15 Days with Hadrien

At last, one of our older sons was able to make it out to here in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. Flying from Paris to Quito is not a problem. Things start being more difficult between Quito and Vilcabamba. First, the new international airport of Quito opened just 2 days before Hadrien showed up. It has the same name as the former Quito airport but not the same location at all. So, your hotel reservation becomes a hastle all of a sudden. What would have been a 30 minute taxi drive turns into a 1,5 hour ride and is much more expensive, 30 dollars! instead of the 12 you were expecting to pay. So, Hadrien arrived in Quito around 8pm and did not reach his hotel in downtown Quito until 10.30pm or so and had to get a taxi at 3am again to go back to the airport. The flight from Quito to Loja (which by the way is actually taking you to Catamayo, one hour from Loja by taxi, but they still call the aiport the Loja airport) is short. The brand new "Loja" aiport is just a runway with a contol tower, no other facilities, and there are not many taxis at 7 am. When Hadrien got out of the airplane he thought that he was in Loja as one would expect. The taxi dropped him off in Vilcabamba one hour later, where Hadrien found out he actually was in Loja. It really seemed too big here for Vilcabamba. So anyway, he took another taxi to the real Vilcabamba, one hour from Loja, or almost two hours from the Loja airport, which is the Catamayo airport, really.

Right after Hadrien arrived in Vilcabamba we took him for a nice hike around the neighbourhood.

  and put him to work right away...

AN-GE-LI-NA !

They are watching the movie RIO in French.

The next day it was time to pony up on mangoes. 4 for a dollar and they are the best right now.

Hadrien ran an hour every day on a 3 km loop in the hills of Vilcabamba.

One of the hills is long and steep. Hadrien said it was hard to run here.

Then it was playtime with our new cat Mishu.

We also went to Loja for our big errands. The bus was crowded that day.

This is the comedor of the municipal market in Loja.

Louis bought more Hotwheels cars.

Time to try out the gadgets on the new camera.

Skipping stones on the river.

Mishu

Hadrien created a marble track in the front yard.

You have to hold Mishu or he will try to get the marbles.

  

A typical old home in Vilcabamba.

This is in the town of Malacatos, 15 minutes from Vilcabamba.

This is our friend Chris's truck. Get in the back of the truck.

Chris's house is in the mountains of Malacatos. The scenery is gorgeous.

Hadrien enjoyed resting in the hamock back at home.

More running in the streets of Vilcabamba.

This is a "baño de cajón" ("casket bath" or "drawer bath"!). Whether you are in a casket or a drawer, what you are getting is a wonderful herb vapour bath. They put cypres, eucalyptus and a local herb called "molle" (Peruvian pepper tree). It is a purifying sauna.

They alternate the vapour bath with cold showers.

Mishu is a pleasant cat.

This is the restaurant we like best in Vilcabamba: Shanta's.

These garlands are snake spines.

The exotic and eclectic plants and flowers in the yard of the restaurant are wonderful.

This is an orchid.

These are shark jaws from Peru.

These are snake skins. It feels like we are in a jungle hut here.

We go there for their excellent pizzas, the best vanilla ice cream and we top it off with snake liquor.

Here is the snake liquor.

Shanta says it has magical powers and "Cura todo".

This is in our magical backyard. Hello to all!

We always have a good time with Hadrien or Gabriel.

Cafe Cultura is the oldest home in Vilcabamba. It was built over 200 years ago and is still owned by the same family.

The views are fantastic and the food is gourmet Asian food cooked by Yasu.

Buen provecho Hadrien!

Another marble game in the front yard.

And another vapour bath. This time Mummy came out too. Peter was getting a back massage in another room at the same time. It's a great SPA in Vilcabamba.

This is at Hosteria de Vilcabamba. They have the best burger in town, and the cheapest, only 2.5 dollars.

They have a nice swimming pool and large playgrounds.

Time to ride back to town in the back of a taxi. 15 days went by fast. Thank you Hadrien for coming out all this way from the other side of the planet.