When I first left the States in 1978 to live in San Miguel de Allende it was a complete revelation to me. Here were people like me, adventurers from all over the world who never quite felt at home at home.  For the first time in my life I could breathe easily, drop the falseness and constricting political paranoia. As an actress and a writer I was respected instead of suspected! What a relief!

The ten years I spent in Mexico at that time were some of my happiest and most productive. I am happiest living and working among people with an international point of view which I never knew existed in my enclosed, egotistical homeland. It felt so good to be free of the States! I eagerly became as one of my Mexican friends described it, “a citizen of the world”. I have never looked back.

Needless to say it changed me and even though I’ve had to return to the States, mostly to earn money in order to leave again. I am an alien there. Since that time I have found a gem of a husband, an American (a Texan, can you believe it?) who is open-minded and loves the travelling lifestyle. Together for the past 15 years we have lived in Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Puerto Rico and now Ecuador as house sitters, pet sitters, inn sitters and caretakers. This has given us the time, energy and resources to volunteer in local communities in many capacities. It is a wonderful life for us.

Of course, each time we return to the States we are questioned by relatives as to why we would possibly want to live outside the “greatest country on earth”. They think we are crazy. In fact after Bobby attempted to explain to one of his uncles that one reason is we can have the privilege of getting to know other cultures through volunteering, he looked at Bobby skeptically and slowly drawled “There’s not too much money in that, is there Bob?”

One of the beautiful revelations expressed by one of the editors in this magazine, which I identify with strongly, is that I want to do what I can to bring various cultures together in peace, to foster acceptance of our differences, and to shed light on the fact that in all ways that truly matter, we are more alike than different. In our experience this has proved true. We have learned more about ourselves and received much more than we have given over the years. We have found it satisfying to live way below the US poverty level. We own nothing and we owe nothing, but we are privileged to have purchased our freedom. 

Last month, Bobby and I were headed down to Vilcabamba, a quiet little village in southern Ecuador, when we ended up getting stuck in Rio Bamba, a large city in Central Ecuador, for a week while the indigenous paralyzed the entire country with road blocks.  This is in response to the US attempt to enlist Ecuador in a Free Trade Agreement and in protest again US oil interests which continue to rape the environment of the Amazon. Another aspect of expat life: expect the unexpected!!!

We hope to end up in Argentina at some point.  I refer to Bobby and me as “the world’s slowest tourists.”  We tend to get stuck in countries for sometimes years at a time!

The ownership thing is definitely a difficult decision.  Not owning “at home”, i.e. not owe-ing, is complete freedom.  Earning enough money to make payments on possessions of real estate which you are not using, can create a drain on your ability to travel and live the good life wherever you choose to settle.  Yes, of course houses can also be rented out to create “passive income”, but how passive is it really? We’ve met so many expats who were forced to return to check on things, or forced to stay longer than planned in order to secure reliable tenants, etc.  There is also the matter of storage.  We know many expats who pay more per month for storage containers than we spend to live!!!

It is a question of commitment I think.  If you are planning to live as a full time expat, then your life (including your possessions and real estate) should be where you are.  Then if you want to travel, or even visit your home country you hire people like Bobby and me to care for your things while you are away.

For Bobby and me the possession decision has been relatively easy.  We enjoy the variety of living with and caring for what I refer to as *OPS* (Other People’s Things). Since we move from house to house, country to country not owning anything is a big plus, because the more you own the more you have to carry!

Within a week Bobby and I will be moving from Banos, a tourist mecca in the central Andes of  Ecuador to the village of Vilcabamba in far southern Ecuador. There we will be care-taking a small farm or finca which belongs to an American couple.  We haven’t even seen the place yet, but the photos look great!  There are banana, orange, passion fruit, lemon, lime, avocado, and (baby) mango trees, as well as coffee, sugarcane, corn, sweet potato, berries, and lots of flowers and plants. They have a spacious brick house with high ceilings and wonderful views, but are only able to be there a few times each year. We will have use of this house and we will be living in our own little house on the property. 

We already know we love Vilcabamba since we’ve pet sat, house sat and inn-sat there in the past. This time, we’ll probably be there a year or longer until the couple retires and moves down to Ecuador.  We are really looking forward to it. 

A month later-
The moving and getting adjusted to life on the farm has been both exhilarating and exhausting.  The move was a trip in itself.  What should have been a twelve hour drive turned into a twenty hour excursion when landslides closed all the major routes in southern Ecuador where Vilcabamba is located.  When we finally arrived it was raining, totally dark and we had to wait until the following morning to move in.

The finca is beautiful and we love our little casita which offers a feast of incredible mountain vistas.  We have spent the past week learning what needs to be done here as far as irrigation of the coffee and banana plantations, as well as care of the fruit trees, gardens and the owners big house.  I have always loved gardening and have done quite a bit of it in the tropics as part of house sitting, but it was always other people’s gardens, and a lot smaller than the finca.  The thought that we will be here for possibly a year or more is mind boggling!  No one ever thought we’d “settle down”, least of all us, but Vilcabamba has always felt like “home” to us, since we lived here for about six months taking care of pets, and inn-sitting for some very interesting expats here three years ago. 

Vilacamba is one of the three places in the world where people live well past a hundred.  This is not only documented but well studied by physicians from all over the world.  In fact the Japanese built a hospital here many years ago specifically to investigate why this is so.  It is also a center for healthy food and quite a few expats are involved in the production of tempeh, herbs, shade grown coffee, baked goods, etc.  I have never wanted to own property and am not really interested in fostering more development in the valley, however Vilcabamba is a magical place to visit and often missed by folks on the tourist trail who seem to stop their exploration of Ecuador in Cuenca and never get to appreciate the beauty of the southern part of the country.

Bobby and I have chosen to live in Banos, Ecuador beneath one of the most active volcanoes in the world.  Volcan Tungurahua soars 5,016 meters or 12,100 feet , into the sky above the little town of Banos right in the center of the country. She is the 22nd highest volcano in the world  For us and the other 16,000 Banenos who call this Andean valley home she holds a beauty and fascination, tinged only lightly with fear.

Usually in the early mornings and late afternoons she drops her veil of clouds and appears through the clefts in the smaller mountains she has created with past lava flows. In recorded history she has actually erupted only 5 times. In 1773 when about 500 indigenous people and a few Spanish padres had settled here there was an eruption in which no one was killed., But in 1797 when the entire center of the Andean chain (volcanoes Tungurahua, Los Altares and Quilotoa) erupted many thousands of people were lost in this part of Ecuador.  This was the first time Banos was evacuated.

The beauty of the area began drawing people back to it throughout the 1800’s. Columbian and Spanish immigrants built huge haciendas in the rich volcanic soil surrounding the growing city. In 1886, there was another eruption which covered the area in smoke, ash and lava flows for 90 days. There was no evacuation and miraculously in Banos not one person died. From 1916 – 1920 there were various eruptions but no recorded deaths.  In fact when asked what did people did in those days the older people say: “Oh, they just held boards over their heads to protect from the falling debris and went on about their business!

During the 1900’s Banos grew and flourished as one of the most important tourist centers in Ecuador.  Where there are volcanoes, there are also hot springs and the baths with their curative mineral waters draw people from all over the world.  The mountains surrounding Banos are filled with beautiful waterfalls. The Avenue of the Waterfalls from Banos, (5,900 feet) down to Puyo, on the edge of the Amazon jungle is an unforgettable half day journey filled with side trips to explore canyons, spectacular waterfalls from cable cars (tarabitas) which travel from mountain to mountain over the cascading Rio Pastaza.

 In 1999 once again there was activity from deep inside Tungurahua and as a precautionary measure, the Ecuadorian government evacuated the entire city for a few months. There was no eruption and the Banenos came back to reclaim their beautiful city.  Since that time she is monitored very carefully and reported on daily.  Although there are emissions every day from her core, the volcano has maintained a fairly quiet presence so the 16,000 of us privileged to live beneath her awesome presence feel quite safe here.

Tourist activity continues to increase: the town bustles with both nationals and internationals who come to bask in the year-round spring like climate which creates the perfect environment for spectacular flora and fauna.  There are many small inns, hotels and spas which offer all amenities and are surprisingly affordable. The town is filled with restaurants offering a delicious selection of international cuisine. Book exchanges, Laundromats and a huge selection of tour companies make it easy to explore this wonderful area which is an ideal location to experience eco - adventure tourism thru hiking, climbing, cycling, horseback riding rafting, bungee-jumping and canyoning.

Just about every weekend there is a fiesta in Banos.  Many are to celebrate the Virgin of Agua Santa (the Virgin of the Sacred Waters), the town’s patron saint, who has continued to keep the citizens of this “little piece of heaven” safe and in awe of the magnificent volcano which towers above them.

On another subject...I know an increasing number of expats who have aging parents in the States and Canada who are pulled between here and there.  Although their lives are here, many have sibling in their home countries bearing the brunt of parental care.  The expats I know are in a state of limbo; making the difficult decision of whether their parents should be put in a care facility, flying back to be with them in emergency hospitalizations.  The people who own the finca we are caretaking are currently “back home” caring for her aging mother and husband, as well as an elderly aunt, all in their late 80’s or 90’s.  They can only visit their property in Ecuador a few times a year for short periods.

Since people are living longer, the responsibility for aging parents has extended as well and many expats who are retiring themselves are in the midst of this dilemma. 

For now I have to concentrate on learning our responsibilities here.  The coffee pickers are expected tomorrow and just learning about the coffee process is taking some time. The fruit and ornamental tree cultivation is new to us as well, so there is a lot to learn.  The former caretakers are leaving in two days and we won’t even meet the owners of the property for about three months, so we must concentrate on this transition and learn as much as we can from the couple who is leaving.

Two months later-
We are having an unusual bumper crop of coffee which makes our jobs almost totally concentrated in this area (all the more challenging because we are attempting to learn by doing).  I never realized how much work went into a cup of coffee!

To friends and family-
Bobby and I have moved to the magical valley of Vilcabamba in Southern Ecuador to take care of a small farm, known in Spanish as a finca.  If you remember Vilcabamba is where we were planning to settle down when we first returned to Ecuador. That was until we got side tracked into working at South American Explorers in Quito for four months and then living in Banos for eight more. So about a year later here we are.  Bobby and I aren’t known as the “world’s slowest travellers” for nothing!

Leaving our home in Banos was difficult since we had become so close to our neighbors in our little barrio of San Vicente. We really enjoyed living under an active volcano, and as if it was giving us a parting gift, Volcan Tungurahua exploded in a fire and light show the night before we left.  It was the first time we had seen an eruption of this magnitude. Of course, there were constant emissions and ash fall while we were there, but nothing this spectacular!

Our move was a trip in itself.  Bobby and me with all our furnishings we had accumulated living in Banos and about twenty fruit boxes filled with transplants from our garden.  What should have been a twelve hour drive turned into a twenty hour excursion when landslides closed all the major routes in southern Ecuador!  We were diverted almost all the way to the Pacific Ocean and then back on the old route to Loja in the Andes, which made for a very cranky truck driver. Halfway in between Bobby said to me “That’s it, after this we sell everything and go back to two backpacks.”  I was thinking the very same thing! It would have been the trip from hell, except the vistas were so magnificent.  Ecuador is beautiful!

The finca is fantastic! Bobby and I live in our own one bedroom little house which offers a feast of incredible mountain vistas including Mandango, a sacred rock formation, out the kitchen window.  Vilcabamba is known for it’s sunsets and rainbows, beautiful birds and butterflies.  But it is most famous for being one of the few places on earth where people live to over a hundred years old.  It is known as “the Valley of Longevity”. The thought that we will be here for possibly a year or more is mind boggling!  No one ever thought we’d “settle down”, least of all us, but Vilcabamba has always felt like “home” to us, so it’s great to finally be here.

Living on a coffee and banana plantation involves all sorts of learning opportunities and challenges. We spent a week with the previous caretakers learning what needed to be done as far as irrigation of the coffee and banana plantations, as well as care of the fruit trees, gardens and the owners big house. We have always loved gardening and have done quite a bit of it in the tropics as part of house sitting, but it was always other people’s gardens, and a lot smaller than the finca. 

Just learning about the coffee process is taking some time. We hire pickers, but it is our responsibility to dry the coffee and get it ready to be cleaned, roasted at the processors. The fruit and ornamental tree cultivation is new to us as well, and there are also many flower gardens and a large veggie garden to be tended.  It’s going to be fun, but also hard work, we should get really strong and healthy!

The owners of the finca are interesting people from the US who plan to retire here in a few years. “Dave” has a Masters Degree in forestry and business administration and has managed the only surviving forestry cooperative in the US. His favorite thing is planting trees, which he has done continuously in Vilcabamba.  His wife, “Mary”, has a Masters Degree in counseling but has always been a business person. She manages the books of Dave’s cooperative, as well as some rental property.  They recently sold their house in Duluth, Minnesota, and bought a house in Coral Gables, Fl., to be a block away from Mary’s mother (88), her boyfriend (92) and her aunt (85). She also has an aunt (90) who just entered an assisted living facility in Miami. None of them admits to needing care but Dave and Mary provide it continuously. For this reason, their visits to their property in Vilcabamba are not consistent. They are usually here for July and August. And then, if there are special rates to Ecuador, they come for a week or two at other times.  Bobby and I have not met them face to face, but we are looking forward to a visit in the near future.

Dave and Mary were in the Peace Corps in Ecuador from 1965-1967. They raised two daughters in Minnesota and then returned to Ecuador to visit in 1987 and then a few times in the 90s. (The world felt much smaller to them and Ecuador was not as far as it was in 1965). In 2000 they bought the property in Vilcabamba and that started their current adventure in Ecuador. With the help of their good friend Carmita, they built the house and then bought 3 adjacent properties, because they did not want any development around them. Vilcabamba is suffering a development boom: this sleepy little paradise is rapidly changing as huge mansions are being built mostly by people from other countries.

Dave and Mary’s finca sits above it all with fabulous views of the valley and the mountain ranges beyond.  In total the finca is about 1.8 hectares or 4.5 acres. Most of it is in coffee, bananas, and sugar cane.  Bobby and I have the job of maintaining the land watering the trees that Dave plants. Bobby will be trying new and old things with Dave with irrigation. We  will be maintaining the owner’s house when they are gone. Our job also includes picking and eating the limes, lemons, tangerines, oranges, sweet potatoes, berries and bananas, bananas, bananas! and donating or selling the ones that we don't use so they don't go to waste.

We also have a wonderful dog with lots of personality to take care of.  Kuka is hard to adequately describe; kind of like two mismatched dogs in one: a large ginger colored short haired dog with a big body and very short legs.  She is extremely affectionate and of course, we have bonded instantly.

It is new and exciting life for us once more! 

Hasta luego from the two happy cafeteros! (coffee growers)

Bobby & Jody