Loading...

What's new

Click here to open the list of recent entries on the web site. Items can be collapsed and expanded by clicking on the + or - button.
Context sensitive menu
If you are on a desktop or laptop computer make you selection using the menu at the top and the collapsable menu on the right.
If you are on a small device like a phone or tablet
click on the main menu button at the top to make a selection
click on the tree menu button at the top to open the context sensitive menu. Items can be collapsed an expanded by clicking on the + or - button.
Music Corner

And not to forget that Loja is the Ecuador capital of music. So here we go. We've had a [grossly incomplete] music video section. GO !


Hotel Villonaco Video Informercial

A very special place right in the heart of Loja city Read on...


Nov 2015 more videos

Our video section is growing little by little. We have a large backlog of raw video footage thas is waiting to be edited and made into Gringo al SUR episodes. We are working with our new clients in Vilcabamba and Loja who have joined our video promotion program. Timothy's you were the first and we thank you. Arte's Randu in Loja followed. There are more to come in the following weeks. Read on...


Nov 2015 todoloja.com

While seekvilcabamba.com was dedicated to Vilcabamba and surroundings, todoloja.com broadens the scope to the entire Loja province. Check out our new section called LIVING about real life in southern Ecuador. Read on...


2015 A new turn and a fresh look too

Seekvilcabamba.com is finally waking up again with a fresh new look (tablet and smartpone friendly) and stacks of great new content almost ready to be published. Explore the new web site and stay tuned for much more to come !!

Seekvilcabamba.com was created in 2009. It started as a unambitious web site, the aim of which was to share our own experience as gringos in Vilcabamba and help other expats find their way around the village. We had pages for restaurants, shops, hotels and for activities and tours. We also had a few pages on the surroundings, Loja city of course but also Zamora and Quinara. We also had a resources section with articles that we and others wrote as well as a journal that Anita Evans published while she was living here. A lot of water has flown under the bridge and I, Pierre Volter, aka "Gringo al SUR" have become more and more integrated in the Ecuadorian society due to a new lifestyle. Read on...


  • January 2011
    • 2011 at Rio Uchima (Power, Water, Internet)

      2011 already ! In March this year the Rio Uchima project will be 2 years old. What a distance has been traveled since the early days of our first very wet winter of 2009 when we had to hike up the mountain with gunboots because the road was not passable!

      In 2010, we have seen the completion of the Vilcanet internet infrastructure in Sacapo. It is now available to all quinta owners for a very affordable price.

      2010 has also seen major progress on the water infrastructure front: the 20,000 gallon reservoir is full of delicious spring water, the river water catchment system is operational for all the riverfront lots, a 6 months effort with the owners of the restaurant Las Truchas. See our infrastructure section for details.

      We start 2011 with the implementation of the power grid which should be completed in a few short months.
      Read on...

  • August 2010
    • Building our house in Vilcabamba Part 2 - by Pierre Wauters

      A few months ago I gave myself the challenge to build a house on the property for USD 15,000, not just a tin shed or a glorified garage but a *real* house with running water, bathroom and kitchen, everything you’d expect. Part 2 of the article is now on-line as well as the photo tour.

      read on

      Vicabamba guide: Further afield

      We venture outside of the Vilcabamba/Loja region to explore more of Ecuador, starting from Guayaquil

      read on

      Free Energy: the other side of the coin - by Pierre Wauters

      I have attended a small segment of the August 14-17  2010  Montesuenos “Truly Sustainable Solutions for Ecuador and the World” conference (Vilcabamba, Loja Ecuador, see  www.montesuenos.org ) and, at least in the small segment that I have attended, I must say that what was missing and unsaid feels to me more important than what I have heard. I had to leave after lunch. The afternoon was going to be a discussion panel. I missed the panel but nevertheless, I can write here what I would have wished to say there. The little time I spent at Montesuenos was certainly not wasted as it gave me inspiration to write this essay below.

      read on

      July 2010 Journal - by Anita Evans

      Anita's latest writings on the life we are living here in Vilcabamba

      Today it poured (rained) and I mean poured down. We had thunder and lightning to boot. It rained so hard and horizontal that the rain came in under the porch right up to the walls and windows of the house (very unusual). The veranda was soaking wet.
      A good thing about it raining here in Vilca is it is warm. If you come from a colder country\place similar to where I do when it rains and blows a storm you generally want to just burry yourself indoors and not venture out as it is freezing, cold, grey and gloomy.

      Here today the rain inspired me – to clean the veranda. Since it was already soaking wet and it was warm and still bright outside. So when the rain eased off and wasn’t coming in horizontal anymore the eves gave me shelter from it. The rain also helped loosen up the chicken shit so it came off easier.

      read on

      Dance Ball (Anita Evans) - Good and Bad (Pierre Wauters)

      We must have been talking to each other in our dreams. Two new articles about the good versus bad dichotomy that is so pervasive on our planet earth.

      read on 1
      read on 2

  • July 2010
    • Building our house in Vilcabamba - by Pierre Wauters

      A few months ago I gave myself the challenge to build a house in Vilcabamba for USD 15,000, not just a tin shed or a glorified garage but a *real* house with running water, bathroom and kitchen, everything you’d expect. 

      read on

      May 2010 Journal - by Anita Evans

      Anita's latest writings on the life we are living here in Vilcabamba

      I was asked by a reader of my journals the other day “why haven’t you written for a while?”, very valid question. Well I‟ve been to London to visit the Queen (I thought to myself). No not really, I‟m just been very silly and avoiding the question. I have been back in New Zealand on a journey …Yesterday I paid our water bill. So big deal you might think. …So Im standing in the shower basin just in socks, no shoes and I sweep forward (away from me). This tail goes UP in a curl and these pinches start pinching and this creature starts up and crawling.

      read on

      Making Peace- by Boulder Creek

      This is gentle writing that conveys a deep message and a lesson for us all to learn and portrays the energy that I would like to see in our project. A place where people live, strive to live, in peace with one another (and in is so practicing this every day, overcoming their fears). Anita

      read on

      Beliefs- by Anita Evans

      Are you really what you say you are? My task to you is to ask yourself in earnest and a deep deep level. I mean really think about it, mull it over for some time ‘is this belief me?‘ Ask this to yourself about every belief you have as you become aware of them. Follow it up with the question ‘where did this belief originate from?’

      read on

      Quintas updates

      ... close to the entrance gate of the property, you can hear the river in the background
      ... lots of trees and shrub - an atmosphere of tranquility, freshness, serenity
      ... lots of space to move around, create gardens, build etc...

      New! photo tour of each quinta (at the moment only 8, 9 and 14, more to come...)

      read on Q9  Q8  Q14

  • May 2010
    • Eco-investing in Vilcabamba Ecuador: a great way to invest in real estate

      We are coming into an age where real wealth is starting to be understood as knowing that you are doing your part to create a better and more sustainable world. There is a huge, almost universal desire to make a difference, do something worthwhile, put something back. This same passion invades the workplace and the marketplace; a desire to build a better world. The combination that creates success for a sustainable corporation and eco investment - is that when you are able to connect to a persons passions, they will follow you to the ends of the earth, buy your products and services with pride and may even be willing to work with you for next to nothing.


      read on

  • 2009
    • September 09 Journal- by Anita Evans

      SEX, FIRE AND FUNERALS 


      Anita's latest writings on the life we are living here in Vilcabamba

      ... owe boy have we experienced fire here in Vilcabamba this last month. Where do I start …. There was a big one at the base of Mount Mandango that surrounded 4 homes and threatened to burn them down. Now there is NO fire brigade here in Vilcabamba, nada, nothing, zilch, zero...

      ... let’s talk about sex in particular sexing chickens.
      Folks do not try this at home with your kids !
      (*)
      Hold the baby chick under its head (where the head and the neck come together) don’t hold to hard as you don’t want to kill it and LIFT. If the legs of the baby chicken hand down (as in the photo below) then it’s a  ...

      read on

        (*) editor's note: does Anita mean not to try to sex your kids using this technique (in case of ambiguity) or does she mean not to let your kids try that on your chicks?

       

      Aug 09 Journal- by Anita Evans

       

      Anita's latest writings on the life we are living here in Vilcabamba

      ...During the night the finger swelled and throbbed and my lymph node in my right arm pit swelled up and became very painful. So this morning after food I swallowed an anti histamine tablet, something I reserve for severe stings. The finger was red and so swollen it felt like the skin was going to burst. I kept applying the creams. Around mid morning after walking down the hill and picking Emily up and walking back up the hill (my finger growing worse with movement) I started to not feel very well. I iced the finger and continued with the creams. Normally by now the anti histamine tablet and creams would have reduced the swelling to nothing and all would be good. But today was not the case. I started to feel sicker and sicker. The room started to spin, pain started in my right side of my neck...

      read on

       

       

      Learn Spanish Now ! (20 Aug 2009)

      ... first thing to realize is that there is nothing special about learning a language compared to learning anything else such as the stock market, karate or indian cooking.

      I repeat: there is nothing special about learning a language. Just like anything else, the best way to succeed at learning a language is to watch people who are successful at doing it and copy them. This is the core principle of many "become successful" programs.

      ...

      Read on...



      The Vilcabamba Survival Guide (10 July 2009)


      Official launch of our new online guide on Vilcabamba. Everything you need to know about this wonderful place we live in.

      Read on...

       

      May 09 Journal

       

      Anita's latest writings on the life we are living here in Vilcabamba

      Music Music again Okay some of you may remember how happy I was when the elections were finished and we had quiet at night. But how I was also wondering what the next event would be and how long our quiet would last. Well it lasted less than a month. Tonight, Wednesday is the second night in a row we have had music blasting out from the town. These last two nights the music has been very loud and went on till 1 am last night.

      So what is it now? Well, it’s the quest for Miss Vilcabamba. So each district within Vilcabamba has a competition to pick their most beautiful girl then they go into the final where one will be crowned Miss V. So I figure we have at least 3 more nights to go and the final will be on Saturday night ……

      My advice to people: if you are coming here to live in Ecuador in any town, but from my own experience especially Vilcabamba, and you don'tt like noise at night "BUY OUT OF TOWN".. 

      read on

       

       

      You are Brilliant and the Earth is Hiring

       

      I received this inspiring email today - a superb speech given by Paul Hawken and wish to share it with you.

      . . . .There is invisible writing on the back of the diploma you will receive, and in case you didn't bring lemon juice to de code it, I can tell you what it says: YOU ARE BRILLIANT, AND THE EARTH IS HIRING. The earth couldn't afford to send any recruiters or limos to your school. It sent you rain, sunsets, ripe cherries, night blooming jasmine, and that unbelievably cute person you are dating. Take the hint. And here's the deal: .....

      . . . . . . So I have two questions for you all: First, can you feel your body? Stop for a moment. Feel your body. One septillion activities going on simultaneously, and your body does this so well you are free to ignore it, and wonder instead when this speech will end. Second question: who is in charge of your body? Who is managing those molecules? Hopefully not a political party..... read on