Ecuador, Vilcabamba Valley and eternal life | VPRO Documentary

In the Valley of Vilcabamba in Ecuador people get older than average. But why are people in Vilcabamba Valley older than in other villages? What is the secret of Vilcabamba so that people refer to it as the valley of eternal life? What´s so special about Vilcabamba that it has a reputation as a paradise for elderly people?
Dutch presenter and film maker Stef Biemans travels across the back of the Andes and wonders how people are doing in South America. In the fourth episode he visits the Vilcabamba valley of the valley of eternal life in Ecuador and tries to understand the magic of the place. What do vivacious centenarians do in Ecuador just below the equator to stay healthy, what is arranged for them when they get sick and how does the South American deal with old people?
The Vilcabamba Valley in Ecuador is known for its healthy elderly. The fit old man who interrupts his work on the land to give Stef Biemans a firm handshake, shows an official identity card with a date of birth in 1913. A little later he swings his hips while dancing.
Other elderly people in the valley also dance, in groups. Which does not mean that they all go whistling through life. It may well be a time to finish, says a woman of 89. But: "God keeps me alive. I wait until it is my time. "A voluntary end to earthly life is so unthinkable that Biemans does not even dare to touch the subject. Man proposes, God disposes. Or for many South Americans: God and his native helpers.
Original title: Het eeuwige leven (4/6) - Over de rug van de Andes
Presented by Stef Biemans
© VPRO Mars 2018
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English, French and Spanish subtitles by Ericsson and co-funded by the European Union.