After our time in the Galapagos, I wasn’t sure that anything we would see would top it.  However, we had a wonderful time in southern Ecuador, where we hiked through Cajas National Park, visited the beautiful colonial city of Cuenca, and searched for the secret to long life in Vilcabamba.

We were greeted by a spectacular sunset our first night back on the Continent.

El Cajas National Park

On our way to Cuenca, we drove through El Cajas National Park.  This is a park at high altitude (between 10,000 and 14,500 feet) that is filled with lakes, a tundra-like landscape, and (at least on clear days) spectacular views.  It was tough being back at altitude after so much time at sea level, but we decided to stop and hike around Laguna Toreadora.  It was pretty crappy weather–cold and rainy, but we still had a good time.

Erica heads down towards the laguna for our rainy hike through El Cajas National Park.

We saw a couple llamas on the hike. They didn’t seem to care much about us — they were more interested in finding food.

The landscape here was pretty barren. These plants were beautiful, but filled with spines — maybe to prevent llamas from eating them.

It was a wet, cloudy day which prevented us from getting the spectacular views we were expecting from up here.

Cuenca

From El Cajas, we rolled down into a valley to Cuenca.  From the start of this trip, one of the things I really wanted to do was to buy a Panama hat (they make them in Ecuador — go figure).  When in Ecuador, it’s better to call them Ecuador hats!  So we entered the city with a mission: explore the city and find Panama Hats!

We found ourselves charmed by Cuenca — getting lost as we wandered around the city center.

For about $10 USD, we were able to load up on all the beautiful produce available in this local market.

In the city center, we found a square and this old cathedral.

You can climb the tower in the Cathedral to get a better view of the city.

The views from the top of the cathedral were worth the climb.

It was a sunny day and we just loved staring out across the roof tops.

Finally, we found a shop that made Panama hats! These hats range from $20 USD to over $900 USD, based on how fine the straw is that is used to make it (the super-finos can take months to make).

Our quest to find panama hats complete, we left the shop with big smiles and slightly lighter wallets!

Vilcabamba

After Cuenca, we made our way south to Vilcabamba.  This city has a reputation as a sort of Shangri-La of the Andes, where the inhabitants supposedly live unnaturally long lives.  In the late 1900s, this was been studied in detail, and scientists found that this particular area has fruits and herbs that are loaded with some of the strongest anti-oxident protection in the world.  The water in this area is also very mineral-rich, which may have some impact as well.  Whatever the case, medical researchers have confirmed that retinas of 100-year-old residents of Vilcabamba are often comparable of those with 45-year-old city dwellers!

However, do the residents of Vilcabamba really live longer?  After further scrutiny, it doesn’t appear that there is anything out of the ordinary going on here.  While the city does have many older residents, the age expectancy in Vilcabamba isn’t significantly different than other parts of the world.  In other words, while this place is stunning and definitely feels like Shangri-La, you probably won’t live to be 130 years old if you move here!

We stayed just outside of Vilcabamba at Hostal lIzhcayluma — a beautiful place to relax for a few days before heading for Peru.

Our first day camping at Hostal Izhcayluma we found ourselves just sitting on the hillside appreciating the views.

The yoga studio shares the amazing views you find all around the Hostal.

Not a bad place to work on a blog post :)

Peru Bound

We could have easily spent another month exploring the other parts of Southern Ecuador, but the clock in the back of our minds was ticking.  We still have a lot of ground to cover in order to make the summer season in Patagonia, so we pressed on towards Peru.

The drive south from Vilcabamba to the Peru border is on some pretty rough roads, but you get to appreciate great views while you go.