Vilcadventures!

Yes, we're both fine. Sorry for the last cliff hanger... apparently I put people on edge. I won't do that anymore.
Vilcabamba, a beautiful small town snug in the mountains, is almost too relaxing! It’s no wonder that so many tourists stay so long and that so many ex-pats go there to retire. The weather is gorgeous, there are avocado and papaya trees, and the locals are friendly. Really, what more can we ask for?

The colectivo dropped us off on the main road leading in and out of town. And from there we (and our heavy bags) went hostal hopping. We stopped in every hostal in town to check the price and take a mental picture of the accommodations. In the end we decided on the Rendez-vous, a quiet clean hostel with hammocks, a beautiful garden, breakfast served to your room, and… wait for it… WIFI! What a great place.

We walk into town and run into people from Chugchilán. Brief catchup session, but tummy grumblings interrupted. We sat down to journal-doodle and ordered some pan de ajo and some burgers of the meat and veggie varieties. Veggie burgers exist in sudamerica?! Yes, oh yes. And sometimes they come with a whole lot of fresh veggies as well. Horchata here is not the same as in Mexico. Here it is bright pink, lemony, and served warm. Fresh avocados are fantastic.

We begin walking in the direction of our hostal and meet an Austrailian-French couple. We begin chatting and they decide to walk with us. We talk and talk and hours pass. Down to the river and back. We agree to meet for dinner.

Despite a mediocre dinner, we spend hours in the restaurant talking about everything from the pros and cons of supermarkets to Middle East politics. Some kind of festivities were going on in the main parque including live music and la vaca loca, which involves a homemade wire cow that someone puts on and runs around the park. The excitement doesn't end there, however, because the cow was rigged with fireworks that were set off in domino-fashion. It is really quite terrifying when it is running toward you.

Only one restaurant is open late, so we sat around playing jenga and dominos drinking a very potent aguardiente-derived drink.

The next morning, why that's gotta be Friday, September 19, we got up to breakfast brought right to our room. We sat outside on our porch looking over a beautiful garden eating our fresh fruit and homemade bed. Paradise? Yea. I think so.

But the hostel was booked for that night. In fact all of the hostels were booked. Weekends are a busy time in Vilcabamba. Our new friends (I guess they have names: Becky and Olivier) sweet talked the receptionist at Hosteleria Izhcayluma to let the four of us share a room. So we packed our backs and took a rip-off taxi 2km to our new home. We left our bags in the room, packed a day pack, and set off for the waterfall trail.

It was late in the day to start, so we took a cab. Nate and I opted for the back of the pickup truck even though there was room inside. The driver took us to the start of the trail and we set off. Nate fashioned a dog-whacking stick out of a piece of bamboo.



The trail led us through the trees and along the river. The terrain was doable and we wound up and down and around. At one point we crossed the river on a wobbly tree trunk bride.

Then we climbed up up up through the forest, sidestepping horse messes, and having our calves scraped up by thorns. Suddenly the forest opened up and the view was incredible.




The hike wasn't over. We found the main path and continued past a group of trees with old men's beards, cows, and barbed wire. Oh, and spectacular views!


But wait. Why were we hiking at all? Oh yea, to get to the waterfalls. We got there! After a quick dip in the freezing water, we sat down for a picnic.

Then it was time to head back. We started walking and the clouds rolled in. Drip. Drip. Oh no. The clouds opened up to reveal their water contents. Nate and I start running. The other two tell us not to wait for them. So we jog along the path as we are pelted by big fat rain drops. The thunder quickens our pace.

The dirt path turns to mud as we jog past the cows (and the watchful bull). The hill becomes steep and we slide beside the small rivers that are forming. The storm reaches monsoon strength as we keep our speed in our now very heavy clothes. Finally we reach the refuge! We wring out our sopping wet clothes and wait for the others. A sneak peak at our watch says that we did the whole 3-hour return trip in 45 minutes!

When the others return, we call a cab. A hot shower and clean dry clothes are more than welcome! The four of us get expensive, but filling dinners and stay up late playing card games. The time flew as we joked and talked the night away. I love meeting wonderful people on the road!



We woke up on Saturday, September 20 with the intentions of an early morning hike and a departure for Loja. Nate wasn't feeling well. In fact, he hadn't been feeling well for the past few days. No more tummy issues. This time it was sniffly nose, sore throat, fever, cough, phelgm! Yum. He rested while the rest of us walked into town. The sun was fierce and bright. It was a beautiful day.

The pharmacists said that I should take him to the hospital. I explained that we couldn't spend a lot of money and that he really didn't qualify for the emergency room. But the emergency room was like a clinic and the best news: it was free!

I hiked up the hill to the hostel. I practically yanked Nate out of bed and we took at taxi down to the hospital. The doctor was super friendly and examined Nate. We were in and out quickly! We got a few prescriptions and ate a hardy lunch with some friends we seem to keep running into!

Back at the hostel, we packed up our bags. The rain came at a prompt 4:30pm like the day before. And we headed down to the bus station. Becky and Olivier waited with us for the bus. It was so great to meet them. It's not everyday you meet people you get along well with (and don't mind sharing close quarters with!). It was tough saying goodbye, but we know that we'll run into them on the road!
Safe travels, you two! And we're looking forward to homecooked meals and a few good games of Egyptian Ratscrew in Chile!