vilcabumba, ecuador

The sign on entry to Izhcayluma Hostel said something along the lines of, "It's time to relax". We haven't worked for six months now and our lives are far from stressful but we were open to the invitation nonetheless.

This place has a pool and massages on offer (neither of which we took at advantage of, of course) 8am yoga classes every morning, a bar and a restaurant with pretty decent candlelit dinners. We also took an Active Meditation class which we weren't overly impressed with, though Kassandra was impressed that Shawn participated! The yoga studio is beautifully situated among the mountains and it's a real treat to wake up to the sounds of the birds while practising yoga.

There's not a whole lot to do in Vilcabamba. There were some hiking tracks available but we opted to relax in town. Our stay basically consisted of ordering the same green smoothie twice a day, going to the gym for $1.50, our morning yoga routine and overhearing retired Americans in their 60's talk about how the rent has gone up in recent years.

Other highlights include finding a giant beetle and, while on one of our walks in town, spying on a mummy chook and her adorable little chicks.