Since our return stateside in May we've neglected writing the final chapter of "Ken and Becky's Excellent South American 25th Anniversary Adventure". Not because we didn't enjoy ourselves. Some of the best moments of our trip abroad were experienced in the small equatorial country of Ecuador. Nowhere near as comfortably modern as Argentina, as geographically extreme as Chile, as culturally diverse as Brazil nor as tourist savvy as Peru, Ecuador's charms are hidden in it's tropical splendor. From the Pacific islands of the Galapagos to the Equatorial Andean Highlands to the Amazon Basin rain forest it is a country with one mouth-gaping vista after another. In four weeks we saw a minute, but impressive, portion.

We entered into Ecuador after a two day trip involving a flight to Lima, an overnight bus to Piura (northern Peru), an international bus ride across the border to Loja and a taxi to the oasis town of Vilcabamba. It became grueling only after the last '5 or 6' hour bus ride from Piura to Loja turned into a '7½' hour trial of loud music complimented by an overly vocal and obnoxious gringo child. For that reason the prearranged cab-share for the final leg into Vilcabamba with the non-parental parents of said young monster was changed at journey's end to preserve our sanity. The silent 45 minute cab ride was pure bliss!

Unquestionably our favorite part of Ecuador, Vilcabamba was the perfect place to relax and warm up after many weeks spent bundled up in the chilly Sacred Valley of Peru. Ken, succumbing to 'el gripe' after the long trip, spent several days recovering in our simple but nicely appointed room at a small guest house 2 blocks from the pretty plaza.

French owned and lovingly run Rendez-Vous wins as the most charming hotel of our trip hands down. Several one-level red-roofed buildings wrap around a well kept tropical garden. A steal at $11/night, each room sports a porch with it's own cheery hammock and a small table where every morning a healthy breakfast of fresh fruit and juice, eggs, coffee and home-baked whole grain toast awaited our rising. By day, lazing around in the hammock soaking up the perfect daytime temperature, our ears took in a chirped symphony in the bird-filled garden of Eden as our eyes drank in the surreal peaks that surround this piece of paradise. Known for being the 'valley of longevity', many locals live well into their 100s.

We came, as do scores of other travelers (many who never leave), to relax and absorb the tranquility of the stunning setting. For some strange reason this town has a high percentage of practitioners offering very affordable spa services. Becky found a very good massage therapist the second day and, $16.00 later, walked away with her legs waxed smooth and her muscles rubbed into submission. How many of these can a girl have in 5 days and not feel guilty? Remember Ken was bed bound with a high fever and a good case of the trots. She only squeezed in one more glorious massage and a much needed pedicure. Still spending less than $20.00! Guilt-free. With the surrounding beauty, the glorious year-long mild temps, the dirt-cheap pampering and the slow pace, the longevity here is no surprise. The lack of stress alone could add two decades to ones life.

Sitting in that dubious place of hindsight we wish we would have stayed at least another week, if not more, drinking in the tranquility of Vilcabamba. But there was so much more of Ecuador to discover and our days abroad were coming to an end. So, rested and regretful, we left the garden of Eden the same way we arrived...by taxi to Loja. This time we climbed onboard a bus for a short '5' hour bus ride north to Cuenca. Right...

Of course those short '5' hours turned into '7' excruciating ones due to roads strewn with equipment and workers clearing scores of landslides and repairing washed out stretches of macadam, a result of recent deluges. From the bulk of our travels in this small country it appeared that very little of it rests on flat ground. Almost all of it's land surface is hilly...and we're not talking the gentle rolling hills of southern Iowa. Many Andean peaks are steep, meters higher than any in the US, and roll on in every direction for as far as the eye can see. Even the dense rain forest rolls atop hills. It makes for some spectacular views through a bus window but also accounts for numerous delays when heavy rainfall takes a toll. We were fortunate to get through at all since a week earlier many roads were impassable in this area for days.

Finally settled into a nice hostel in Cuenca we needed a day to recover before exploring the colonial old town, another UNESCO World Heritage Site. We spent much of the first day wandering its narrow cobblestone streets, popping into domed churches and onto lovely peopled plazas. And looking for hats....Panama hats. A misnomer by any stretch, Panama hats are made in the only part of the world that has the climate suitable for growing the palm whose fronds are essential for obtaining the fine fiber used to make these highly durable and scrunchable hats. Ecuador.

In our search we met Don Alberto who was taught the art of hat making by his father at the ripe old age of 6. Now, in his eighth decade, he's dedicated his whole life to quality hat- making. Sacrificing his voice by breathing too many fumes from the charcoal iron used in the brim flattening process, for 20 years he has spoken in only a whisper. Unfortunately he had no hats to fit either of our heads. Eventually we found a family run operation. For three nice quality hats and bands we paid around $45.00. Not bad considering that one sells for twice that back home. Practical souvenirs for our life spent sailing under the tropical sun.

The best part of Cuenca, though, was tucked behind the white-washed walls in the gardened courtyard of our hostel. It was in this cozy setting that we had the pleasure of meeting some of the most brilliant 20-somethings, Americans all. A handful were college students spending a semester interacting with the locals in various ways under the auspice of the SIT program. And non-student, gentle-spirited, Taylor was passing through on a path of discovery, polishing her Spanish skills by volunteering with a local program helping women in abusive relationships and their children. All were super-friendly, interesting and interested, and not in the least bit intimidated to engage in heady conversations with a couple of age-ripened wanderers. We spent countless pleasant hours visiting and sharing meals during our short stay in Cuenca. After keeping company with these bright stars, our confidence in America's future multiplied significantly.

From Cuenca our next goal was to explore the Amazon Basin. The basin is so vast it occupies land in Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Columbia. With only a couple of weeks left, we traveled to the small city of Tena at the eastern edge of the Andean foothills in Ecuador. Another grueling bus ride was required, but this bus ride gave us our first viewing of the expansive basin. A mountainside ride that went from 12,000 ft to the floor of the basin with views of jungle that seemed to go on forever.

Tena has a relentless rainy period. Our first night in the basin we witnessed the power of the Amazonian rain. From our room perched high above the Rio Napo we watched a fast flowing creek beneath our window become a raging torrent in just a few hours. We had arrived unlike most tourists to this remote spot....without a package deal at a jungle lodge. So we spent a day at the computer, searching for the best fit for us, before making a short hop to quiet, little Misahauli, whose plaza teems with rambunctious and naughty capuchina monkeys.

Misahauli used to be the end-of-the-road. If you wanted to get further east the only way was by river. Large motorized canoes rode the swift water downstream and fought the strong currents back delivering folks to remote villages deeper in the rain forest...that is until someone discovered oil. Newly paved roads now bypass the town and it is slowly dying, revived barely by the light breath of the few tourists who find their way here. We stayed just long enough to secure reservations at a jungle lodge 28 kms away.

Arajuno Jungle Lodge, hugging the banks of the river of the same name, was a real find. Our student friends in Cuenca had steered us to this eco-lodge that is the brain-child of Tom, a former Peace Corp worker with a fascinating past. Eight years ago he was able to buy a chunk of the rain forest to preserve forever. Building the lodge and welcoming guests supports his pet projects. Reintroducing river turtles and yellow spotted turtles to the depleted populations is just one of his long range goals. He has already convinced the locals to quit fishing with dynamite...a bad practice that began when the oil companies started selling locals their unused explosives. Tom simply asked them what it would take to get them to stop the practice. They responded they wanted an easy supply of fish. He found funding to build and stock fish ponds in several villages. True to their word most locals have discontinued the old destructive fishing method.

Really soaking up the tropical warmth, Tom's knowledge and hospitality and Charo's gourmet cooking, our three day stay entailed swims in the river, a guided hike into the primary and secondary rain forest and a motorized canoe trip to a wild animal rescue center. And playing with Mona.

We really must elaborate on Mona. She's an adorable whoolly monkey that was delivered to Tom after her mother was shot. At 2 years old she is a persistent, impossible to resist, attention seeker. Amazingly human, Mona wraps her fingers around your hands, her tail around your arm and her charms around your heart. We both fell head over heels in love with this naughty little beast and spent many hours entertained by her antics. She is completely self-fed by the abundance of fruits, edible plants and insects in her wild domain and is free to roam except when she misbehaves, at which time Tom tosses her in the 'big house' for a while.

Nightly we were lulled to sleep by a wild jungle soundtrack accompanied by the gentle rush of the river, although one night a rainstorm far upriver caused a gushing 3 foot swell resulting in a roar so loud it woke us from our sleep. The rainy season was just beginning in this part of the Amazon Basin (they average a whopping 4 meters of rainfall a year). Not one of the many rivers we viewed were moving at less than 5-10 knots, including the ones we rafted down our final day. Thankfully done on a mostly sunny day it was both a thrilling, chilling and spilling experience, depending on if you're talking to Becky or Ken.

Our next stop took us back into the Andean Highlands and cooler temps. Famous for it's Saturday craft market, Otavalo is a must stop on Ecuador's unpolished Gringo Trail. A short and painless bus ride from Quito took us to this quaint city. Here we crossed back over the equator and into the northern hemisphere for the first time in over seven months. Since these were our final days in South America and the next long hop was back to the states we loaded up on souvenirs and T-shirts during a fast and furious 2-day shopping spree! Hammocks in Ecuador are colorful and cheap and we bought several to share with lucky recipients stateside.

Returning to Quito we spent 2 days seeing the most important sights in the old city and readying ourselves for our SA departure, packing and repacking. Although amazed at all we witnessed and those we met, we were both tired of mediocre restaurant food, long-distance bus travel and hotel living. Time to go 'home'.

Which raises the question-what is the perfect amount of time to spend exploring another continent? Depending on the size of it some folks would consider a few months to be more than enough. For those with worse cases of wanderlust than ours, perhaps several years wouldn't be anywhere near adequate. This much is certain - we did our level best to absorb as much of the various cultures of South America in 7½ months as is humanly possible without running ourselves ragged, . That said, towards the end of our wanderings below the equator we began to tire of living out of suitcases with the mess that results when staying in rooms made for short stays. A sense of permanence escaped our lives when we left Buenos Aires not to re-emerge for the duration of our travels in South America. A week here, two days there, an overnight bus ride between here and there. Constant movement and discovery lugging two 40 pound suitcases, two 15 pound duffels and a couple of 10 pound backpacks for 5 ½ months of our 7 ½ month journey.

Having bussed great distances all across South America, our time on the road went from luxurious, wine-infused, 5-Star bus travel in Argentina, to sketchy bus service in Brazil, to comfortably good - but untimely and erratic- buses in Chile and Peru, ending our travels in Ecuador, with buses similar in quality and performance to Guatemala's 2-Star bus service. In retrospect we might have begun our trip in Ecuador, arriving there more refreshed and less spoiled, and finished it in ultra-comfortable Argentine style...a suggestion worthy to note for those who fancy a trip similar to the one we designed.

In the end we rode over 10,000 miles on a variety of buses, trains and automobiles. We cruised by ship another 5,000 of coastline 'in-style' on both Atlantic and Pacific shores, as well as boated the world's highest navigable lake in a reed boat of ancient design, swam and rafted several rivers and body-surfed ocean waves along white sand beaches. We caught amazing birds-eye views in various flights over portions of Brazil's southern jungles and snowcapped Andean peaks in Peru and Ecuador. We danced to tango at Buenos Aires milongas, explored many of South America's colorful cities on foot, hiked trails through lush rain forests, over and under magnificent waterfalls and wandered Inca footpaths amid magical ruins. Amazing journeys over, around and through sections of the world's highest, driest, wettest and most breathtaking spots. A trip befitting the peaks and valleys and color of our 25 year marriage.

'A trip of a lifetime' is how many would view our extended visit. Hopefully, with our lifestyle, it will become just "a good year" to add to the rest and many more like it to come. At times it included the grueling moments indicative of budget-traveling; but when you balance it with the "ahs of wonder" and the chance meetings with people that might be in our lives for years to come, we'd do it all again in a heartbeat.