Invited to ride along with both our Couchsurfing host and a professional photographer for a “short” drive from Vilcabamba, Ecuador to the border of Peru, we graciously accepted. The photographer, a very experienced and life long traveler was continuing his journey from the northern border to the southern border of Ecuador. (Remind me to hesitate before jumping into a car with a professional photographer as the driver again, especially over harrowing roads!).
We left about 9 am right after breakfast, seeking to make the drive then turn around and catch photos with afternoon sun. leaving Vilcabamba the road was paved and we curved back and forth up the side of the Andes on the road towards Palanda, Ecuador, less than 30 miles away, where some of the best coffee is said to be grown. The roads turned bad; narrowed, wet and slippery with numerous mudslides being repaired and construction underway. At one point we stopped to tie the muffler back on to our matchbox sized rent-a-car.
We reached Palanda just shy of 3 pm. Debating the safest way to return to 
Vilcabamba and get over the rough part of the road before dark (6:30), discussions involved a flat bed truck, parting ways and taking the bus, and/or spending the night in Palanda and attempting it the following morning. Being still in the rain season, any plan could go wrong. We walked into a few restaurants and sat down. Each had been empty, but it was expected someone would come in o take our orders. No such luck! Surely someone owned them and you would think would be watching. No restaurant luck, no flat bed truck, bus departed, no overnight gear, we decided to head back. The day was hot and the sky was clear, and the construction workers would be on the road until 7 pm. We turned back – but not before visiting the local store and buying a few bags of that coffee, and stocking up on some food and water.
Now closer to 4 pm, leaving Palanda – or trying to – we came to a gate with a sign stating the road was closed until 6 pm. They opened the road around 5:30 pm and luckily for us the road had dried up significantly, and 
we were able to return to Vilcabamba climbing back over the 8,900 foot summit without any problem. Although we did not make it past Palanda or to the border of Peru, we did pick up coffee, were able to stop and take a number of Andean photos with plenty of useful tips and guidance from our professional photographer. We spent the day in good company with engaging conversation and rounded out the evening with food and drink back in Vilcabamba at the corner cafe named after Costa Rica’s claimed motto Pura Vida. So while Ecuador to Peru was today a foiled attempt (and I, personally, was not so crazy about Palanda), the day itself was success.
