Tranquilo

My favorite word in español is tranquilo, which is now also my favorite state of mind. And I definitely embraced both usage of the word and being this past weekend, in the Ecuadorian ¨Valley of Longevity,¨ Vilcabamba. The valley is home to mny centurians, who may hold the secret to a long, healthy life. I think it´s living tranquilo.

Ann and I stayed at a popular backpackers ¨resort¨ owned by two German expats (Peter and Dieter -you know I HAD to stay there given such info). http://www.izhcayluma.com We were muy tranquilas, enjoying amazing food and fresh juices (by FAR the most expensive meal I´ve consumed in Ecua, but the $5 fillet mignon was worth it), walking around the luscious grounds, going for a (literally and figuratively) breath-taking 5 hour hike, and enjoying lots of ¨hammock time¨(can´t touch this -- only children of the 80´s will get that reference).

It was quite the transition back to the real world -and my first taste of the real Ecuador outside of one of its nicest cities. I´m currently in Catacocha, a small town a couple hours outside of Loja in southern Ecuador, which is Ann´s Peace Corps site. And even though the locals consider this small town urban in comparison to the campo, where Ann goes to work with the community, it´s a lot different than what I´ve lived in so far.

http://picasaweb.google.com/dcromp/Vilcabamba for a glimpse of tranquilo. Though unfortunately I can´t actually SEE any of the images I´ve uploaded so far ... the internet connection is really slow and tenuous here. Though I´m still amazed that there IS internet here to begin with. Anyway, let´s just hope there aren´t any photos of my disgusting sunburn on the photo page that slipped past my initial check before attempting to upload. I might not post the rest of this week given internet difficulties. I´m heading back to Cuenca this weekend before beginning the loooong journey to Buenos Aires (bus from Cuenca to Guyaquil, which is the largest city in Ecuador, flight to Lima, 6 hour layover, red eye to BA - oh, the glory of taking the cheapest option and paying in travel frustrations).

Hope you Seattlites are not being washed away in the flooding. Take care.