FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTION by readers of this blog:

How long do you intend to live there? Did you move permanently to Ecuador?

An English guy that I got to know at the hostel left to travel to other parts of Ecuador. He recently returned & told me he knows what the secret for the longevity of the residents of this valley is: The weather. (He has been living in Peru for the last two years or so). The last couple of days have been cloudy (see picture). Somehow, despite its cloudiness, the weather here is still great! I have decided that Vilcabamba is a good enough place to stay for another month. Consequently, I have rented a room from a fellow American for a month. I shall l be moving out of the hostel to his place next week.  Depending on how the month goes, I may extend another month.

What I like about Vilcabamba:

-          People are very nice – both the locals and gringos.

-          The weather is so mild aka eternal spring. Just love it.

-          The elevation here is 5000 feet. That should trigger the adaptation mechanisms within me such that the amount of hemoglobin in my blood should increase. :)

-          The hilly terrain provides ample opportunities to get my heart rate up whenever I have to walk up.

-          A lot of ‘boutique” restaurants that serve good food.

-          My cost of living is a fraction of what it was in California.

What I don’t like:

-          The vehicles use diesel. You may be walking up a hill and a vehicle passes by and you end up inhaling the diesel fumes L

-          Not all the roads are tarred. Again, when vehicles pass by, the dust rises. I like to think that I am been prepared for a mud bath…

CONCLUSION: Nothing is permanent. At this point, the maximum amount of time I intend to stay in Ecuador is 90 days (per my tourist visa). Following that, I intend to check out Medellín, Colombia. Everyone that I have met here who have been there rave about it.

P.S. Instead of individually answering e-mails, I will attempt to answer via this blog instead.

(Picture below: Main highway/road of this city)

COST OF LIVING

Not everything is cheap when compared with prices in US. Overall, if one considers housing, cost of living is still a fraction of  that in the US. Hence the reason why many Amercians have retired here.

Personal pizza with 10+ vegetables (see picture)...........$6
A bowl of soup.................................................................$1
A cup of home made ice-cream.......................................$0.5
A bunch of broccoli.........................................................$0.4
A bunch of chard.............................................................$0.25
A kilo of wild black berries..............................................$1
Pasta (400g)....................................................................$1.25
To wash+dry your laundry/kilo........................................$1

(I will be unable to respond to everyone's e-mail. I will attempt to answer them via the blog post. Internet is not that reliable here).

A Tale Of Two Dogs

Both dogs live in Vilcabamba, Ecuador.
One is Lucky & the other Unlucky.
Lucky (see below) does not have to worry about food, water or shelter.

Lucky has all the love and attention from both the owners and guests. It takes siestas whenever it wants. It knows how to bask in the sun & enjoy the scenery - a skill that some humans have forgotten. Lucky gives a different perspective to the idiom:  It's a dog's life. 

Unlucky's life is diametrically opposed. Unlucky looks under nourished, dirty and perhaps even stuck on top of a roof of an abandoned building.

Dispatch from Ecuador.

Arrived at Vilcabamba aka Valley of Longevity on July 15th 2015. Slept very well that night and woke up to a gentle morning breeze, with roosters crowing and birds chirping. As I stepped out of my room to attend the Yoga class, I smelled the fresh air and said to myself – Today is going to be a great day – and it did turn out to be a great day
The hour of yoga was performed in front of stupendous views. 

After the yoga class, I enjoyed a sumptuous breakfast of fruit salad and granola – again in front of a stupendous view. Add to that, I was lucky to share the meal with two wonderful friends that I made on the trip to this valley - Nicole & Sonja.

After breakfast & checking & responding to emails, I headed  downtown to checkout the city center. It is literally downtown, because it is about 20 minutes or so walk down a hill. The walk back up provides good exercise. In fact there are ample opportunities to integrate exercise into daily walking in this valley because of the terrain of the valley.

Will update next when I get the chance.