Vilcamamba, Ecuador

Greetings! We left Mindo a few days ago and traveled about 2 hours by bus back to Quito. After spending the morning and early afternoon around the airport and it's environs, we hopped on a quick and cheap plane to the southern city of Loja. Our view of the mountains as we flew in at sunset was worth the price of the ticket. We shared a cab from the airport to the city with a husband, wife, and child who patiently persevered in conversation with us despite both of our very limited Spanish-speaking abilities. We spent the night at the Hotel Chandelier, recommended by Lonely Planet, but definitely not Kim-approved. We ate at a good vegetarian restaurant, but we were tired of the city and were itching to get down to the valley of Vilcabamba, which we´d heard good things about. We arrived in Vilcabamba yesterday and were quite charmed. Within a few hours we were bouncing through the hills in the back of a truck to check out a house that´s for rent here. We´re thinking of staying a little while and taking some Spanish lessons. For the time being, we´re lodged at the Le Rendez-Vous which is by far the nicest place we´ve stayed yet. The rooms surround a beautiful garden and breakfast did not disappoint - it being a French-owned establishment, they seem to use real butter instead of margarine, which sadly appears to be the standard. We can refill our canteens with pure water for 10 cents. We´ll check out another house for rent tonight! More to follow.