Who knows what happened to the difference between the two sums, although knowing eyebrows were raised and a multitude of fingers pointed. And although the Fairy Princess proclaimed her innocence, even working to help the ancient ones, she was soon reviled throughout the land by gringos who paid too much and irate locals who now found they couldn't afford to buy property in their own kingdom because the prices were so inflated.
Something had to be done.
There is a tradition in Ecuador that New Year's Eve is the time to get rid of the evil spirits. One way to do this is to pick a representative of evil and burn them in effigy. The locals in Vilcabamba chose the Fairy Princess.
But still the Fairy Princess protested her innocence, saying she had never taken one penny, that she was misunderstood.
Didn't they know? Fairy Princesses only want to help.
One year passed, then another...
By the time she was finally run out of the country with her ailing Prince last month, she was accused of several other things, too. But still the Fairy Princess protested.
Maybe in their new kingdom, far, far away, the Fairy Princess will do what Fairy Princesses and Princes do best—Live Happily Ever After.
Meanwhile, the sun shines a little less brightly in the Valley. You can never have too many Fairy Princesses.
More tales from Vilcabamba next time, amigos.
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KatieJack
Katie & Jack in Ecuador
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