Vilcabamba: Last stop in Ecuador

March 1, 2010

I’m truckin’ South on the Panamericana.

I don’t think I have mentioned this yet, but it seems the universal symbol for something in the road ahead, is something else in the road. Most often it is a tree branch, or rather some twigs plucked from the roadside. Sometimes its a stone. I’ll probably fall off the bike the next time I see an actual cone!

Stones AND twigs…high marks for creativity! (low marks for not advising you there is now one lane for two directions of traffic…who has the right of way?)

Ouchy. This was a twisty windy road and this truck had brake problems.

The entrance to Vilcabamba, last stop in Peru.

Vilcabamba is a tranquilo place where the people reportedly live to be over 100 years of age.

ha! I spot NOT ONE old person. It’s a hippy dippy gringo kind of place, and I notice about 8 offices around the town square selling real estate…hm..gringolandia indeed!

I’m STARVED! I go to the Jardin Escondido and get sucked into the new age hippie ecuadorian groove, and check in. Sure it’s a little on the pricey side, but it’s “chill”.

I was not overly ambitious, and for some reason I did not take a singe pic. For pics of the hotel, see their web site.

March 2, 2010

Now the fun begins.

I leave Vilcabamba and head south, no longer on the main road. I’ve chosen the Las Balsas order crossing into Peru because Ricardo recommended it, and because the road looks GREAT on the map.

For about 5 miles. Then I hit construction, and the road is varying degrees of gravel, mud, and river fords for the next 100+ miles. I just take it slowly and decide to enjoy the scenery.

this moo’s got the view!

This was lunch. $2.00 in Zumba. It’s 4:00 and they tel me the border is 45 minutes. I decide to push it.

Wow. Dry roads for a change. Remarkable!

haha.

I’ve climbed to over 10,000 feet (GPS happens to be working today), and now I have been steadily dropping own to this river and the border crossing. We’re now at 3500 feet.