One hears much about Vilcabamba when one is in Ecuador. It has a reputation of being a special place with extreme longevity of its inhabitants. I won’t get into this, but rather refer you to wikipedia for a full discussion: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vilcabamba,_Ecuador.
This reputation has brought a slew of gringos here to visit and live, particularly of the more, shall we say, “energy-conscious” variety. By this I mean, of course, hippies, want-to-be hippies, and as it turns out, conspiracy theorists. There is a growing tension between the locals and the gringos, as the latter are driving up the price of land.
Despite all of this, it is a lovely place, lovely climate, and lovely nature.
The town is located next to the Podocarpus National Park, and there are all manner of hikes and horse tours into the park.
We walked into town for lunch. The “Midas Touch,” across from the town park was recommended.
Ellen and I split a sandwich and carrot beet soup.
As we were enjoying our lunch, we heard a band playing in the distance. It was a Lenten parade, and went right by us to the church.
The next day we joined friends Joe and Linda (retired and traveling for the last 1 1/2 years), Deb (retired lawyer from Colorado now living in Vilcabamba), and Adriana (teaches Spanish to Peace Corps volunteers), for barbecue and craft beer at a little place overlooking the valley and a bit outside of town.
It looks like a convivial gathering. It makes me envious even though this winter has not been very bad.