Blogs from Vilcabamba, South, Ecuador, South America - page 8

Daniela, a Swiss girl who works on the hostal took me on that trip. It was another very beautiful hike. We went east of the hostal, up and down over the hills with many beautiful views again. As this wasn’t yet one of the ‘official’ trails of the hostal, we had to mark it. So Daniela went around with a yellow color spray and we painted the trees, fences, rocks etc. with yellow dots.....We walked for a bit less than 5 hours. ... read more

We just spent a very relaxing four days in Vilcambamba, known as the Valley of Longevity. We didn´t really find out the secret, but the local residents are known for their inability to kick the bucket, living very long lives. Considering that they have their very own spring water that is heavily marketed with a pretty old man as the poster child, we assume the secret is the water, although we´ve also heard they have a very healthy diet too. We stayed at El Jardin Secreto (secret garden) after reading from several other travel blogs that it was a nice place. And it really was...very colorful rooms, comfortable beds, hot water with water pressure...comforts that you take for granted living in the U.S. It honestly would have been paradise...if it weren´t for the dang rooster that ... read more

Dutch Version: Hier volgt het 2e deel van onze gringotrail op weg naar het zuiden van Ecuador. Vanuit Banos zijn we vertrokken naar Riobamba. We wisten eigenlijk niet zo goed wat te doen daar. Riobamba zelf is niet veel aan maar ligt vlakbij de Chimborazo vulkaan, de hoogste berg van Ecuador, zo´n 6.320 meter. Beklimmen ging ons wat te ver, dat heilige vuur is inmiddels wel wat gedoofd moet ik zeggen. Na wat ronddolen door het stadje kwamen we bij een burootje uit dat downhill mountainbike tours verzorgde vanaf Chimborazo. Het was eigenlijk een 1-mans bedrijf dat bestond uit Galo Brito, gids, materiaalman, salesman etc. alles in 1. Check ProBici Riobamba want de man verdiend deze aanbeveling van jewelste. Samen met Steve en Laury uit Frankrijk en Francois en Marie uit Canada, Quebec (ja, weer uit ... read more

I did not spend too much time in Guayaquil (just one night - did not fancy being in a huge city for too long- largest in Ecuador) and was not well in Cuenca so did not do much sightseeing there. Vilcabamba was superb and just what I needed - total R&R... I guess it isn't called the Valley of Longevity for nothing - as soon as you come through this place you feel relaxed... it was brilliant looking through my guide book and seeing no sights and activities to do other than take in the view and go for a massage. Sigh... perfecto..... read more

Finally arrived in Ecuador yesterday, after yet another bus epic. This time a fan belt broke on the bus between Trujillo and Piura back in Peru. Somehow the onboard mechanic contrived to not know how to fix it, and we had to wait about 5 hours for the recovery truck to come and fix us. By which time all chances of getting my connection to Ecuador where scuppered. So, an extra night in Piura on my last 20 soles, not the nicest place in the world by any means. The following day was a long and hot one, about 12 hours in total in the bus, but not without some excitement, before finally arriving at a little mountain resort called Vilcabamba at about 8pm. Well I will sum up the last few days of my ... read more