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Vilcabamba Glimpse #37 was written by Leslie Lattimore shortly after she and her husband, Robert Pelland, returned from their May visit to Hacienda San Joaquin (where they purchased a home site) to their home in Toronto, Canada. One photo shows Leslie and Robert and part of the magnificent view from their home site, Lot 12. The other photo shows Leslie and Robert with Mario (the teacher) and some students in one of the two classrooms of the small school in the village of Chaupi, near the entrance to Hacienda San Joaquin. Best, Joe J

Vilcabamba Glimpse #37

A Perfect Place to Live Our Dream

By Leslie Lattimore

A few weeks ago, I said to my husband, as we were walking our dogs, "I Think We Should Be Planning Our Retirement". This was a startling statement, as we were walking in silence, and it came out of the blue. It even made me wonder where I was going with it.

At that point, retirement only meant moving away from the harsh Canadian winter. We had no plans, nothing in sight, and absolutely no ideas to run with. We were just retirement Wanna-be's.

That same day, by chance, I noticed an ad in a magazine called

International Living, a publication that gives one ideas about moving to different places in the world. There was an advertisement about Hacienda San Joaquin located in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. I knew instinctively that this was something that we should investigate.

Some might say this was a coincidence, but I believe it was synchronicity, the law of attraction, or fate. Within two weeks, I had excited my husband to the prospect of having a look and our tickets to Ecuador were booked!

One week later at the ranch after meeting with Joe Simonetta and viewing the entire magnificent property, we purchased our extraordinary home site with a view that I've only seen on Hideaways of the Rich & Famous. J

In anticipation of this very moment, I pulled from my bag a rough sketch of our dream home and pictures I had selected from magazines to support our chosen site. We were well on our way. An architect in Ecuador is now drawing our house plans.

We both knew the moment we entered this magical place, and we still know now, that there could never be anywhere in the world more perfect for us to 'live our dream'.

Leslie & Robert Toronto, Canada

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