Chilling out in Vilcabamba

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Day 51: Tuesday 19th August - Chilling out after not much sleep

Arrive in Vilcabamba at 7am. The hostel I'm staying at is 2 miles outside the town but the bus drops me at the entrance. Although I'm shattered after spending the night sleeping on buses/the bus station I'm immediately energised on seeing the sweeping views of the valley from the hostel. I think after the views from the black sheep on the Quilotoa loop, it must be the best view I've had in Ecuador.

Laze about the hostel talking to fellow travellers in the morning until my dorm is ready. Grab a shower to freshen up, but unfortunately its cold water, so its over a week since a hot shower still. The hostel is very chilled out which is why I picked it, apart from amazing views, it has a good restaurant, a swimming pool, has a decent bar with'pool table and table tennis, stacks of DVD's and beautiful gardens.......and all for $9US a night......bargain. Have a leisurely walk into town, grab some lunch and then start the laborious process of uploading all my Galapagos photos in an internet cafe.

Vilcabamba is a sleepy town of only 5000 people and its nicknamed the' Valley of Longevity' as all the residents live long lives. Its not hard to see why as this place is so chilled out. After losing track of time in the internet cafe its dusk before I start the half hour walk back up the hill to the hostel. Grab some dinner in the hostel - the food's unsurprisingly good before retiring to the bar for a nightcap. Its an early night to catch up on my missed sleep last night!

Day 52: Wednesday 20th August - Hiking the Mandango Ridge

Wake up full of lethargy and another lazy day looks like being on the cards. Decide in the end to go on a hike with a Canadian guy. There are a number of treks around the countryside in Vilcabamba. The one we decide to do is called the Mandango after the peak that the hike climbs. Its supposed to take 4 hours, but after starting at 10.30am its another 2 hours before we find the start of the trail!! We's walked passed the entrance twice, and in the two hours we were lost we managed to walk through thick undergrowth, walk on to private property and saw a 3-4 foot snake in an irrigation channel. Although the hike is steep we manage to make the first peak on the trek in an hour, and then its a further half hour to the top of the Mandango peak (2030m altitude) across a narrow ridge. We must then walk another hour or so along the ridge, in some places its 2 foot wide and sheer drops for a couple of hundred metres....definitely hairy!! At the end of the ridge we get confused by the trail and so decide to head straight down the hill as the crow flies. Its definitely an adventure down some steep terrain which is very overgrown and we don't see a proper path until we reach the bottom, some 400m down the hillside. We get back to the hostel at 4.30pm, so the trek did take us the 4 hours suggested after we actually found it!!

The hot water is back on so manage to get a welcome hot shower for the first time in a week and a half. After a few hours rest, have dinner and then its off to the bar for a few beers and to beat all comers in pool. There's a good, young crowd staying at the Izhcayluma Hosteria and I'm pleased with my choice of accomodation. Its a shame it will be my last night here.....I couldf stay a week here no problem but I must press on to Peru as I have an Inca Trail trek booked in 3 weeks and there is a lot of distance to cover in Peru.

Day 53: Thursday 21st August - Another chilled day in Vilcabamba then over the border into Peru

Discussed doing another hike with a few of the guys last night but I can't be bothered really so decide to have another day chilling out.

Walk into Vilcabamba again for the afternoon before heading back to the hostel for dinner. Have to walk back to the bus station to catch a bus back to Loja in the mid evening. Its an hour and a half's bus ride to Loja where upon I'm catching the 11pm bus to Piura in Northern Peru which takes 8 hours, and then a further bus to Chiclayo which is another 3 hours. Can't say I'm looking forward to the bus rides or for that matter leaving Vilcabamba.

I've had a great month in Ecuador.......for a small country (its only marginally bigger than the UK) it certainly packs a punch. Of the 4 main tourist attractions, I've only done two, namely the Galapagos Islands and I've travelled the highlands extensively. I have however not even been to either the jungle or the coast so I can only imagine how amazing this country is. Its definitely been my favourite country to date and I've been lucky to stay in some very good hostels and see some amazing sights. However, when I look at the map of South America I realise how little distance I have travelled and how far I've got to go. I've only got 3 months to get to Buenos Aires so I best get motoring!

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