Prolonged stay in Vilcabamba

It has been a while since we last published a post. We had a hard time finding a good internet connection while we were in Vilcabamba and we decided to wait until we arrvied in Cuenca find another internet location. To tell you the truth, we enjoyed Vilcabamba so much that we ended up staying five days instead of our initially planned two. Our hostal had a lovely view and great food. Hiking, biking, and enjoying the outdoors was so easily accessed and we managed to remain under budget our entire stay (hard to leave). One afternoon, Mary and I hiked for nearly 8 hours to a waterfall in the southern highlands. The hardest part of the walk was finding the starting point. The hostal provided maps for us, but they are still currently a work-in-process. We ended up walking through coffee bean farms and banana plantations, and were generally off-track. From the sounds of it though, we were not the only people who lost their bearings on the way to the trail. It was quite hillarious. By the time we reached the beginning of the hike, we had already walked up and down for 4 hours. We ate a small lunch and climbed to a point approximately 2000 metres above sea level, constantly stopping to take pictures and to enjoy the view. There were lots and lots of cows/bulls that stood in the middle of the path, high in the moutains staring at us, mooing and grunting, making it difficult for us to pass by. We eventually reached the waterfall in 2 hours. The water dropped about 20 metres and formed a very small pool (not an ideal place for a dip). We did however drink some water from nearby springs, and that was refreshing. We walked back to the hostal and ate some traditonal stroganoff before heading to bed. We really enjoyed our stay and would recommend it to anyone visiting southern Ecuador. We are also happy to move on and to expericance less tourists and more of the culture that surrounds us.