4th of July

Well America´s birthday was coming up, and what better way to celebrate it than with a group of volunteers in a small expat town.
We went to Vilcabamba, a small town outside Loja that has become somewhat overrun by foreigners but is still really cute and was a great get away, kinda felt like I was in Saint Augustine, Florida. The town is now famous for having been named home to one of the oldest living populations in the world. People from this town often live well over 100 years, some as old as 135 years old. Although I don’t really believe in the ¨fountain of youth¨- type superstitions of longevity, I will say just spending three days in this valley town I did feel (and probably looked) so much cleaner and refreshed. Granted that could just be because for three days I was not covered in dust and sweat but let’s stick with the claim, it’s the water there.
We stayed at this great hostal and filled our fourth of July weekend with swimming in the pool (although in the cold sierra weather we lasted only 5 minutes), steaming hot showers that make any bus ride worth the trek, bon fires, watermelon (that made a long 6 hour trip along my side on two buses), smores, ping pong, American board games, boxed wine but made classy in real glass wine glasses, and of course laying in hammocks with the mountain view.
And of course no get-away is complete without some adventures. When we got there on Saturday we went horseback riding around the valley. The guide had the rustic cow boy look pulled off head to toe. We broke up into two groups, the walking group and the trotting group. Although our horses didn’t really trot…they sprinted until they finally made it home again.
On Sunday, we did a great hike called Mandango Loop, it´s one of the higher peaks around Vilcabamba and has great 360 views of the area. The hike and ciews were great, although I freaked myself off on the long ridgeline that screamed death trap, and I willing crawled down a large part of that part on my butt. I think the guide for the hike has to be among the best I´ve read in Ecuador, recently at least, here is the official version…
Overview: After a steep ascent, you arrive at the first and second cross offering 360 views of the valley and area. After catching your breath, your continue along the ridgeline sometimes as narrow as 2ft. Be careful here, you don’t want to lose your balance. To come down from the ridgeline, you have to climb a fence, brave barking dogs, and get to the rock quarry.
Precautions: This hike should not be done if it is rainy or windy. If you feel nervous or already scared after the hike to the second cross, its best to turn back and not finish the loop (side note, this is because on both sides of that 2 ft wide ridge there is a like 3000ft drop, aka death zone). If a dog starts barking at you pick up a rock or at least pretend to and they will usually leave you alone. Take care when passing farm animals by leaving plenty of space between you and them (just in case we were thinking of touching that donkey or bull on the path).
Trail Description: Begins on main highway and to access the trail you must pay a fee of $1.50 (or be like us and climb over the barb wire fence whatever floats your boat). The path up to the first cross is steep but easy to find. From there follow the ridge towards the foot of the mountain and the path at the right side. The path is narrow and along the cliff, be careful. Follow ridgeline, until you see the roof of the farmhouse and hear a barking dog. Climb over or under barb wire fence towards the abandoned house. From there walk downhill, if you don’t find a path go back towards abandoned house and try again.
I think it´s fare to say that Ecuadorian guides and directions are one of a kind.