Ecuador 9- Time glides by in Shangri la

We leave the lovely town of Cuenca and head South to Vilcabamba, the last town on the Ecuador border before Peru. This place is famous for its purported longevity. It’s a five hour comfortable bus journey in a mini bus, which has been put on for us by the hotel we are staying at in Vilcabamba. We drive down the spine of the Andes, and in the course of the day travel through various weather zones, …….. from where it rains all year and the mist covers the mountains high up in Saraguro where the men wear ponchos and black trilbys and knee length black shirts, then down through Loja and the coffee region to the Vilcabamba Valley, leaving behind the indigenous people. Vilcabamba  feels like Shangri-La. We are back in banana growing country and flowers aplenty and it feels exotic. Its’s a lovely warm climate and oh so chilled, everyone here is almost horizontal.

We choose the perfect place to stay; the Izycaluma is up on a hill slightly away, overlooking this lovely valley and the German brothers who run this place know all about hospitality. The place is busy with travellers of all nationalities, young and old. This is a walkers heaven and all the trails are superbly signed. We spend the week chilling, walking and riding, stopping in Vilcambamba for an ice cream or lunch. A sleepy, lovely little place, with a central square but sadly too overrun by Argentine and Uruguayan Hippies and elderly American retirees, hoping that if they spend their retired years here, maybe they too will be rewarded with a long life… there don’t seem to be too many Ecuadorians here. Then it’s back to the hotel for a dip in the lovely pool. We spend a lovely week here, and the time glides by.

Keen to get back in the saddle and nobody mentions the last awful ride on Jemima ‘s birthday (children can have wonderfully short memories ). This time, we are on better suited horses – smaller, South American horses. And the children find their confidence this time and we get up a good few gallops, along stretches of these trails, which climb high out of the valley, and give us fabulous views.

We post a parcel to the UK from the tiny post office in Vilcambamba,  small items we have collected along the way. A wall hanging from Ottavalo, a hammock for Jemima’s birthday, etc etc,  but are put on the spot when we are charged $200 to send back our beautifully wrapped and packaged box. A conundrum! Do we carry these things around with us, or do we shell out this vast to us expense of money? This must cost more than the items we are sending. Hey Ho! We are not left with much choice and some stamps are slammed on the box and off it goes, to my mum’s in Islington. The price of travelling, methinks.

Next stop the Galapagos via Guayaquil and another long night on a bus. This time we arrive at 5.45am Where to to while away the next 7 hrs in the second largest city, noisy frantic, hot and steamy, lacking in redeeming features. Where will have us? So early in the morning? Do we go to the Hilton, which will surely be open all night and be happy to serve us breakfast and will surely have sofas we can slump on? We pick a few local places out of the Lonely Planet and trail around in the taxi, all of them closed, or they don’t do breakfast, or they just take one look at us and don’t fancy hosting us. Another idea – Mark selects somewhere high on a hill and we arrive at Naxy House. Ring the bell. A long wait, then a voice at the end of the intercom, “Un momento”. I wait  for what seems like an eternity, then a face appears at a grill, an essential in this security conscious city. Yes we can come, it’s no problem, but it will be a half hour wait to Breakfast. No Problem! When we climb the stairs, and  turn the  corner, there lies the the city of Guayaquil, looking almost glorious below us AND there’s a turquoise pool AND green grass AND hammocks AND garden toys AND we are the only ones there. This feels like Heaven! The children jump out their clothes and into the pool. It’s 7am! Breakfast is served on the terrace of this lovely house which is now a hotel and we have the place to ourselves. We book ourselves back in here in two weeks time, on our return.