About:

Vilcabamba, Ecuador, which is known as the “Valley of Longevity”.  
Here, the air is pristine and the water is as pure as can be.  
The soil is mineral-rich here.  

We have a few notes and questions for you so that we can best prepare for your arrival. Please take a few moments to read these over and *especially let us know your answers* to the  questions below, thank you!

Notes:

• Recommended items to bring: passport, notarized copy of passport, medicines, special pillow, swimming clothes, sun hat, layers of clothing are a good idea, with at least one warm jumper/sweater as it can be a little cold in the evenings/early mornings, light raincoat if you like, walking shoes, long cool pants, notepad and pens, water bottle, natural sunscreen if you like (remember we live almost at the equator – the sun here can be *very* strong), tea tree or eucalyptus essential oil to stop any itching from bug bites, natural bug repellent, long tops and bottoms to protect arms/legs from insect bites, torch/flashlight (*essential*, as it can be very dark here at night), any natural personal products that you use and may not be able to easily find here (please note that we use grey water systems on the land that feed house water directly into the gardens/forests, so we do not welcome chemical products here), oh and of course don’t forget to bring your senses of humor, curiosity and fun!

• PLEASE pay special attention to the notes above regarding Long-sleeved/legged clothing to avoid insect bites, WALKING shoes and a TORCH/flashlight. We’ve had many issues with previous retreat attendees not paying attention to this list and arriving with tiny shorts and t-shirts, flip-flops, nothing to treat insect bites and no light for walking around at night!

 

We provide yummy food every single day, along with breakfast and dinner buffets which are both “all you can eat”.  You may also schedule to eat in town at times or we may all go out to dinner after an excursion ($).

 

• Laundry - Just so you know, we have washing machines, laundry detergent and washing lines available for your use in various locations at our property, so that you can wash clothes while on retreat. Just leave your basket outside your door and the cleaning people will wash….This might mean that you can pack less than you were maybe planning!

 

• If you’re due to arrive to Loja airport in the afternoon, it’s a wise move to pack your torch/flashlight in your *hand luggage* if possible, or anywhere you can easily grab it, as by the time you get to our place it will already be dark – sunset here is around 6.30pm every day. Do let us know your arrival and departure from Catamayo/Loja airport as we need to arrange the taxi.*

• Retreat Balance – please be sure to pay your retreat balance in full before your arrival here. We cannot accept participants whose balance is partially paid. You can pay the remainder of your balance through Paypal, Xoom and Wise, funds at rvivarb@gmail.com. (If you are unsure what your outstanding balance is, feel free to reply to this email for assistance with this or contact us at lasofiaretreats@gmail.com or call 593. 980804417  /.  993617049 

• Horse Riding ($40) and Bike Tour ($40) – we organise a group horseriding adventure into the local hills for a few hours one day –We also arrange a fun local bike ride through the beautiful Andean scenery.

• Extra Days on Site – if you want to arrive early to our land or leave late, we can accommodate you. The cost is $100 per person per night for lodging and Food. Please let us know how many extra days on site you may require and for exactly which dates. The first 3 days before and after the retreat include lite fare food.  If you stay a month it is $950 a month for a rental.

• Massages are $35.  Please sign up with the staff for appointments. 

 

Información de transporte: 

Transporte aéreo: Aerolinea, https://aeroregional.net/inicio 

Transporte en bus, página de ayuda en compra de pasajes: 

https://vamospasajes.com/#/home-screen  oh watsapp +593 96 700 6027 

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Taxi from Airport – we co-ordinate taxi pooling to and from Loja airport to our ranch, to help keep costs down (please see first question below to provide us your exact arrival/departure info). The drivers wait at the airport with a sign bearing your name(s). The fare is $40 per taxi from the airport to our ranch and each taxi can take 4 passengers. Please pay the driver directly and split the $40 between whomever is sharing each taxi. Taxi’s to town $6 each way.  If you do not take our cab we cannot guarantee the cost of the taxi.

Waiver Form – a reminder to please be sure to complete the waiver form for the retreat before your arrival here. We cannot accept retreat participants without a completed waiver form. If you are travelling in a group, please note that a separate form must be submitted for every participant. You can fill in and submit your form here: https://www.smartwaiver.com/w/576029266efa6/web/

We also want to give you contact info for us this end in case for some reason your flight gets delayed, you maybe end up taking your own taxi here and so on…

Our physical address is:

Via Antigua a Yangana, 600m de Comunidades.

Yangana, Loja
Phone/WhatsApp: 0980804417  /  0993617049

email: lasofiaretreats@gmail.com 

Questions:

Please give us your *exact* schedule for arriving and leaving from Loja airport (or let us know if you intend instead to find your own way to our ranch). Exactly when are you scheduled to arrive to Loja airport (date/time) and on which flight? Exactly when are you scheduled to LEAVE from Loja airport again at the end of the retreat and on which flight? We co-ordinate taxi pooling from Loja airport to our ranch and vice versa, to keep your transport costs down.
 

• Are you intending to eating Vegetarian, Vegan, Meat or other (i.e. Juicing) *Do you have any allergies or intolerances, to foods or other items?*

• Are you a “strict” vegan, in the sense of not consuming any bee products such as honey?*

• Are you intending to participate in the optional Temazcal Sweat Lodge Ceremonies?

• Are you participating in the San Pedro Ceremony?

• Did you pay your retreat balance?

 

​Anything we need to know if you are sharing a room with someone you do not know.

Furthermore, you will have access to as many fresh green coconuts as you can drink… For free!  Yep! …  I’ve already pre-ordered 100s of them.  These are not the typical high-glycemic Thai coconuts that you find in western countries.  These are young, fresh, green and yellow coconuts, straight from the tree.  They are low-glycemic and nutrient-dense.  Drinking this coco water is literally like drinking a nourishing green vegetable juice.  You will miss them when you leave, just like I miss them when I am in the US!

 

If there is a reason you cannot make this retreat we need to know as of receipt of this email so we can place you in a future retreat and place someone on the waiting list in this retreat.

If you have not done so, please send us your flight arrival and departure information into Catamayo/Loja airport in Ecuador.  Also, please send us the name and email of your partner/spouse or child.  If you have any questions please email us at: lasofiaretreats@gmail.com, her skype is the same and if you have questions please call her at 352-436-4958.

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Reset, Recharge and Rejuvenate Staff!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time out to come to our retreat and I’m SO looking forward to seeing you here!