There’s stories in them hill’s!
So on the last few days of our Ecuador expedition, we left behind the lush Amazon for a place that seemed to be shrouded in more mysteries, rumors, and theories than the Roswell UFO Incident.
I thought I had seen all the oddities Ecuador had to offer, between showing our host tribe in the jungle how to cut shapes on the dance floor ( like the kick back) to bad 80’s POP music (How on earth did they get that CD? Do those Flying Doctors really have no taste?), to watching a massive Black Camen try and do his best slam dunk impression right into the front of our canoe, Not that scary, Promise!
So this unusual story starts in a very unassuming village called Vilcabamba. Vilcabamba is Located in the very very south of Ecuador high up in an elevated valley about 1 and half hours drive from Loja. now lets just say that this is no ordinary Valley. Firstly being so inaccessible means for decades it has been protected from many of the modern influences that shape the worlds that most of us inhabit. Big deal, so what if it’s like something out of Back to the Future, who needs Starbucks or Plasma TV’s I hear you say!
Now if that was the only peculiar attribute then I would stop here however according to my local source, this unnatural - or natural phenomenon, depending on which way you want to look at it, goes much deeper than a lack of modernization. The source of our fascination apparently was all due to a healthy does of negative ions and a secret mix of herbal remedies only found high up in hidden mountain gardens!
Dustin interrogating our local source for more facts!
So the reason for such interest in Vilcabamba? Like always it’s down to people! The inhabitants of Vilcabamba have made and proven their claims to extremely long lifes, and — for me ,more impressively — rumor has it that they have lived healthy throughout their entire life’s.
Now I am not just talking, as old as you Gran, ( 80 or 90 years young) I am talking 120 to 130 years young! Thats rights 130 years old! Is it even possible to make a cake big enough to hold all the candle’s? Apparently so!
THE SECRET?
According to the first group of people to poke around in Vilcambamba, some scientists in the mid-1950s, research showed that the claims of old age were really true and that there was very little chronic illness even for the eldest people of Vilcabamba.- A claim we experienced first hand!
So If I was to believe the science, then I would have to say that the secret behind why residents of Vilcabamba remained so healthy throughout their life, was due to the old saying ” You are what you eat” There extra long battery life is due to a combination of:
* leanness
* diet
* low cholesterol
* high activity level
In other words they are following all the dietary values your doctor or pale vegan friend try so hard to instill into your everyday life, in my case, often with little success! Their idyllic way of life includes picking and eating fresh fruit and veg, which goes straight from their garden into their mouth ( No food miles to be seen) No animal products, and more importantly NO packaged or pre-prepared food.
Now If that’s not enough, their daily lives are filled with hiking up extremely steep slopes to harvest and cultivate their vegetable, fruits, nut and herbs. In other words it’s a life full of activity.
MADE FOR WALKING
HAPPY FEET
However for me, the most special attribute of this extraordinary place is the ability to age gracefully. Not a fake smile or pair of pinned back eyes in sight! In fact aging is seen as it should be! People are given more and more respect as they grow older. It is said that in Vilcabamba getting old is actually something to look forward to, being more mature and growing as a person are seen as a positive not a negative, all rather refreshing compared to our obsession to stay baby fresh!
So with that said, If I am to throw in my ten cent’s worth, I think their secret lies in their ability to laugh, take a deep breath and enjoy the simple things that life has to offer!
To me this is a lesson we can all learn!
D
Last 5 posts by David
- The Big Apple - June 11th, 2007
- Moo, bleat and crow - June 11th, 2007
- Nature Deficit Disorder - May 25th, 2007
- Taxi! - May 24th, 2007
- Ground control to Major Tom - May 13th, 2007
May 7th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
130 you say? Incredibly interesting. Keep up the good work!
May 8th, 2007 at 3:47 am
Each line represents a smile or a tear. Life is good. People should be proud to show they’ve lived it. =) Vilcabamba must be beautiful.
May 8th, 2007 at 5:29 am
It has been five and a half years since I was in that very village and it seems nothing has changed. From the amazing journey from Loja to Vilcamba in a cramped collectivo with blaring 80s music to the serenity of the valley. Another contributing factor to their longevity might be the local rum made from unrefined sugar cane. A glass a day…
May 8th, 2007 at 8:55 am
Hi David! Thank you for your message to our Adventure Ecology girls. They are now underway and hoping to get their Energy Remedy project underway. Our Year 5’s and myself are about to head out to Juniper Hall in Dorking for a week’s outdoor Geography trip. Before we went we thought we’d take a look at what you have been doing in Ecuador. These are some of the girls questions:
Why did you choose Ecuador specifically for your project?
Did you see any children in the tribes? Do they have any schools or do they have anything for paper to write on?
We understand from your project that deforestation is a big problem for the people living in the jungle. Any ideas how to stop this?
Hope your expedition continues to go well. The children will continue to be intouch individually when their accounts are all set up.
Happy travels.
Pembridge Hall
May 8th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Hi Kimberly, Yes we saw lots of children. They had a great school with lots of books, paper, puzzles and games. Albeit a bit old they used them and seemed to enjoy learning like in any other school I had visited they were hungry for information. In order to stop the deforestation it’s going to take a combo of education and providing an income from other sources that means the trees don’t need to be cut down. Also a major issue is during the oil exploration roads are formed that are then used by loggers, so the oil companies need to put a stop to this!! Thanks . D
May 19th, 2007 at 11:58 am
hi David, its great your keeping everyone posted, it’s really interesting!
i love the pictures and hope the project is going well.
i’m one of the AE girls (pembridge hall) and you feature in my and my friend’s (also AE) science project.
i was wondering if you could tell me when AE was founded, as i need more info on ADVENTURE ECOLOGY!!
thanks, keep up the good work
RN
ps. pleeese reply! its urgent as it needs 2 be handed in on monday!
May 24th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
Adventure Ecology was founded in 2004… Keep up the good work
June 14th, 2007 at 9:01 pm
In regards to Ecuador…
It is ironic in the economic driven world we live in that the simple things have the most meaning and resonance. If we know this, than why do we run like hampsters on a wheel grabbing for more and more meaningless things? I am in London right now and have forgotten what the pace of Iife is like here -seems like what’s on everyone’s mind is what bag they want to buy next.
I have been living in Nicaragua for the past few years - a place with breathtakingly raw and natural beauty and a tragic past. My family was forced to leave during the Sandanista revolution, a war that ended more than 15 years ago, but continues to have undercurrents. I did not know it as a child, growing up in the States, but decided to return to learn about my heritage - a complex history filled with cafetals, confiscations and exile.
My grandmother returned in the late 80’s to begin property restitution. Despite the losses - The Gran Hotel, houses, Cerveza Victoria brewery - it was the principal that mattered to her - survivial, the safety of the family. No matter how horrible the past, the country pulled at her heart like nothing else could….ao, the moment she got the chance to go back, she did so. I saw the same magnetic draw on my friends there, who were well educated in Europe and the States and chose to return to Nicaragua to build up the country again. They could have chosen a more secure future, but they wanted to use their knowledge to help the country even though the country had once destroyed them. They feel a profound purpose to be back home, where they were once forced to leave. Despite the hardships, there is a remarkable sense of compassion and empathy, not resentment.
Although Nicaragua is the 2nd poorest country in the Western Hemisphere behind Haiti, the people, no matter rich or poor, are healthy and happy. The weather is warm, the food is fresh and delicious - gallo pinto, fruits and vegetables, and the family plays a central role in everyone’s life.
Why is it that as we become more and more sophisticated, we loose touch with these simple things that are clearly the most important? Computers are supposed to make things happen more quickly and precisely, so shouldn’t we have more time for each other? Seems like the opposite is happening.
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:03 am
Oh how beautiful! Such lovely and truly happy faces. Thank you for sharing this!
July 19th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
david wrote:
”You are what you eat”
and if you eat a raw vegan diet THEN you get:
* leanness
* diet
* low cholesterol
* high activity level
BUT the best part of this if of course that it is the best diet we know of for the ecology (and for the economy)
Einstein was right? Nothing would do the human population more good than the adaptation of a vegetarian diet..