Provincia de Loja

This is our third time back to Vilcabamba and the Eco Resort of Izhcayluma (ISH ka looma). It's our happy place. As many of you know, a 3 day reservation here in March of 2020 turned into a 3 month stay during the Covid pandemic. So it's a bit of a reunion of sorts for us. The German owners Peter and Dieter are still here running the show, along with Raik, the manager. Vanessa, from Argentina is still in charge of the Yoga program. All guests get free yoga at 7:30 in the morning. Dennis, a local, is still tending bar here, along with Steve the Canadian, as a backup.

Madli and her young daughter came back from Estonia. Her bestie Emma, from Holland, lives in a mountain paradise she's built with husband Rob, a retired American soldier. Their daughter Ayan is good friends with Madli's daughter Nayara. Carolyn is back for the winter from Florida. Funny that she comes here for the winter when everyone else in the states is going to Florida. We were quarantined with all of these people and more and picked right up where we left off. And so it's not just the rest and relaxation of a temperate climate that brings us back. It's all the friends and the yoga and the amazing hikes also.

Compared to my other posts of other places, there's not a lot of interest to mention. I'm doing yoga about 5-6 times a week and hiking over 7 miles a day. I've worn the soles off my shoes. I estimate that I put over 2000 miles on them in 14 months.

We rented the same amazing apartment that we rented before and we have a kitchen. We eat breakfast here about half the time and the other times we go up to the main restaurant to eat fresh granola, fruit, and drink coffee from beans grown onsite. There's always someone new checking in and it's easy to make friends here. For dinner, sometimes we eat at the restaurant on site, or walk to town for local options.

Many people come to Izcayluma before or after Shaman ceremonies at neighboring places. That seems to be pretty popular with Americans. It involves a week or so of taking San Pedro, a mescaline hallucinogenic cactus. They then alternate that with Ayuhuasca, a jungle vine hallucinogen and then maybe another day is for Kambo treatments. That's a frog poison that's administered into the skin in small doses. No thanks! Except for the San Pedro that is.

We visited Rob and Emma's place for 2 nights for a San Pedro ceremony with them and Madli. They finished the house that was just starting construction 2 years ago and we stayed in their casita near the river. It was a mellow and relazing day where we just hiked up a mountain, relaxed on the rocky mountain river that runs through their property, toured the garden, and later ate a delicious meal with items from their garden. It's a great "back to nature" drug. For anyone that thinks that's crazy, I have to say alcohol is a much worse drug :)

Vilcabamba is the village down the hill from Izcayluma. It's growing still and there are several more restaurants now. Our favorite is a Korean place with homemade kimchi. I'm also eating a lot of the almuerzos for lunch at various restaurants. They're the set meals for about $3. All in all, we're eating healthy and exercising a lot and enjoying time in the evenings with friends. We even organized a game of Werewolf, a role playing game. I think we had about 14 people show up for that.

Our friend Louie joined us for about a week. He's a like-minded traveler without kids and has met us in Barcelona, Salzburg, Madison, and now here. He's a pilot for United so is more able than most to just pick up and go. We had some great times on our hikes and at the bar with him.

And we finally made it to the nearby Podocarpus National Park, named after the tree that is supposed to be abundant there. It was closed for Covid the first time we were here and closed for trail repairs the second time. We shared a taxi with Mercedes and Don, whom we met at the restaurant. We also met another couple, Claudia and John, and they hired another taxi to the park situated about 45 minutes north. It was an amazing hiking day. The trails are lined with mossy trees, ferns, and lots and lots of orchids. None of us was sure what a Podocarpus looks like, but I don't think we saw any. It seems to be a pine. We also met a German guy on the trail and together enjoyed the views of distant Loja and all of the amazing flora.

We've got 2 more nights here before heading to Cuenca for a night. Then we fly to Quito and will head towards home. We've had a full month here in Vilcabamba, and it's not enough for us, but it's time to go home. I can't say enough about Izhcayluma. It's so easy to meet new friends and reunite with old ones. I have a sneaking suspicion that I'll be back.

More photos and videos are here
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