The south of Ecuador was just awesome. We spent 3 nights in Cuenca where we got to see the children’s parade on Christmas day. From there we traveled 5 hours south to Loja and then another hour to Vilcabamba. We were able to enjoy an irate drunk man who sat at the back of our bus the last hour, strangely entertaining in a nerve racking way. We checked into a really cool lodge called Rumi Wilco on the outskirts of the small town of Vilcabamba. Our place was super rustic, but very comfortable and fully equipped. It was awesome. We were able to relax for five days where we read, hiked, cooked, drew, painted rocks and sat in the hammock and let the hours pass us by. The days were fully enjoyed and passed so fast despite our pace of life.
From there we checked into a hotel called Madre Tierra. This was an unfortunate mistake as the place recently changed ownership and took a complete dive. So now you pay for a 4 star hotel and receive -2 star service. It was bad. I won’t go into it, but if you are interested sent me a note and NEVER go there.
The one good thing about the place we choose to stay for New Years were the friends that we happen to meet just after our dinner that last night of the year. We were enjoying nice music and good company and began to talk to some other guests from the hotel who were sitting nearby. We ended up not only spending the start of the New Year and the following days at the hotel together, but we have been able to hang out with our new friends since that time as they have been stranded here in Quito due to the heavy travel season and not many flights. It’s worked out ok for us though as we’ve all had such a great time. We’ve cooked together, eaten together, traveled together, hung out for days and just enjoyed each other’s company. They really feel like they could be family.
We are sad to see them go, but are hoping that they can get their university classes that they were supposed to attend yesterday.
We already miss you Shani, Shira and Aviv.
