This guide 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. My wife is from Loja and we have a little daughter, 2 1/2 at the time of this writing. She has kids of her own. they go to school. None of them speak any English. We spend a lot of time in Loja. Our friends are there. I got involved in some TV program on Ecotel TV. I go filming in the pueblos surrounding Loja. I attend meetings and conferences in Spanish. I meet with presidentes de junta parroquial and alcaldes. I started composing songs in Spanish and performed them live in Vilcabamba and Loja. My integration has gone from superficial to rather deep indeed.
I now see life rather differently from before and I want this site to reflect that. From just a resource for newcomers and people who are thinking of coming, I wish this site to contain a lot of information on what “real living” is in this part of the world and from an insider’s point of view that is. This will be the purpose of the new Living section in this guide. Of course the gringo al SUR documentaries are part of it but not all of it by any mean.
This guide will no longer be limited to Vilcabamba but will include as much as we can fit on the entire LOJA REGION and LOJA PROVINCE.
You too can be part of it
If you have a business, a commercial activity, a service, that would benefit from some good publicity, please do contact us. At a very reasonable cost we will include you and promote you.
If you are one of the (lucky) businesses that have been in the guide for years and there are many, I do hope that it has been of benefit to you and I wish it to remain that way. You may find that your info is not up-to-date and you may wish to refresh your presentation with a new photo, a change of phone number or web link or some change in the write up. Or you may wish to improve your visibility with a photo and a link on the front page. Please do contact us. We have very affordable options for you too.
Our offers go beyond mere conventional publicity. the impact of a well done small documentary with interviews, testimonies, good music and humor… has far more impact.
Contact us through the contact page.
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