Vilcabamba, is a small 'Hippy Village' with an elevation of 5500 ft and is nestled in what is called 'The Valley of Longevity' It is only 142 miles from the city of Cuenca, however, it took a good 6 hrs getting there, via various shuttle buses, and taxies. The scenery was just beautiful as we drove up/down and around the mountains, very green and lush. It's quiet and laid back, the attraction to this area is....it's perfect year round weather, crisp clean air, very low cost of living, and friendly people. The main attractions for tourists are horseback riding (many of the locals ride into town, hitch the horse to a post, do their shopping (fresh veg/fruit market at the w/e). There are not many privately owned cars. There are some great hikes, the most famous being. 'The Sacret Mt of Mandango' but unfortunately closed a couple of weeks ago due to some random attacks on tourists, when 4 men with machetes attacked and robbed them of their money, cameras and i-phones. So, we just kept ourselves safe by walking mainly in and around the village. We only had a 3 day stay there before moving on to our last stop.... Banos.
Banos
Well, It seems we saved the best till last. Situated in a valley of waterfalls and hotsprings, Baños has become a mecca for international travelers seeking year-round temperate weather, a small town atmosphere, and a base for exploring the great Ecuadorian outdoors. Located four hours by bus from Quito, Baños offers many hotsprings, best time to soak is in the am when it is still misty and cooler. Again horseback riding is popular, then there is rafting, climbing and mountain biking. We ended up doing a very challenging hike, which according to the guide books should have taken an hour and a half..... well, it took us two just to climb the vertical part! However, the views from the ridge at the top were spectacular and we rewarded ourselves with a great lunch back in the town for $3 followed by a marvellous massage back at our very comfortable lodgings. Yesterday, Ron and I took the bus to Puyo (60 km) to visit the Botanical Gardens (really nice) and a monkey rehabilation center. It was a fun day and I captured a great vidieo of one of the larger monkeys leaping into Ron's lap and giving him this big old hug (keep in mind these are wild, not domestic) so the volunteers were fairly quick to distract him (the monkey, not Ron) with some food. Another little fellow decided it was OK to be craddled in my arms while giving himself a 'bath' ..rubbing himself all over with a lime, afterwards my shirt and arms were very sticky, not to mention, smelly but it was so fun.
Ron, ever on the look out for "the" place to relocate to, loves this place, however, it's main drawback is it's rather remote location...3-4 hrs from a hospital and airport.
And so, our adventure in Central/South America has come to an end. We are presently waiting for our taxi to take us back to the sprawling city of Quito our international airport for our flight to Miami tomorrow. However, for one last quick treat, immediately after breakfast we spent a couple of hours soaking in one of the nearby outdoor hot tubs, which was almost as good as our massage.
There are always places you wish you could have seen, the Galapagos being one, but we have to save something for a return trip!!
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