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Vilcabamba Glimpse #23

View From the Western Boundary

The attached photo was taken from the western boundary of the ranch, Hacienda San Joaquin, about 10 A.M., January 5, 2007. Sky conditins were mixed, some clouds some sun.

This photo provides an excellent overview of a large portion of the ranch.

In the bottom left hand corner is the Equestrian and Hiking Center, which is shaping up beautifully. I will send a separate Vilcabamba Glimpse about that complex. It will be one of the main social and gathering areas on the ranch. In addition to two stables (one built...24 stalls, one about to be built...16 stalls), the Center has an Organic Ranch Store and Cafe, an Information Center (community bulletin boards, maps of hiking and horseback riding trails), a horse-grooming facility, two corrals, and bouganvillea-draped hillsides. It's really a special area. A park-like setting with benches.

There are two homes in the bottom center of the photo. One is the Hacienda San Joaquin Reception Center. The other is my little house.

In the lower right of the photo are the gardens and talapia ponds and volleyball stadium I wrote about in Vilcabamba Glimpses 16 and 17.

You can see part of the Vilcabamba River on the right side of the photo. In the center of the photo (to the left of the river) in the flat area are a number of the Quintas (country estates, about 5 acres or so). In the center of the flat area is the main road which is difficult to see as it is so heavily tree-lined (as seen in Vilcabamba Glimpse 20). You can see what this area looks like on the site plan at our web site ........................

Notice how the Andes Mountains sourround the area majestically. These mountains run through the central spine of Ecuador. It's truly astonishing that one can live in these mountains, in this incredible environment, at this altitude (the ranch is at 5,000 feet), and enjoy a spring-like climate (no air-conditioning, no heat) year around. And that is just one of numerous extraordinary aspects of this area and this ranch.

I have mentioned the ranch's hiking and horseback riding trails. In this photo, on the left side, you can see some of the mountains that form the northern boundary of the ranch. All of these mountains that wrap around the hacienda on the east, north and west are part of the property. It is in these mountains where the hiking and horseback riding trails will be. We are constructing these trails now.

The town of Vilcabamba, not visible in the photo, is about 4 kilometers (2.4 miles) from the entrance to Hacienda San Joaquin. The town is on the far side of the first mountain you see in the upper right-hand corner of the photograph. The ranch is close enough to town to reach it easily. Yet, far enough away to remain in a very quiet, peaceful and private setting.

The sun rises over the mountains in the distance (center in the photo) and travels directly over the ranch. As we are located near the equator, there is not much seasonal variation in the path of the sun, only 13 degrees.

Come visit! You will experience a very special place on planet Earth. You may want to live here. J

The photos:

Best, Joe

Joe Simonetta
Owner/Architect
Hacienda San Joaquin
Vilcabamba, Ecuador


P.S. International Living named Ecuador "The Best Place in the World to Retire" http://www.haciendasanjoaquin.com/best_in_the_world.html