This is the testimony of a expat living in the Hacienda San Joaquin, in Vilcabamba. It has nothing to do with story written by Gavin Moore:
It's shocking visiting the United States after living in Vilcabamba, Ecuador, even for a short while. In just a few weeks in the Valley of Longevity, you naturally get used to the connection with nature: The evening lightning bugs, the dreamscape of stars lighting up the night sky, the sound of the river water cascading its way from the mountains to the coast. You hear the night crickets of the bamboo forest, the chattering birds in the morning, and the occasional mooing of a cow somewhere in the valley.
There's also the scent of life in the valley; trees, grass, water in the air and rich soil under your feet. It's part of the fresh breeze you invite into your home each day by opening your windows to enjoy the near-perfect climate.
Compared to all this, traveling to the United States and waking up in a city is a bit of shock. The first thing I noticed is the complete disconnect from nature. Gone were the sounds of water, birds, insects and animals. The deep blue sky was replaced with a pale, shallow sky. The moon and stars seemed distant and dim. The Vilcabamba smell of abundant plant life was replaced with the scent of diesel exhaust and wet pavement. There were no natural sounds in the environment, and I was overtaken by a sense of artificiality. I longed to be back in Vilcabamba, near my garden, bamboo forest, water canal and medicinal plants.
Of course, this experience is really more about city life vs. country life than any particular country. Ecuador has cities, too, where life is artificial and nature seems distant. But the density and abundance of life in the Ecuadorian countryside is truly astonishing. It goes beyond any country living I've ever experienced in the U.S. Only Hawaii approaches the kind of rich, natural diversity of life that I'm privileged to wake up to in the Valley of Longevity every single day.
More of the story visiting Natural News
It may be an 'hypocritic' article but set dots on the i's. Jeff of Lives of Wander
says he's found that small town of Vilcabamba is being invaded by gringos because locals have no much control of what they want and what they need. In a very interesting post he calls to answer the question of how to find the right balance on his statement: No beautiful town should be kept from visitors enjoying it, but no beautiful town should be overrun and destroyed by visitors. He's an experienced traveler and he knows what' writing.
"...this leaves the town quite a paradox. On the one hand, it is still a beautiful place and a very comfortable place to stay and enjoy. We found it very relaxing (and, even though we had spent the last few days relaxing, another few days was no trouble!). On the other hand, we couldn’t help thinking that this naive, small town had been taken over. The houses just outside of town were enormous, multi-storied, walled complexes complete with swimming pools. The ex-pats ate at the foreign owned restaurants (which admittedly, were very tasty) and seemed to run in their own social circles. They sat around the park with blackberrys and iphones."
As far as we are concerned we still think Vilcabamba should be kept the same way it always was. If tourist want to come, they are very welcome, but can affect locals making them change that of life the live. Vilcabambans had live there per centuries and they will continue to survive even when ex-pats stay to live and foreigners bring new customs.
