The last two days here in Vilcabamba have been truly wonderful. It's an outstandingly beautiful place, a tiny town snuggled into the lush green Andes, which rise up on all sides. We stayed at Cabañas Rio Yambala, a handful of cosy adobe and wood cabins about 4 km uphill from the town. The place is run by Charlie and Sarah, a US-UK couple who are nice, but very quiet. It was a real escape from civilisation with no noise other than the river and crickets at night. We could even see the Milky Way, the first time I've ever seen it.
We took a walk up and over into the next valley, along the river and back again on Sunday, marvelling at just how amazing the place is. It was sunny and warm and there were lots of people enjoying a bath in the river as we made our way back. After dinner, we headed over to Sergio's house, whom we'd bumped into that afternoon. He makes drums, Andean flutes and jewellery to supplement his income, and turned out to be our guide when we headed up into the mountains the next day. A very talkative chap, he had lots to say about the area, its people and its history. And his dog is called Nokia.
Yesterday we rode up into the cloud forest on horseback, unfortunately under greyer skies than the day before. It was still a good trip though. We rode up through the paramo (prairie land) into the cloud forest for around two and a half hours, then went for a 2-hour traipse through the forest. The path started off ok but then we went a circuitous route less travelled, which proved to be pretty hard going. A machete would have been a real help, as the path was completely overgrown and we'd had enough of walking by the time we reached the refuge at the end of the horse trail again. So we said no to the walk to the waterfalls, saddled up and headed back down again. Riding a horse down steep hills is a tricky business and very hard on the legs and bottom, so I was glad to arrive back at the cabin. It was a good day though.
The next morning, we packed up and headed into town for a massage to sooth our aching limbs. For a whole hour's massage, we paid just $10 each, an absolute bargain. It was shortly after that that I started this entry. I was so relaxed that I couldn't be bothered to finish it though, so I'm now in Cusco and a lot has happened since then, which I'll tell you about in my next entries :)
The bus trip back up to Loja was uneventful and after I found a room for the night we went for a wander around the pretty colonial-style old town, then headed out for some food. Found a place that did great tamales and humitas - El Tamal Lojano - really cheap and highly recommended for a quick basic meal. Then we had a couple of beers and I saw Jenn off in her taxi to the bus station. And then there was one.
