Loja Province

Dateline Southern Ecuador

Tonight, I am in Vilcabamba Ecuador which is a small town growing steadily larger because people are moving here from all over SA, Europe, USA and everywhere for the health benefits.  No one is sure why but many people who live here live very long lives.  Scientists have long had the phenomenon under study. The water is suspected, along with physically hard work, very little technology for farming (mules and such are used), fine climate, hand-rolled cigarillos (?), strong faith (95% Catholic), mountain vistas, fresh foods sans chemicals, clean air, kind people…you name it and they’ve got if it’s good for you.  In this small town, real estate offices are several and each has a freshly-painted sign.  The ‘word’ definitely is out.

Tame Airlines flew me to Catamayo, the airport nearest Loja Ecuador where I just spent two days before coming here.  Loja is a small city so far out of the tourist mainstream that few who visit the country ever see it.  Loja also is the name of the province wherein the city and fascinating towns like Vilcabamba are located.  Loja city is a 16-hour drive from Quito; the time is a function of distance and the fact that road surfaces vary increasingly in quality or lack thereof the farther south one goes.  A constant regarding Ecuadorian roads is that they all wend their way among mountains with C, J, L, M,N, S, U,V, W and Z curves alternating randomly all along the way.  In this part of the country the most precipitous curves nearly all are well paved to give drivers a sporting chance while mere bends in the road this far south often are rutted gravel, deeply pocked. As in vanishing Vespas. Guard rails are uncommon and yellow lines are mere suggestions when they appear at all.  

The Tame flight took an hour.

As scheduled, I was met at the airport at Catamayo by Ernesto, my bilingual guide for the week and Mauricio, our driver for the day.  Ernesto is a well-educated bird-watcher and botanist whose calling card announces his availability as a specialist guide for those so inclined.  My expressed interests were registered early-on with a travel agent in Quito who arranged the trip: arts and culture to include the people, their ways of living and of making things; the painting, sculpture, music and architecture of the region; and how to live to an advanced age all-the-while enjoying robust health.

Ernesto spoke English of a sort.  He was best at saying what he chose to say about things he wished to talk about, for example, birds and plants.  He had quite some difficulty with my questions such as: “Is the water in the swimming pool here (at the lodge) very cold?”  After carefully considering my query Ernesto replied: “Oh, the food here is very good.”

While in the south of Ecuador, I found the walkways of Lojabusy with pedestrians, cleaner-than-clean, and filled with shoulder-to-shoulder shops no wider than a mid-sized auto.  The central market was in view of my hotel and offered produce, meats, sweets, breads, grains, legumes, and the same basic Asian-made clothing and electronics sold everywhere in the world.  Streets are bumper-to-bumper yet no one seems impatient.  Not a horn is sounded.

There is no mystery to the litter-free sidewalks and streets of Loja.  Two or three to a city block, there are men armed with straw brooms and long-handled dust bins ready to pounce upon any debris.  The cost of labor is low and pride in the city is high.

Unfortunately, the city of Loja is a victim of unchecked and unregulated “improvements’’ that were made in the later years of the 20^th Century.  Much of the Colonial architecture has been replaced by concrete block, glass, corrugated steel and oversized signage.  Enough beauty remains, however, to inspire one’s fullest appreciation of the surviving entities and a walk alongCalle Lourdes offers many examples of thoughtful preservation.

In addition to being known as a clean city, Loja has a reputation as the place where the people are considered to be the most skillful speakers in all of Ecuador of the Spanish language.  They pronounce words a tic more precisely and with a hint of separation one from another.  As one who is trying her best to learn some of the beautiful language, I considered this speech patterna personal favor.

To be honest, here inVilcabamba, I have not noticed many people who look older than me.  On the other hand, maybe I have mistaken age-mates for folks much younger.  Whatever the case, I have slugged down as much of the town’s water as feasible, breathedas much of the air as I can and have walked as much as time allows while trying not to seem hurried.  In this town noted for longevity, no one seems hurried.

While Lojais a small city of 150,000, Vilcabamba has all the characteristics of a Latin American village: a central plaza edged on one side by a pastel church with shops, offices and cafes completing the square.  The plaza itself is landscaped with regular patterns of grass, stone paths, benches and flowers all strategically shaded by tall palms and other trees that no fewer than four cooperative adults can reach around.

Horses are available for hire in the village.  Year-round wonderful weather makes small “motos” and scooters very popular as well. Taxis appear to be in the business of occasionally bringing families to and from outlying farms.  A handful of delivery vans and maybe two dozen private autos can be seen from the plaza, including side streets.  A feature common to all of these conveyances is that, at any given moment, all are at rest.  Going nowhere, needed by no one.

Tomorrow, Ernesto and I shall be driven back to Loja by Leonardo, our driver since the first day in the deep south. 

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