Fame hurts Ecuador's "valley of eternal youth"

By Alonso Soto

VILCABAMBA, Ecuador (Reuters) - Nestor Carpio, frail at 89, says he doesn't expect to live as long as his father Miguel, who reached 124 and made this tiny valley famous around the world for the longevity of its inhabitants.

These days, the famous elders of Vilcabamba are dying at a younger age, the result of the stresses of modern life brought by the scores of tourists and health buffs who flock here in search of eternal youth.

"Before life was tranquil, now the town has turned too big," said the bespectacled Carpio, sitting outside his adobe home as cars blasting techno-cumbia cruised nearby. "The really old ones are dying off quickly."

Gangs of youths drinking beer and smoking around the village's main square contrasted sharply with the hardy elders carrying the day's harvest of potatoes, onions and herbs through the steep roads of the Ecuadorian Andes.

Old timers say modern life has encroached on and disrupted the valley's tranquil and carefree lifestyle, which was key to their longevity.

Centenarians used to be seen playing cards at the main square or sitting in church, villagers say, but there are fewer now as many have died in recent years. They cited recent funerals of two elders believed to be 118 and 124.

"We are not eating the natural food we used to," said Ramon Santin, an 89-year-old peasant with thick, dirty hands who has only been in the hospital once because of a stomach ache. "Life is different."

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