Wednesday, April 04, 2007

Fame hurts Ecuador's "valley of eternal youth"

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."

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