Seeing Property in Ecuador

I was chatting with a friend recently who is the owner of a great bar/restaurant in Vilcabamba called Timothy’s (if you’re ever there and get a chance to check it out) and he mentioned a friend of his was selling a Finca and gave me his number.

Normally I don’t pursue listings, our reputation generally brings listings to us. But because the Finca sounded so sweet and this friend of mine provided me with the owners phone number I went ahead and gave him a ring.

A few days later the owner stopped by our office and we got a chance to chat.

As it turns out the Finca is an hour and a half on foot or horseback above and behind (to the east) of Vilcabamba.

I immediately thought, o jeez, this is why I don’t pursue listings. You can imagine the logistical challenges of taking on a property like that. Just to go and take a look at it you need a full day. Getting our photographer out there, potentially having a boundary study done, etc, would be more difficult than usual.

And of course without road access the pool of potential buyers is much smaller.

However the seller asked me to go to take a look at it, and since I had called him, I felt obligated to oblige.

I’m so glad I did. And I think my experience is indicative of some of what’s so amazing about this part of Ecuador.

So here I am, setting out around 10:30am on horseback, on a very narrow and somewhat harrowing (to me, not to any of the others) path heading into to the lush, green mountains of the southern Ecuadorian Andes.