Preview of Els_and_peter’s blog at TravelPod. Read the full blog here: www.travelpod.com This blog preview was made by TravelPod using the TripAdvisor™ TripWow slideshow creator. Entry from: Vilcabamba, Ecuador Entry Title: “Vilcabamba – the valley of longevity” Entry: “(no excruciating title this time!) Els writes: On Friday, 22nd January we embarked on the five hour bus ride south from Cuenca to Loja. We went through gorgeous, mostly agricultural, yet mountainous scenery. Ecuador is the first country we have been to where agriculture is practised almost everywhere. It is also the only country I know of that is completely self sufficient as far as food is concerned, so much of what we ate was produced locally and therefore very fresh. Because of the variation in altitude they can grow almost anything. Even pretty steep mountain slopes are farmed, or grazed by cows, sheep, horses, or donkeys, none of whom seem to have any problems getting about. Outside towns most people have a little plot called a ‘huerto’ where they grow their own food and perhaps keep a few chickens and even a cow or two. It is not unusual to see cows happily grazing the verges alongside major roads, an excellent idea that I think should be adopted in Europe too. But unlike Guyana where all livestock roams around freely and emergency stops for a cow or chicken are frequently needed, here they are always safely tied to a rope. Like all the long distance buses we have been on, this one functioned as …