Vilcabamba, Ecuador

On Sunday we went to the market in Vilcabamba. It's about 6K from the Hacienda. We took a taxi for $4.  It opens at 4am. We got there around 9:30, so a lot of it was picked over. However, we did manage to find tomatoes, mangos, peppers, cilantro, etc. When we went to see what was in the inside stalls we saw whole heads of pigs, legs of cattle (they make a soup out of them) and other parts of chickens etc. None of it resembled anything we see in the packages of meat at home. None of it was in a package! It all was placed in large pans and or hanging on hooks from the various seller's booths. It would be easy to become a vegetarian after seeing that. As Americans, we are so immune to how our meat is processed, slaughtered, etc. I'm sure I would become a vegetarian if I visited a slaughter house!

Grocery shopping is a fun challenge in Vilcabamba. Little mom and pop groceries are located all around the town. The folks who own them usually live up above the store or in the back. Often, the tiny store is empty until you walk in and then the proprietor comes out from behind a curtain that separates the store from their house. On our first day shopping, we had to visit 6 stores before we found most of what we were after. Some stores might have fresh spinach, or other veggies one day and no veggies the next. So, you really have to have a list and shop around the town. It's fun. The shop keepers are usually very attentive and help you the best they can. I use the Spanish/English dictionary, but most of the time, we manage to work it out. Since I'm very visual, I can peruse the store quickly and see what I want. Very few stores sell meat. But, seeing the parts and pieces in these big pans makes you not buy any at all. Which is fine. We have really changed our eating habits and eat loads of fresh vegetables and fruit instead. Since there are little or no canned goods to speak of, I bought all the ingredients for salsa and made my own.  If we go to a restaurant, we order fresh fish or a nice tender steak with vegetables. The other day, we had delicious onion soup. Everything is homemade and/or organic.

This is the valley of the people who live a long life and it's easy to see why. Fruit and vegetables are very fresh and mainly organic. The air is clear, the water in the river has been tested and found to have minerals that are important for one's health and well-being. Houses do not have air-conditioning or furnaces because the year round temperatures don't vary too much. The air is great!

 Years ago, when I first heard of Vilcabamba, I did some reading about it and learned that scientists have been studying the centenarians of Vilcabamba since the 1950s. Many of these studies have shown that their long life is due to the lack of disease, especially asthma, heart attacks and cancer. They call this place The Valley of Longevity. It is also called the Valle Sagrado... the sacred valley.

We were here three years ago and we can see that more and more expats are here. We heard that out of the 5,000 inhabitants of V, about 800 are expats. We hear accents from all over the world. We've met quite a few Americans, Canadians and Australians and a Mexican lady who own a hostel/Mexican restaurant. We've been told that many Europeans live here too. Yesterday we had delicious huevos ranchero for brunch at the Mexican restaurant. You can sit outside to eat at most restaurants. (We're still trying to get our fix of spicy food).

The town has changed a bit since we were here last; new sidewalks are going in on the main square and several new organic restaurants have sprung up along with some new shops. It's still has the flavor of a very small old town and they still ride horseback through the town! Horses are a way of life here. Most people do not have cars and there is no industry nearby so the air pollution is nil. Taxis take you where you want to go, but walking is the main form of transportation. No wonder those old people have lived such a long life. No couch potatoes here!

Pictures are below.
Adios,
Mary
P.S. Bob is out horseback riding as I write this at the community center. He looked like a little kid when he got on the horse, so excited! Ramon, a Peruvian, took him. He's getting a Spanish lesson as well as horse riding lessons because Ramon does not speak English. I took some pictures but don't have my connection cord so I'll post them tomorrow or the next day. We looked up the word 'beginner' in the S/E dictionary so that Ramon knew that Bob was not proficient. He said in Spanish, "el caballo es tranquilo"...  the horse is tranquil! We laughed and said "gracias."