Traveling to Vilcabamba

Sunday, Oct. 7, 2017--Cuenca to Vilcabamba 

Last night I went to bed at 21:00.  I awoke this morning at 4:00 and couldn't go back to sleep, so I got out of bed at 4:20.  That has resulted in a long, tiring day.

I walked (20 minutes) to the bus station.  I arrived at 7:10 and got a ticket for the 7:45 bus to Loja.  The trip took 4 hours 15 minutes and went through beautiful mountain scenery.  About half the time, however, I was nodding off.

Within 5 minutes of arriving in Loja, I had bought a ticket and was on a bus about to leave for Vilcabamba--another 1 1/4 hours away.  Again, the mountain scenery was striking.  Plus, this area is a hotspot for American retirees to live.  So it was interesting to see some of the really nice homes and estates some of them have built.

I am staying at the Madre Tierra Resort and Spa which is on a hillside about a mile (2 km) out of town.  The bus dropped me at the turnoff road, and I walked from there to the resort.  Like almost everything in this town, it has a new age vibe to it.  It has a 3-level pool and a spa building with a complete list of services.  It has a nice outdoor restaurant with its accompanying outdoor kitchen (rated 3rd best of almost 50 restaurants in town).  My room includes breakfast there each morning.  And just outside my room is a covered patio with a table and chairs and a hammock.

After resting while reading on the patio, I walked into town.  I wasn't sure how it would be on a Sunday.  First, I came to a park where two men's volleyball games (with very high nets) were occurring with spectators watching.  Then, I couldn't believe the crowds when I came to the main square.  There were so many people that some were sitting on steps and others were just standing. 

Almost everyone was having an ice cream cone.  They were getting them from a corner store that had two long lines--one at the front door and the other at a side window.  They had soft serve machines at both locations, but this was not typical soft serve ice cream.  The popular flavor was a greenish-yellow sherbet made from a local fruit.  I got one which was so good that I could have had 2-3 of them.

It is definitely a unique town.  Although small like a village, it has a French bakery, a falafel restaurant, a sushi place, a yoga center, a man giving back massages on the street, a Belgian chocolate shop, lots of artisan shops with products made buy the owners, etc.

I will go to bed early tonight.  I feel exhausted from the trip and from the lack of sleep last night.  I am here for 2 more days (3 nights), so this is going to be a place to be lazy and relax.