We took the bus to Loja, and then a taxi to Vilcabamba for a few days this past week. We have heard quite a lot about the area and decided we wanted to check it out. As is common on inter-city busses in Ecuador, the driver put a DVD on for entertainment. Usually it is a movie with the audio either off or too low to hear (and in Spanish). This time we saw something entirely different though. We got an hour of bull trimming — a variant on bull fighting, which has the audience in the ring. The DVD mostly centered on the disasters where the bull won the exchange. It was like watching a car wreck — disturbing, but you can’t seem to turn away…
We went on the trip with Ann and William, a couple we met a year ago on our first extended stay in Cuenca. They still live back in the States and love to wander (hence the name of their blog). They liked Cuenca enough to come back for another month. You can kinda get a feel for their personalities by seeing them above, walking behind Evelyn. ☺
We hired a René as a driver and guide to take us around the area for one day.
First stop was a small boutique coffee producer.
Of course everyone had to buy some freshly ground coffee for home.
As we walked in the fields, we found these oxen, which Evelyn had to photograph. Reminded me of the time she spooked some yaks in Tibet…
René wanted to show us a waterfall… with a drop of about 2 feet…?
Orchards of coffee, limes, and bananas abounded. The power lines had strange furry plants growing on them too?
Next stop was a small sugar cane processing business.
The kids loved to eat the sugar straight from the vats, and of course they all loved to play with Evelyn.