Vilcabamba- Ecuador’s eternal
youth Written and Photographed by Golden Noble-Harris
Vilcabamba- just the sound of the town seems to sing something
eternally youthful or harmlessly innocent as it bubbles off the
tongue. Situated in Ecuador's lush Sacred Valley, this tiny town
is famous for being home to the oldest people in the world, some
living to over 130! The theories abound as to why these people
have lived for so long.
Two old ladies sitting on the church stairs in the morning sun
cheerfully told me music was a number one! Mineral rich water,
a year-round climate free from extreme temperatures, clean air
and strict, locally-harvested diets were more common reasons I
came across. Other locals believe that long life in the valley
is attributed to the fact the area is one of the few spots on
the globe with a negative ionization. This rare type of charged
atmosphere is believed by many to provide a natural process which
eliminates toxins- perhaps attributing to long-term health.
A Moon Handbook had informed me that a 1971 survey said that
one of every 100 Vilcabambans lived to be over 100. At that time
one of every 330,000 citizens in the USA were following suit.Whatever
it was, Vilcabamba felt good, and I wanted to know more.
During the day the town square was a haven of shady glades and
park benches that purposely forced people to sit close to one
another. The streets hummed with the quiet buzz of foot traffic
and chatter, privy to the odd rumble of an old truck passing by.
For the most part though, it was quiet and peaceful. But for how
long?
Back in the bright, bustling capital, I sat in one of Quito's
cozy little cafes, an escape from the organised chaos of cars
and people outside. I took a sip from my double espresso and felt
the caffeine begin to kick start a rush through my system. I thought
back to my last week in that comparatively quiet paradise and
contemplated why we westerners feel the need to pump velocity
into every aspect of life. What is this addiction, this draw toward
efficiency and speed? Is the new and 'improved' really improving
our lives?
While hanging out on those cozy benches in the Vilcabamba's plaza
one balmy afternoon, I passed some quiet time with one of the
local spring chickens. 89 year old Manuel Cano certainly looked
sprightly despite the changes he'd seen in his near nine decades.
He'd only stopped working as a corn and yucca farmer 15 years
before and still walked an hour to the river every couple of weeks
to bathe in the mineral rich waters- his personal choice of the
many secrets to success. But I learned very quickly that life
wasn't nearly as easy as it used to be and, if one listened a
little closer to the whispers, this seemingly tranquil town was
actually boiling up against a number of contentious issues. As
Madre Tierra Hotel co-owner Jon Cypher called it, Vilcabamba was
victim to the ''paradise paradox''.
It's been common knowledge among the community, that over the
last century, foreign introductions to the sacred valley have
altered the fragile environmental equilibrium that existed there.
These very changes are now destroying this age-long tradition
of living long. Over the years nationals and foreigners slowly
seeped into the bosom of the valley to soak up the secrets of
ripe-old living, good air and abundant nature. In doing so, however,
they inadvertently brought with them the drive for development,
and with it, the evils of money, domination and control.
I was invited to attend a fiesta held by the Peru Defensa la
Anciano de Vilcabamba (PDAV), an organisation created 24 years
ago to aid the ailing elders of the valley. More than 400 elders
attended the luncheon that enthusiastically pumped out music ranging
from Latino salsa to Will Smith hip-hop and local pop! It was
beautiful to sit among such smiling faces, see these old bones
boogie like it ''weren't no thang'' and hear the stories that
these gentle people had to tell. Sadly though, many people only
shared the common story of family death.
PDAV Co-coordinator and co-owner of Madre Tierra Carol Rosin
said that these people liked to continue living the way they always
had. However, environmental damage like polluted waterways, air
and the introduction of stress in their lives was killing the
elders faster than they could count. ''Just recently we buried
a 130 year-old'', Ms Rosin said.
PDAV President Luis Camacho said that the people of Vilcabamba
could still continue to live long with the use of their ancient
medicinal plants. However he assured me that ''the air and the
soil is the reason that the medicinal plants work''. He explained
that growing the plants in foreign environments is the reason
they won't cure like those grown in the Sacred Valley. Clearly
the destruction of these very soils and the contamination of the
waters from rubbish-dumping and pesticide use were strong contributing
factors to the demise of this particular valley tradition.
But who is responsible for this mess? Ms Rosin, a strong environmentalist
and peace activist, said the financial interests of international
pesticide companies indeed made their mark on the soils and waters,
and that tourism played its part. But Ms Rosin was adamant that
developers were primarily responsible for tearing down natural
territories that had previously worked in harmony with the community.
''It's not just tourism that affects these people, it's development.
And they call it progress'', she said.
The flood of development is the main evil that is affecting this
little Sacred Valley. What was once listed in 1967 as a National
Cultural Heritage site is now, without government protection laws,
the site of many new 'For Sale' signs. ''Even the land around
the sacred Mount Mandango has been sold, and the mountain itself
will be up for sale soon'', Ms Rosin said.
In talking at length with the townsfolk, the young, the old,
and the foreign, I learned the sad but sober truth that my very
presence as a traveler here was unintentionally aiding this path
of destructive change. The draw-card of a healthy long life in
a tropical paradise certainly made Vilcabamba another one of those
prime livable paradises on Earth. However, its unparalleled beauty
and unique mystery has also been its demise: it is now a hot-spot
for developers. ''That is the paradise paradox: with that sort
of development we destroy what we came here to appreciate'', said
Mr Cypher. Several resident foreigners of the valley like Ms Rosin
and Mr Cypher promote eco-tourism in their hotels, but these big-time
environmentalists with small-time capital are battling a constant
plague of foreign development investors.
It remains to be seen what will happen to this little paradise.
As I finish this story in the cozy cafe I feel the caffeine from
my coffee slowly drain away. My body won its little battle against
the caffeine, finding its equilibrium again. Thinking of Earth,
I wonder when she will demand and how she will find that equilibrium
from the forces we drive into her. Progress continues to plunge
the syringe of efficiency into every pocket of the globe. Will
we slow this down or will it be she? We certainly are putting
Mother Nature to the test.
Golden Noble-Harris
is an avid traveler, and has been working her way around the
world after finishing an undergraduate Journalism degree and
degree in languages in 2005. After working in the Mediterranean
yachting industry for two years, she rekindled her close friendship
with the trusty old backpack. She is currently traveling through
the Americas, soaking up the beauty, mayhem and madness across
the southern continent, and finally learning to surf. An Aussie
just isn’t an Aussie without severe sunburn and a board!
