Slowdown in Vilcabamba

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After Guayaquil we decided to go to Vilcabamba, which is known as the valley of youth. Many people there grow to live much longer than most, plus we heard that its very nice, beautiful and relaxing, so we just had to go and have a taste of what water they are drinking!

We took an executive 10-hour overnite bus from Guayaquil to Loja, the nicest one we have been on so far. Each passenger got a bag of goodies with a fruit drink, very nice. We arrived early in the morning, and took another hour combi ride to our destination, Vilcabamba. The scenery to Vilcabamba from Loja was truly breathtaking, as we passed through valleys of plush green hills, mountains, and river.

After finally arriving in Vilcabamba after a long journey we checked out a couple of hostels before checking into El Jardin Escondido, a nice hotel with a huge courtyard full of gardens, a pool, and a nice authentic Mexican restaurant (even the cooks were Mexican). We were convinced that it was the right spot to stay after we met Marcel, a Montrealer who spent south American summers running the hotel in Vilcabamba and north American summers back at home in Montreal. Nice deal if you ask me.

We spent the first half of the day catching up on missed sleep, then woke up and took a stroll around this sleepy little village in a valley. It was as promised; a relaxed little town. No cars honking, no music blasting, just nice scenery and tranquility. As we were walking around, we were surprised to run into a pair of Canadian friends, Geoff and Kelly, who we had met at the Guayaquil bus terminal and again in Montanita. We had dinner with them, and since we were all heading in the same direction, we decided to plan out the next few days with them.

The next day was all relaxing and hanging out. We were all ready to leave for Peru, so at night we took an overnite bus from Loja to Piura in Peru.

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Photos

Vilcabamba
Our hostal

Vilcabamba
Our hostal

Vilcabamba
Our hostal