... MY ECUADORIAN ADVENTURES

January, 2013


SO HERE WE GO...

hola to all...

excuse the grammar, spelling...am rushing through this as very little time on computer..

and this damn cafe has music? pounding in my ears...

i keep asking the gorgeous looking muscular ecuadorian to lower it...

he politely does...but somehow manages to sneak up the volume every so often...

and there are starving little nats feasting on my body...

so...

....as Mark Twain once said....

why bother ruining a good story for the sake of the truth....

                         so ...here goes....mostly truth...

                                                              my journey throughout Ecuador...

   all the while thinking of my son and his wife in copenhagen...who are expecting their first child any moment...

Mon Jan 21...

A special day....Julian s birth day...love and hugs...

a little event at the miami airport ..as my travelling friend went out for a smoke

we were supposed to meet at a certain time and place for our connection to ecuador..

however, nadine was no where to be found...

the airport attendant informed me that she would never get through the long customs line

on time to make the connection..

distressed..i walked the fifteen minute walk with heavy baggage to the other end of  the long miami airport ..later found our there was a mini train...

to our announced gate....thankfully nadine somehow had managed to get through to the head of the line and got to our gate 

to meet me...

so..we arrived in guayaquil, ecuador safely and uneventful...

not even squished in our plane seats...as the man on the end offered to move to give us more space..

so we had an extra seat to sprawl out on...unlike the rest of the passengers...

all started very well....a special omen for our trip...

so at the guayaquil airport..standing in a hellish long line of tired, smelly travellers...as was i...

late and grumpy.....i did not want to be waiting in this line...

especially since customs was literally tearing apart every piece of luggage..

just wanted to somehow find our hotel...

...so i started making small talk  in my halting spanish to the security guard...

and he decided to allow us to clear the line....

he waved me and nadia on...

he either just took a liking to us...or he could not stand to listen to my spanish accent..

and incorrect grammar....but... am hoping it was the first reason...

then after negotiating a price for our taxi...we knew he literally was taking us for a ride...

but only for a dollar or so...so decided to go for it...had no other choice...it was late and we were stuck..

our other three lady friends we will be travelling with were taking the even later plane...

so off we went round and round the city in this taxi...with us complaining to driver 

 ...me again searching my head for the right spanish words 

finally he stopped at what looked like a gated house in a ghetto...with no name on this building..

we refused to go in..as some strange man came out and said it was our hotel..it looked very different on internet...

so since we refused he told us there were ..dos.. two ...of these hotels...

we could go to the other in an unmarked car with another man in a red shirt...NO..we said...we are not going with a strange man in a strange city 

to some unknown place...

so he summoned a taxi..the taxi took us to this.. DOS..other hotel..again with no name and not looking like a hotel..

but somehow the man in the red shirt was standing there waiting for us...No ..we said again..we are not going in..

so the ...conductor...the taxi driver ... took us back to place number one...again the man in the red shirt standing there waiting for us...

how in the world he managed to get to these places back and forth before us was a mystery...always standing there patiently waiting for us..

to make a very long story a little shorter....the first one ended up really being our hotel...said the name was not on because they just finished painting the outside..

...however,,,after all the confusion the attendent ...remembered ...to bring out our reservation sheet...

WHY...we asked...did you not show us that at the beginning...

he forgot..was his answer..

so this attendent and the man in the red shirt ended up having the patience of Job...with us...could not do enough for us..

and even offered to meet our three friends at the airport at one in the morning so they would not have to go through this confusion...

Tues Jan 22

so this morning we decided to return to the airport to find out how we could get to the jungle...

we were going to spend several days in the jungle to experience...a cleansing ceremony...

we took a flight to the capital city...Quito...a beautiful terraced old city..but very dangerous..say the books...

found no danger there....but much kindness.. a man who was actually an astronaut...

spent much time finding a taxi big enough for the five of us and all our baggage...

and negotiating a good price for us....for our six hour journey ....through the dangerous mountain roads to get to the jungle...

we squished into the taxi van...not too bad...considering..

and poor driver had to listen to our constant chatter...six hours of five ladies talking...must have been hell for him...

but he only showed kindness and patience..

as we approached the long stretch of mountainous roads...the road became a long series of S shaped curves...one after the other..

with absolutely NO straight stretches...

there were many transport trucks chugging up these S shaped mountain passes...

so our ....conductor.....confidently decided to pass on each S curve...

we pleaded for him to stop....

but he seemed to know the roads...and the oncoming traffic...thankfully....were extremely polite drivers...

they seemed to all have a silent agreement to allow others to pass without incident...

so..six hours later...and a delicious dinner in a quaint little mountain village...

we arrived near our destination...but had no idea how to get to the back road jungle lodge where we were staying...

a local stopped and offered to take us there...20 km into the back roads...

upon our arrival....hesitantly we asked the taxi driver if it seemed safe...

he simply shrugged his shoulders and looked away...

 Yikes..

but there just seemed to be a good vib to this place...so we stayed...

the shaman and his adult son juan...came out to greet us...juan with halting english..

and us with halting spanish..managed to understand each other..

we got settled in our wooden jungle lodging..with hammocks strung out on the porch...

remembering to wear our foolish looking mosquito net hats ...covering our faces and necks..

and to rub on our mosquito repellent...me with my DEET...something i would never consider wearing at home..

but here in the jungle i was willing to take the chance...DEET or malaria...the DEET won over....

we settled in for the night under our mosquito net covered beds...

the bed ... a mattress just sitting on four logs..we had to be careful getting in and out ..

Wed Jan 23

the day was spent aquainting ourselves with the hot, humid jungle climate...

and re acquainting with the shaman and his welcoming family...

we finally realized how safe we were...they were all caring and attended to our every need...

our fears were dispersed...

the heat and humidity was so intense, we were constantly dripping wet...

the only thing that was freezing in this whole jungle was the shower....

it alternated between shockingly cold water or none at all....we optioned for the shockingly cold...

we were invited to the cleansing ceremony for this evening...

in order to prepare our bodies we had to fast for the day...

we relaxed and meditated....and swung on the hammocks for hours...

at eight in the evening, we arrived in the thached roof hut in the midst of the jungle...

the only light was the blazing fire in the firepit of the hut ....and the full moon..

the shaman arrived....his bare chest covered only in his many strands of beads

and his feather headdress...

he offered us some cleansing calming herbal tea...camomile.. just picked from the jungle...

and we washed our faces with some...

we were invited one by one to sit on a log in front of him..

as he chanted to the sounds of the jungle...

he waved his leaf covered wand around our bodies...

and coughed out what seemed like our toxins...

nadine was the decided upon photographer of the ceremony...

however, as soon as she was to begin taking photos...her fully charged camera

decided not to work...it had been working fine up until now and worked fine the next day...

we figured the spirits did not want this holy ceremony recorded on paper...

only on our minds...maybe too personal an event...

so we stayed up most of the night, lying on wooden cots on the jungle floor

gazing up at the moon lit skies...

the moon which had a magnificent rainbow effect around surrounding it, seemed 

to be playing hide and seek behind the clouds...

the stars were shining a brilliant light and at one point there was a cloud formation

in the shape of a ...J.....

my three son s names all begin with a J.....

Thurs Jan 24

this morning the shaman and juan took us on a tour of the jungle..

 informing us of all the medicinal properties of the plants of this magnificent jungle..

it was a god made pharmacy....one that i would trust far more than any pharmacy 

in our so called civilized world...

.of course i realize there is a time and place for our medicines..

but the jungle seemed to have a plant for every illness possible...

the shaman was taking some leaves from these plants 

 for our medicinal sauna this evening...

for our sauna.. the shaman covered our bodies with a blanket and placed a pot of steaming herbal boiled water...in front of us under the blanket

the herbs had been brewing for hours over the hot coals of the fire..

it was amazingly hot and breathing in the strong aromas from the steam felt incredibly healing..

Fri Jan 25

sadly, we are leaving the jungle this morning..

but more than thankful for the experience...

early wakeup...

and catching the local bus for four dollars for the five hour trip to Baños...

a town surrounded by what seems like hundreds of canyons and waterfalls...

and thermal waters....

making our way west to the coast....

we sat in our bus seats with absolutely no leg room ...

as we were wondering how we were going to make it ..

a couple came up to us and informed us that we were in the wrong seats...

we were looking at the wrong number on our tickets...

we were supposed to be in seat number one....

the first row of the bus...with tons of leg room...

arriving in Baños, we found our garden filled hostel...

with trumpet vines and tropical plants filling the courtyard..

and our little parrot, welcoming us with his ever constant....hola...

we met some of the other guests.....

one beautifully spirited young woman who told us of her illness...

she was born with a neuromuscular disease...and needed leg braces since birth..

to walk with much difficulty... and whose hands were twisted with no muscle control...

she said her life was filled with magic and her dreams were coming true..

she is a singer in a band...and has married the man of her dreams...

someone to truly look up to...

Sat Jan 26

we took a local tour of the cascading waterfalls...

four hours of walking the dangerous narrow canyon paths...

and feeling like we were part of the earth...

as i was descending the paths, someone reminded us that the UP part was

going to be the difficult part..

and difficult it was..

even the four beautiful young argentinian girls who were on the tour with us were 

huffing and puffing their way up the paths...

so i didn t feel so bad when i had to stop to breathe every so often..

we befriended two kind men who sort of ....took care....of us...

asking to take photos for us..of us... in the midst of the sprays of the falls...

stuck in between the walls of the high narrow canyons...

needless to say.....we went to bed early this night...

but the bedroom light kept flickering all night long...

Sun Jan 27

eagerly got up early this morning to attend mass at the local cathedral..

and just as i stepped onto the stairs of this huge cathedral...filled with locals waiting to be blessed...

the church bells started tolling loudly,..

 and a musician started playing the soft tunes of the flute....

honestly. .this IS the truth...... playing  ...when a child is born....

after mass i went to a local cafe to check my email.....

there was news from my son in Copenhagen...

they were in labour all night ....lying in a comfortable birthing room...

with large windows overlooking a park covered with lightly fallen snow... 

             a holy and magical scene...

besos and many blessings...and to my children and grandchildren... i love you......mom  and grandma .... madeleine




NEXT BIT OF VERY EXCITING NEWS

so..

our very sweet Ottilia Zelda arrived in our family last eve...6 lbs 7 ozs

and her daddy says she is beautiful...I know she is...

her name Ottilia...is a Danish name...her mommy s grandma s name...whom her mom loved very much...
and her middle name Zelda...is,of course, honouring her Zaidy Gerry, who would be so proud of her..
and I know is watching over her...

we are so happy she choose us for her family...

her mommy and daddy are ecstatic...maybe tired...but nevertheless .. ecstatic...
and her danish cousins.. and her LA cousins...Alessandra and Ethan.. are very excited to have such a fabulous new cousin...

I think she looks like her daddy when he was born....a few years ago...with her mommy s eyes...

................and this evening my friends and I are leaving on a ten hour local bus trip heading for the ecuadorian coast....

                              will check in later...

 love and many blessings...

love and many blessings....madeleine






LIFE'S JOURNEY...ECUADOR

hi all...

the  computer keys are sticking ...but here goes....

so took several local buses and one all nighter on our way to the coast...
it was difficult sleeping on the all nighter as there was a group of young chilean travellers
who insisted on playing their music and chatting into the wee hours of the morning...
however, it did make the trip interesting and made the time go by faster...
it did not give me much time to think of how squished my poor little body was..

mon jan 29

but we finally reached our destination....the pacific coast...

One of the friends with whom i am travelling had kindly rented a house for us in a small coastal town
in a ...gated community....which i would never do....but without a gate....so it made it not so bad....

we have spent the past week here in this little village...sitting on the beach and visiting other villages in the area...
The locals are polite but very reserved...
somehow, i dont feel the exciting vibs that i felt from the mexicans on our many trips to mexico in the past few years...

and i am not experiencing that wonderful golden light that i so loved about the mexican landscape..

it is mostly cloud covered on this coast and the ocean a rather greyish blue colour and
when the sand gets wet it is rather muddy....

so am not quite a fan....
I keep thinking that mexico is where i should be...

but i am trying to experience the moment....

sun feb 3

i am having fun with the four other woman i am travelling with for this week....
sharing a home...at first we started out very ..formal...with doors closed while changing 
but by the end of the week we forgot about the rules...and ...anything goes...

i am doing most of the translating for my friends for whatever is needed....
and am surprised and pleased at how my little spanish brain cells are popping up....
i haven t spoken spanish in so long, i thought i totally forgot it...

three of the ladies will be leaving  tomorrow...and nadine and i will be staying for two months..
the others are much younger and must get back to work...
nadine and i are retired so decided to winter here ...could not imagine being in the loneliness 
of my home in the cold canadian winter....

so  yesterday nadine and i went off to another town on the coast,  that has much more hustle to it...
to find accomodation for the month of feb

after much frustration at the filth of the places and the prices...we finally came upon a pardise up on the hills...
we took our 25 cent motorcycle taxi ride into the bumpy, muddy roads of the hills...
not sure we would make it...
but found this paradise...called ...las collinas de los italianos....owned by...of course...an italian family..

a wooden, glass structure with a hammock strung cantilevered deck dotting the hillside...
with a view of the town and the ocean that would equal that of amalfi or positano on the italian coast 
south of naples...

a lttle more that we wanted to pay...but the forty year old son of the family, giuseppe, in his charming italian accent...
speaking part english...part spanish and part italian...promised he would take care of us...

he would be around the villa all the time ....so would drive us into town in the back of his very beat up truck..
we had to hang onto the make shift door as it would not shut...
he had a video surveillance camera in his kitchen so would always look out for us...

so we decided to take it...

now  back for a day with the girls in our rented home ..until they have to leave tomorrow...

one night during this week. we were invited to another cleansing ceremony....
hosted by an ecuadorian shaman...
not in the jungle this time ...but up in the hills from a local village...
with 20 other ecuadorian guests...

we drummed and chanted all night long, lying down on the mud hut floor with only a blanket to lie on..

the shaman smoked the sacred tobacco and blew the smoke into the sacred fires..
.all the while praying for all our intentions...
the soothing sounds of the flute in the background seemed to put us into a trance..

one of my many intentions was to connect with gerry at some level...

in this trance ....i had a dream...or maybe a vision....

i saw a godlike figure atop some pyramids...as gerry and i sat upon one trip to mexico long ago...
and ancient ruins... 
there were huge intensely coloured gems lining the walls of the ruins...amber and emerald and amethyst...
with silver designs...like a magnificent piece of art...

an incredible beam of light shone through the large opening in the walls of the ruins...
and seemed to beam right into my soul...

i know what it was...

our last day in the rented home with friends...

saw two lovers on the beach this evening...
they were gentle and sweet...
one walked up to a bag of garbage that someone thoughtlessly left on the beach..
he tore the bag apart and started licking some juice from the juice box...
the female slowly walked over to her friend...and coyly looked at him...as if to say..
may i share..they both started licking ,  then stopped....
they looked at each other and rubbed noses ...as their lips gently touched...
their slender grey proud bodies strolled away graciously 
when the dogs came to chase
the donkeys away...

am doing yoga and meditaion on the beach each morning under a canopy of wooden strips.
a gazebo with a path to the ocean...
the gently rolling waves seeming to bring in all the energy of the universe 
and taking away all the negative feel of the earth..
could have been a path to paradise...

tues feb 5

as i lie in my hammock in our new paradise in las collinas...the hills...
having morning coffee this morning with this amazing view of the ocean..
there is a huge grey miltary tanker anchored in the harbour...
.on watch duty for cocaine trafficking....

giuseppe invited us for dinner last night .. a delicious pasta dinner i was craving...
with a friend from sicily....they both said they were looking for a woman...
nadine and i quickly left...

but this morning we had to cancel out on our month here...
as this paradise in the day....ended up being a battle ground at night .... a battle of the bugs..
as giuseppe said....millions of them every night...
so sadly we told giuseppe we had to leave...

but today we found another paradise in a pueblo  south of here on the coast..a small fishing village...
rather boheme....and reminding me of my time in africa....
renting some space in a huge private beachouse from maria josefina....
 on the beach...with other guests...travellers from around the world..
and many local fishermen...young and old...
and maria josefina s young gorgeous eighteen yr old son, mario....
that you young ones out there....or even us old ones...would die for...

so will be there in two days....for two weeks....

relaxing ...and finally reading....under the clouds...

leonard cohen is waiting for me.....his title ...i m your man.....

thinking of you...with much love...

hasta.....blessings...madeleine





STORYTELLING

gerry always said my creativity was in my soul ... and in my storytelling...
he would love listening to my writings as we lay in bed at night...always gave him a chuckle...

and he always encouraged me to keep going ...

and for those of you who are asking for more...

here i go...

do the ...delete... thing if you wish....or read on.....

Ecuador....a family culture...like most south american / mexican countries....
              ..families.....what makes up life...
great grandpas and great grandmas...and grandpas and grandmas...and their adult children
with their toddlers and infants....not in strollers...but always being held ..and toddlers allowed 
to run around the squares or to sit on the ground playing with other toddlers...
conversation and laughter...

families sitting in front of their primitive homes with always a tienda...a shop.. in front..
selling basics...or coconuts..or some interesting hot drinks..
the very young moms nursing their young...with no worry to cover up....totally accepted...
children running around...no set bedtime here...
no loneliness of the north american life felt here.....even the many stray dogs become part 
of the family....lying on the road in front of the tiendas...to keep cool...and refusing to get up
for the oncoming traffic...traffic will have to move around them..
this is their territory...

am warming up to ecuador....literally...heating up..
found this gem of a beach today...during a conversation with a local...
took a taxi here....taxis are just enclosed carts attached to a motorcycle...
they twist their way around the curvy bumpy mountain roads...sometimes a little harrowing...

this gem....hidden amidst the gentle curves of the mountains...set in a huge bay that protected us from 
pounding ocean waves...
but the gentle waves were deceiving...they nearly pulled us in a few times...

the sun was glowing and glistening on the crests of the waves..
the turquoise ocean meeting the mountains..
the sand...finally...white grainy sand....that does not turn to mud when wet..

there are two other beaches hidden along the narrow mountain paths...
two kms away...
we could not seem to muster up the energy in the heat of the day to do the walk...
so we enjoyed what we had....

there was a family with young children sitting next to us...and sitting next to us i mean..
they managed to park themselves a few inches away from our umbrella...
on this large empty expanse of beach...
the youngest always whining...and wanting the sand toys that his siblings kept hiding from him...
and his constant....es de me.. es de me.. it s mine..it s mine...
so universal.....siblings....

ecuador...
a soccer culture....a major national sport...
lying in bed this afternoon for a little siesta....all of a sudden heard screams and yelling...
went downstairs to see what was happening...
a soccer game.....ecuador contra portugal...
ecuador just scored...

went for a walk through town last night....
and ended up sitting with a local family in front of their tienda
tasting their delicious mystery hot drink...made from coco and leche caliente...coconut and hot milk....
almost custard like...
when a turista from a village inland.. a beautiful young woman and her son started up a conversation
...in spanish, of course...thought i was spanish...
when i asked her...to slow down... demasiado, por favor... i finally understood what she was saying...
she was vacationing here in this coastal village to get some sun...with her  13 yr old son...
she was recently divorced...an engineer ...but was taking time off....her mother was dying...of cancer and very ill...
maria lourdes was her caregiver....but her brother came in from venezuela to give her some time off..
i could tell she was distressed and lonely...she and her son befriended me...
we chatted for an hour...and i actually understood her and could keep up a basic conversation...
so proud of her son, he was top of his class...plays the violin..and wants to come to new york on a scholarship
when he is a bit older...her sister lives in the united states...also came on a scholaship years ago...
she wants to meet me at my hotel tomorrow for a coffee...
i could tell her son was so happy that his mom finally met a friend...
dont all our children feel so responsible for us....
oh well ...didn t we go through that with our parents...
generational....

i went to a free conversational spanish class yesterday....at the local spanish school...
in a beautiful little compound on the beach...with little planted gardens of colourful tropical plants...
there were several local teenagers there.....all wanting to learn english...
i volunteered my time for a few hours to speak to them in english....
we talked about foods we liked and cooking in the kitchen...

they just could not get the words ...kitchen...and chicken..straight...
they kept inviting us into their chicken for a kitchen dinner....
we laughed....

i remember the time years ago when i wished a beautiful argentinian friend a good voyage as she left for mexico..
i said...         buen viejo....saying .... good old person....
instead of....buen viaje....meaning .....good journey..
thankfully she had a sense of humour...

strolling the streets we often meet up with other gringos....one i met yesterday on my way to the spanish school
way at the end of town....
could not find the school....he kept saying just a bit further...through puddles and over riverlets..
and constantly tripping over the broken concrete sidewalks...in my worn out flip flops...
my feet were screaming at me...

he had been living here for several years from the U.S....  
and filled me in on local information...
the new peer....cost a million dollars..and it is just for seven small tour boats ...
they could not make up this money if used by these boats for a hundred years...

and the home they just built for seniors and handicapped...way at this far end of town...
a ten minute walk from el centro...
to get here through the puddles and riverlets..  and broken concrete sidewalks...
and they wonder why no one shows up...
.it is always empty..

but having some fun meeting up with friendly gringos we met in other towns earlier on this trip..
just a chance meeting standing in front of our hotel or sitting in front of a tienda...
and recognizing them .... hi...remember me...
will meet one person for coffee this afternoon...a professional photographer with some amazing photos of far off lands..and peoples...
met our first few days in some  inland town sitting having breakfast one early morning ...and struck up a conversation...
and will go on  a tour of a nearby island with 
some others...a couple... two men who have been happily married for several years....
we met on our walk through the mountain falls last week...

and then a stroll with maria lourdes and her son....to continue our spanish conversation...

so, leaving town ... mañana por la mañana ....tomorrow morning...
for two weeks in our next little paradise in the beach house in the little pueblo..a fishing village on the coast..

again reminding me of my time in a small african coastal town north of mombasa...many moons ago...
staying in a very large beach house with ten other  friends.. some sleeping on floors..some on the front porch..
and us spoiled ones in the beds....shared a room with my friend...her then husband..and my then husband sleeping on the porch..
when the next morning her wedding ring that she had never taken off...was found strewn on the floor at the other end of the room..
pegleg...the houseboy...whose name he told us was given to him as a child ...because of his pegleg...
was chanting his voodoo.... with friends all night long sitting around the firepit....

leaving here to get away from the noise and partying of the carnival this weekend...
the south americans are big on carnival time.. a time for major partying...
.seems like thousands of ecuadorians are arriving on the coast from inland towns for this big celebration..

reminds me of Semana Santa...Holy  Week.... in mexico...
the times gerry and i wintered there...
thousands also arriving on the coast....beach time..and party time..
always thought holy week was a religious week...

and remembering that time when we tried to get some cash from the cash machine...
during semana santa...but no money to be found anywhere....
all the cash was taken by the vacationers... 

all us gringos learned to head back home before this holy party week...
the week before easter....

will meet you later ... on the beach...
running off now to try to get some cash from the cash machine before the onslaught...

besos.....hasta...






THINKING OF YOU....FROM ECUADOR

hola....

well...i may not be feeling the heartbeat of the nation...
but am beginning to feel the pulse of the universe...

so leaving this busy, bustling, dusty village...
but not without incident....

we had two small...but big enough casualties to frighten us...
and make us happy we are leaving...

last night while sitting in an outdoor restaurant on the beach...carnival time..
a carnival partygoer with eyes bulging out approached our table and ran off with our cervezas...
the two bottles of beer  we had ordered...
barracho...said the locals....drunk on all the beer he has had...

and then this morning...upon awakening...i felt sort of dizzy....
thinking it was the late night partying from the night before...
until we saw the beds shaking....

so happy to be leaving...

but won t have much internet time in our new pueblo...
so off to check my email before leaving...
and great news from julian..

the L.A. gallery had just sold two pieces of gerry s art..
to two californians who have ... one of the best art collections in the world..
and are overwhelmed at gerry s genius...

happy that my two difficult years of managing his art have finally paid off...

... and so very very happy that gerry is finally being honoured where he should be..

and a call to my new beautiful granddaughter in copenhagen..  tilia...
she tried to grab the phone when i spoke to her...and for the first time ..heard her happy gurgling..
and a funny story about a hair dryer her daddy told me...
a direct connection to ger....
of course...her middle name is .... zelda...

arrived here in our tiny primitive pueblo on the coast...
there is a magnificent long white sandy beach that seems to stretch for miles...

not many gringos found here...

BUT, this is NOT a beach....
it is a community...a very poor ...but rich community..

the locals have barely the necessities of life...but look like kings and queens
lying in their black worn out hamacas strewn across their dirt floor porchs..
and whole families of 4 and 5 riding along on their very old....barely able to start....scooters..

there is a river in town streaming down from the nearby mountains...into the ocean..
with donkeys and horses grazing along the banks of this meandering river.....
so bucolic in its scenery and feel...
it is green and lush here..

we are told that there is a micro climate here for ten miles or so..because of the rain in the forested mountains..
apparently there are birds here found no where else on earth...

the towns north of here have cut down their trees so the climate has become dry and dusty..
with not enough oxygen in the air...

we found a casa privada...a guest house...
where we are planning on staying put for a few weeks..
a magnificent garden and villa in this primitive pueblo built from the teak wood 
from the grandfather s teak farm..

however, it is carnival weekend these days...days of major celebrations for all ecuadorians..
so the house is full..  with relatives and family from from all countries of south america...
and around the world...
so we are given the tiny cabaña...the ñ...not an ...n.... but ...n-yah...
one tiny room made of bamboo and a thatched roof...along with local residents
of gheckos and mosquitoes...the mosquito net will help so they tell us...
nadine has been bitten to bits in the past few weeks...no DEET...
so she fills the room with spray...
we get rid of the ...local residents...but our lungs are yelling out...

there are two small mattresses on the floor...impossible to get in and out of ..ohhh our aching backs..

the room so small that there is barely room for our two suitcases to stand up on the floor...
we have to step over them in order to get in and out of the room..

the room so small that the closet is our suitcase....
we have to roll them in and out of the room in order to open them to get items we need...
we quickly learn to live with the same outfit for four days...

cramped as we are...i rather enjoy the cozyness of the mosquito net tucked in around my mattress on the floor...
and forming a little net box around me all night...

Nadine always falls asleep early...i am always wide awake....used to going to bed after midnight all my life..
so i read...and write...under my mosquito net on my mattress on the floor....by flashlite...

lying in bed ....staring up at the tiny holes in the thatched roof of our cabaña...
i can see one lonely star peeking down at me...  
sort of feeling like mary and joseph that christmas eve long ago...
 following the star of bethlehem...

sitting on the beach early last eve, i saw gerry in the sunset...
the clouds forming a heartshape around the setting sun...
hearts...finding hearts everywhere....

in the stones and shells on the beach...  in sand formations...in little pieces of broken water filled balloons...
left over from carnival celebrations...the little pieces broken into heart shapes..

hearts....gerry said he would send them...

as my adorable grandson said, shortly after gerry s passing...
everytime we see a heart ...that is zaidy gerry throwing us a kiss...

lots of kisses here...
thanks  ger.....

sitting in the sand today writing a note to my youngest son, julian...
i look down..and tucked into the sand is a small clothing label...with the name ...julian...

carnival time...a four day long weekend....celebrations on the beach...
bands playing ....bars serving exotic drinks...all on the beach at night..
lantern lit pathways helping us find our way in the dark..
lanterns...just candles in paper bags...wondering why the paper bags don t burn...
don t try it...there is a secret...

asking the bartender about the wonderful aroma from the drink he is serving..
exotic herbs..seven dollars he says.. i walk away....
so he brings me a .... sample...a full glass of this exotic drink..
but typically...so sweet...i have to hide away to dump it out...

and met a man from peru there this evening..
he said lima was so crowded and polluted...he decided to winter here..
in a cabaña in the hills...

do you want to come to see it ...he asks..
in a few practiced english words..

no..no thanks ... i say.... not tonight...

no... no thanks...not tonight....has become my mantra these days...

everytime nadine and i meet a new man...we call him our ...new fiance...just for fun..
so we have many funny stories...about our new fiances...

dropped into a local hut for a bite to eat...pollo asado....bbq chicken...
the waiter had a huge bug on his back...a cockarocha....
as big as a mouse...
when i screeched....the locals laughed at me...

our new home...this family so generous and welcoming..
who have adopted us as part of their family...
antonio and his beautiful wife ana maria...
antonio so handsome. and ever so giving.... i keep saying ....muy guapo...so handsome..
but always tell him he is second because gerry is first...
we all laugh...
maybe they don t think i am serious...

but inviting us to their family dinners...driving us to the local mercado to purchase our frutas and vegetales..
ana maria offering to colour our hair after we complain about the hairdresser s  prices here...
late night conversations...speaking only in english...as they wnat to improve their english..
i am embarassed to speak my limited spanish in front of these very educated people....
so that s ok..

this is a gathering place of their clan...friends and family from all around south america..
peru, bolivia, chile, argentina and columbia.... and of course... ecuador..

seeming like the kennedy compound of years ago...ecuadorian style..

toddlers, teenagers, young adults, grandmas and grandpas, aunts and uncles..

everywhere you look...
what life should be...

music, dancing, teenagers running off to catch the surf and coming back tanned and exhausted...

these very privileged children...all young adults now...
travelling and studying abroad....studying astronomy, astrology, engineering, hotel management...
what ever they want..
as one of them said...with no plans for the future...
life is not about plans he says..
maybe very insightful...

they tell us there is a class system here..
the upper class never socializing with the lower class...
 the uneducated lower class...just not done...
        maybe universal...

the very young houseboy and his very overweight 18 yr old wife..
who live in a cabaña on the property...have an adorable 3 yr old son..
the 3 yr old constantly tripping over his very oversized crocs...
and wearing his way too big for him shorts...his shorts so long...that only his ankles are visible..

and who is always hanging onto his daddy s pantlegs...  becoming his shadow..
his giggle is contagious...  so happy...but totally unaware that all these privileged children of the upper class...
will not be his friends..
lucky to have his daddy s pantlegs to hang onto...

however, our host and hostess ever so kind to them.. and giving them a place to live...

nadine... with her great cooking skills...made a feast for us tonight...of rice and several fish dishes...
freshly caught pescado, purchased from the local fishermen this morning..
and ana maria contributed with her mango and hearts of palm salad...  i cut the piña...the pineapple we just purchased at the local mercado today...
cut in a very ceremonial way...as ana maria and i decorated the piña plate with papyrus leaves and strawberries..
..... and the coup d etat...antonio...picked a huge bright red hibiscus and placed it right in the center...
                     ...like a queen amongst her people...

i was literally caught with my pants down this eve...as i went to pee...after the several cervezas ...
in the small outdoor baños...just sitting down on the toilet...noticed a large crab walking across my toes...
i screamed and ran out.of the baños...
luckily nadine was close by with a wrap....to cover me up....

remembering the time gerry and i were in cuba...when we thought we saw the road moving..thousands of humourous-looking crabs
walking sideways ...the way they do...across the road..unable to see the road for the crabs...
mating season..we were told...
the road turned orange because of the crabs...scurrying across the road like little soldiers...from the coast across the road..going inland to mate..

strolling along the beach this morning i saw a mythological sculpture...naturally sculpted from the sand by the ocean waves..
of billions of years ago..
this sculpted creature had ...
   ....  the eyes of a wise old elephant...
          ....  the mouth of a hungry lion..
                  ....  the ears of a sleeping dog...
 peacefully lying there in the sand....
                    ... on his throne...so proud of its billions of years of magical history....

the stones here on the beach.... nature s art...
some heart shaped...some looking like robin s eggs..
in shades of turquoise and terra cotta...
with stripes and designs all through them..
i keep picking them up...and bringing them back to our cabaña garden...
must have half the beach here...only to decide which two i will bring home..
and will throw the rest back onto their home on the sand...
what a difficult decision that will be...
but for sure...a heart shaped one for my grandchildren...

never before wanting to be 18 yrs old again...
until now on the beach...seeing the firm, rounded cheeks of the thong clad bums 
of the gorgeous young south american women...
thinking...oh  to be young again...

and playing in the waves...shoulders burned...aloe to the rescue..
found an aloe plant...in our garden...squeezed some of the gel on my ever so burned shoulders...
no blisters the next day...just a golden tan...
another of nature s miracles...aloe...
but will always remember the power of the sun...

some special days coming up...

election day here this weekend... rafael corea...the present president..ever so loved..
made major positive changes to the medical system...the school system...
housing for the poor...and ...the making of new roads...they all love him..
but a catch twenty two situation....making of new roads...so bringing in thousands of tourists...
more money....but also...more problems...ecuador changing say the locals..
   ...and not liking it...

and valentine s day....when ...tomorrow...lost touch of time here...never know what day is what..
but if it is valentine s day..
HAPPY VALENTINE S  day to all of you....and a year full of love and blessings..

and ...of course...my birthday...coming up one of these days...yikes...not another so soon...

so .... after a lunch of arroz y frijoles.. . rice and beans...
     and sopa de pescado... delicious fish soup..
                            sounds so much more romantic in spanish...
and the sweetest tasting mango....

now...siesta time..
lying in the hamaca in the shade...
with a reggae beat somewhere in the background....bob marley...maybe...

singing.....

                      PRAISE THE LORD.......

amor ....   y hasta luego...

SWIMMING WITH THE SHARKS

so, here i go again...like the song says...

here i go again...i hear the trumpets blow again..starry eyed again...whoops...ends there...

anyhow, here i go again...
just as i was going to stop.. i have received so many emails of encouragement...more..more..ok..
one friend saying she prints out my journals and reads them in bed at bedtime..
her bedtime stories... 
i love it...

so with the puppy chewing my toes..the sand fleas from this dirt floor eating my flesh...
and the chickens pecking at my heels..the computer keys sticking...here i go...

just saw our banana delivery man sauntering down the dirt pathway, with huge branches of bananas tethered
to his donkey, with a sharp machete in his hands...ready to chop off any amount of freshly picked bananas...
there is a sweetness to the bananas here...never tasted this at home..

lying in the hamaca one morning, meditating in another sort of way...am contemplating my future travels..
to the big cities in the mountains...alone, because nadine has changed her mind about travel, 
so i will be leaving this paradise of a pueblo for just awhile....

my spell is broken as i watch the young, not quite 3 yr old, son of the houseboy, playing in the garden...
as he is running around the tiled walkway, he suddenly trips over his oversized crocs and falls,
scraping his knees...
his young parents, chuckle and look away...
as he looks for compassion, but gets none...he monitors himself, then gets up and starts running again..
with a little limp this time..

i can just picture all of us moms and grandmoms in North America, running over to the child...
but here you are left on your own to grow up with the bumps and the grinds...

and just as i open my book...Our Last Dance...to begin preparing for my readings in SF and LA...
coming up in early april...
procrastinating as i have been doing for the past few weeks..
i see the young son, mi hijo, as his parents call him...my son...playing with a couple of sticks, in the garden,
rubbing them together as he has often seen his papa do ...to start a fire...
but since he is unable to do so..he breaks the stick into six smaller ones and starts to play with them...
until he notices me...

no hundreds of dollars of plastic toys here...

he runs over, careful of his crocs this time...with the look in his big brown eyes ... giggling...
and i can see the bubble coming from his brain...
saying ...play with me...

so i decide to take time off work, procrastinating again...
to teach him how to count...en español and in english..

with the sticks...

stick after stick, he hands me and repeats in español...
uno, dos, tres, cuatro, cinco, seis...in his babytalk spanish...
then claps and claps for himself...so proud that he did it...

but when i repeat the game in english... he halts...
doesn t understand what i am doing...

so i think...
and decide to draw a little face on middle finger...
then this little person...the face....becomes his new friend..
and says all the numbers in english..one by one ..with the six sticks...

mi hijo responds to this with great giggles...
responds to this little friend...says his numbers in english...well maybe spenglish.....
and again claps for himself...

but he wants more...but i have to get back to work...
...mas tarde...i say...later...
so he runs off....but one minute later, he returns..
no...mas tarde... i say....
but he thinks one minute is .... mas tarde...

i take him back to his mama and papa...
...necesita trabajar...i say...i need to work...
so they take him away... and he whimpers...
yearning to learn more ...
so i ask the parents if he knows his numbers...oh no...mas pequeño...too young ..they say....
so we play the game with the sticks....they hear their young son say his numbers..
their eyes light up with pride.... mi hijo is saying his numbers...

spent yesterday on a boat trip to isla de plata....
a little tour of ...  silver island...

the name alluding to sir frances drake having buried his treasures there...
or maybe to the silver colour of the cliffs in the moonlight....

and also called ... the poor man s galapagos...
because it costs hundreds of dollars to visit the galapagos...600 miles offshore..
and only 30 dollars to visit isla de plata...40 miles offshore...

and isla de plata does have the species that live on the galapagos..
species found no where else on earth...
there were frigate birds and pelicans, dolphins and albatross...of the ones we know..
and red footed and blue footed boobies...
the blue ...so blue...a baby blue...the boobies..all standing in a row...
as if someone just painted their squatty legs and feet..a baby blue...
and they are now standing there waiting for the paint to dry...

it was a very steep climb from the boat to the top of the cliffs...
a difficult climb..esp since i only had my flip flops..
and HOT...burning hot..
so hot, we looked like arabs with sarongs wrapped around our heads..to keep the sun off...

but a magnificent view...of the aqua coloured ocean and small deserted beaches below...way below..
where my imagination ran wild...thinking of sir frances drake landing there hundreds of years ago...
with vines of deep purple coloured flowers covering the cliffs, running into the ocean...

and then we swam with the sharks...

as we were looking down at the clear ocean from the high cliffs....we saw the outline of a shark..
swimming around the shoreline far below...just where we were going to go snorkelling...
so the tour guides...all young local humourous ecuadorians..
said they would keep us safe and took us to another spot...but not far off...
around the other side of this small island...

not sure whether to quite trust these young men.. 
as we were swimming in the deep waters way out in the pacific...i asked one to watch out for sharks..
he said not to worry...the only shark i would have to watch out for... was him...

went on another short trip to a local island in a small boat with eight, 20 yr old, gorgeous,of course, male and female chileans...
who did not know a word of english...so i conversed with them in my primitive spanish...
proud of myself..that i could actually carry on a half hour conversation...maybe sounding foolish..
but they did not mind...
so i clapped for myself...feeling so proud..just like... mi hijo...

they could not say my name...as i find most south americans find it difficult to say the ... d.... in madeleine,
unlike the french, who say... madeleine...so musically and with such ease...
so they christened me .... maria elena...close enough.. i say...
and i really like it...there is a beautiful song about maria elena..

we swam out in the ocean..and snorkelled and kayaked...and had great fun...
seeing the incredible coral and the colourful sealife..
pretending to navigate the boat...they all laughed...with nervousness, i think..

i am not actually ...sun bathing here in ecuador...although i do play around in the ocean waves...
but am becoming the golden colour of the native people...feeling like one of them now..
people mistaking me for a south american...until they hear my spanish...

last night i broke my toenail and did not want to cut it off..
so bought some crazy glue...for fifty cents...and glued my nail together..
the only problem...i glued the tip of my finger to my toenail...
was almost impossible to pull it away...
so now my finger tip is part of my toenail...

back home....pizza night here tonight... our hosts are back home in guayaquil for the week..
return here to the coast on weekends...
so their muscular 21 yr old son takes care of the house...
he invites his other....muscular and tanned 21 yr old friends over to make pizza...
i think really to have a night of entertainment, as it turned out...

they make the dough, from scratch....flour all over the kitchen...
choppping tomato and basil, garlic and onions..for the sauce...
veggies all over the counter..

they knead the dough and throw it in the air...like professionals..
and get the dough thin and rounded...
they mix the tomato topping with four kinds of grated cheese...
grated cheese all over the floor..
reminding me of julian, making his delicious, gourmet meals as a teenager at home..
but leaving the kitchen in a disastrous state..

they get the fire started in the outdoor wood oven..  the hornito...i think it is called...
and turn on the music...
louis armstrong ...la vie en rose...
memories...so i ask them to change it...
reggae music now blaring from the kitchen...

and put the raw pizza into the wood oven...
with it s blazing fire...maybe too hot..

pizza making ...a night of wonderful entertain..for us also...just watching these young men...
having such fun...

and family fun...for the very young, thin houseboy and his very young, overweight wife..and, of course, mi hijo...
pushing each other into the water...opening the coconuts with their machetes and drinking some of the coconut water..
then throwing the rest at each other...having water fights...running around trying to catch each other...
all the while giggling...
no wonder mi hijo giggles so much..
what fun they are having..

so pizza out of the wood oven, now...not done..they put it back..
take it out again...but back again...
the top is getting burned and the dough is sort of raw inside..
but we eat it with pleasure...
such magic...

and just met a young 25 yr old staying in town, from belgium...
she is sweet and humble...has many talks with me about her male friends..
what she does, asks my advice on...flirting...and other things...
has a crush on the young local man here...what should she do...
now i know what it must be like having a daughter....
but love having my sons...

now, early morning and i am off to the mountains...to the big cities...
to have adventures of a different type...
not able to find a travel companion, i venture off alone...

but not before ...wishing my very beautiful grand daughter...from L.A.
her big TENTH birthday today...

a very special... HAPPY BIRTHDAY....Feliz Cumpleaños...

i used to call her my ...snuggly puppy... when she was younger...
but think i will have to change that now...
far too grown up...and mature now...and a beautiful person...
i love her notes to me...
i used to call her my favourite grand daughter...when i just had one....
but now that i have my one month young.. other grand daughter...in copenhagen...
i have to be careful saying that...
but she willl always remain very special to me...

and by the way....happy ...one month birthday...to my sweet tilia....
in copenhagen...

so, off and away now...but stopping on the way in the casa of my new friend, for a couple of days..
the night i missed the last bus home... he and his sons with their girfriends offered to drive me back...
stopping on my way to Cuenca ...in the mountains...where most gringos go...

Cuenca, the book says... is considered the most charming city in ecuador...
peaceful and relaxing, with an outstanding skyine dotted by shining church domes...
with its narrow, cobblestone streets, winding rivers and with its colourful gardens and ironwork balconies...
and where old ladies spy on promenading lovers from their geranium filled balconies....

where the Camino del Inca...the ancient Inca Trail..not nearly so travelled as the Inca Trail 
to Machu Picchu in Peru...follows the original Incan royal road that linked Cuzco in Peru to 
present day Cuenca...

in 1997, UNESCO declared Cuenca a World Heritage Site...stands approx 8,000 ft above sea level...
oh oh.....better get out my coco leaves...what the natives chew on to prevent altitude sickness...

see you there...

hasta luego...besos....




GARDEN OF EDEN

so, off to cuenca by way of guayaquil ...
a ride with my hostess here and her friend..
in her friend s new BMW SUV...

i will then get a short flight to Loja....the j..pronounced like an h...so loha....
for those of you not fluent in spanish...
in the south of ecuador...
then a short local collectivo ...a shared taxi...into town..
and into the mountains...vilcabamba...the v pronounced like a b....bilcabamba...

.my first destination ...before heading off to the big city...cuenca..

thinking to myself....so all will go smoothly ...a ride in a new BMW...
for the two hour trip...into guayaquil...

wrong...half hour into the two hour ride...the steering is loose...not able to drive..
so we pull off to the side of the road...
cars stop.... first one..then two...up to five now.... many men all trying to fix the steering...

but not able to.....so we call the mechanico...he comes with equipment..
but not the right equipment...seems like hundreds swarmed around the SUV....
but no one can fix it...
so we call the flatbed truck....
the friend is furious because she just had her new BMW serviced..

so while we wait the 2 hour wait...
we find a relaxing bar on the beach and have a cerveza with platacones...fried plaintain...
and a long walk on the beach... picking up rare shells and stones...but of course leaving them there...

but as we drive the SUV onto the flatbed...and sit in it for the next part of our journey..
with the driver driving us off to our destination...

her anger turns to laughter...as we realize how foolish we must look..
sitting there but not driving...

so along the way... the coastal route...a huge gas project in one village..
on the beach...
serviced by venezuela...chavez...giving ecuador a good deal on the gas...
ruins the landscape with all the ugly pipes and tanks...
but the people needing it so much for their cooking gas...

i see shrimp ponds...and salt ponds...
unlike the salt ponds on the west coast of france...ile de rey...which i saw when gerry, julian and I
were visiting my friend paolo...the year julian did an exchange in france....as a teenager...
with the light so brilliant at these salt ponds....a light i have never seen before...
when i asked paolo about it...he said it was the fleur de sel...the salt dust...rising from the salt pond...
and glistening in the sunlight...each tiny piece of dust becoming a crystal..
which made the light a brilliant white...not the golden light of tuscany...

and now i see a small lake...filled with pink flamingoes....like lake ngorongoro...in east africa...
memories of a trip to kenya and tanzania many ,many moons ago...

all on our way to quayaquil...
in the back of the flatbed ....

and after my short morning flight... upon arriving in loja...
the vulchers are waiting....the taxi drivers all wanting my business... my fare into town...
so negotiating....down from 55 dollars...to 25....i say...esta bien......that s fine...
just wanting to get going as i have not slept much in the past few nights...

was out late with my hostess friend last night....giving me a tour of her hometown..guayaquil...
and having to get my taxi to the airport at 4.30 this morning to catch my 6 a.m. flight...
relying on god and the universe to wake me up at 4 a.m.
not having an alarm...

and not getting any sleep the night before.... a full moon...i never sleep the nights of a full moon...never have..
and hearing local tales of full moons....
never have surgery when a full moon... will bleed too much..
cut your hair when a full moon....it will become fuller....and on and on..

the locals...like the jamaicans i met ...and the mexicans...live with nature..
and are so sensitive to it..

anyhow, i suddenly awoke this morning, after just 4 hours sleep...checked my watch
and it was 4.05 a.m... just 5 minutes off...not bad...
my internal alarm was set...
but my eyelids feeling like heavy blinds over my eyes...

so, giving my business to the first driver who agreed to the 25 dollar fare...
i slip into the back seat of his car...hoping to catch some sleep..

but, rodriguez..as he introduces himself...wants to talk...
with his few english words...
why am i alone...where is my husband, he politely asks...
i tell him...somewhere out there...

and as i am telling him... a young girl drives up beside us on her scooter..
with her heart shaped key chain dangling on her dash...

and rodriguez tells me he has two grown sons....but no wife...
too bad for rodriguez....not about the sons...about the wife...

he has much patience with me...
he stops at a classy cafe and buys me an espresso and a sandwicha...
and he stops for me to take photos...along the way..

we drive into the green, lush mountains...along this winding mountainous road..
like driving through the swiss alps in the summertime.....with tiny villages around each corner...
with small white washed cement houses with ancient moss covered clay tiled roofs...
maybe really restored stables...
with many huge holes in the mountain sides...waiting for some grand dinosaur to show its face..

the signs at the side of the road say....peligroso....danger....falling rocks..
i am not afraid of the falling rocks...
it is rodriguez i am afraid of...
he passes at each sharp corner...when i ask him not to...
no problema, he says... ok because the oncoming drivers in ecuador seem to have a polite, silent code of conduct
to ease up on oncoming traffic...

but, that is not the problem...it seems that at any given moment....
a chicken may be running down the middle of the road...or a cow may be standing on the side of the road, grazing on the grasses of the mountainside..
or a donkey may be sauntering across the road....just to get to the other side...
reminding me of those jokes when i was 6 or so...why did the donkey cross the road... to get to the other side..
and we thought that was so clever and funny...the innocence of childhood...

now, arriving at my hosteria in this paradise in the mountains...the lush mountains..with sharp peaks and gentle slopes...
with folds in the sides of the slope making it look like it was wearing a ballroom dress...

this paradise of peace and tranquility...
 looking forward to getting my work done...and preparing for my reading in san francisco..

and doing some horseback riding...into the mountain trails..and some hikes into the national park..
and hoping to just lie on one of the many hamacas in the splendid garden...

feeling like this is the garden of eden...without the tempting apple...

the clouds are lifting from the valley of the mountains...with the sun peeping through the clouds...
like the times in france when the rains always stopped when i approached a town...
our friend s son saying that in his country..not sure where he was from...
but in his country they would say ... a weather angel...

a stroll through the this tropical garden....before breakfast... it is only 8 a.m. and my room not quite ready yet...

the twisting branches of the bright red poinsietta plants... enjoying their freedom of the wilds.. 
so unlike the caged in feel of the potted poinsiettas at christmas time..

the reds and oranges and golds of these exotic flowers in the garden,
 glistening with the left over raindrops on their petals... the raindrops of the early morning rain..

with a butterfly landing to suck up the moisture of the petals...
its colour...coco and terra cotta..with a white line along its wing to divide the two colours...
and fluttering around, seeming to welcome me here...

with stone walkways and stone arches all leading to some secret garden or waterfall...

so acquainting myself with this pueblo... i decide to take a walk into town...all downhill..
and meet some interesting locals...in their tiendas...
buying a bag of local coffee to take home..what an aroma...
and then spending the day working....on my reading...
and meeting many guests here in this hosteria...
all on their life s journey...off to peru or bolivia or columbia...
all with their interesting stories....

and sitting here alone at dinner time...in the corner of the open porched dining room..
way up here in the mountains...
typing my journal...hearing the laughter of the families and couples next to me...
happy...but with a sorrowful heart...still not used to being alone in life...
but always thankful for my  beautiful family and friends...

 the french woman next to me, from cuenca...maybe sees my sorrow... so invites me to sit with her and her family...

thankfully, a glass of vino tino and some conversation awaits...

so a new day...a long hike in the mountains ...with overwhelming panoramic views...
and a bird i have never seen before....a soft cinnamon colour with a red beak...

and later an afternoon of horseback riding..
going to the stables in this little pueblo that is so like a cowboy movie set..
borrowing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots...for the ride...
riding along the dirt paths of the valleys in the thick of the mountains...with edgar, my guide...
through the whistling of the bamboo forest..and across fields of sugar cane..
with large cactus growing wild along the edges of the paths...
feeling like i am in a cowboy movie..

there are trumpet vines growing up over the cactus plants,
 with the soft pink flowers of the vines shyly hanging their heads, as if to apologize for their beauty...

it was slightly drizzling.. .a drop here...a drop there...but with bright clouds in the sky...not a grey drizzle...
but my horse, coco, freaked on a garbage bag and slipped...
sweet young edgar kept my horse from going wild...

and on the way back to my hosteria...i needed a ride from the owner of the stables...hogar..
on his old worn out motorcycle...he asks me if the motorcycle is ok...or do i want a taxi..

motorcycle, of course....so all the way uphill...
my thighs have to hang on tight to edgar s tight little bum..
for safety, of course...

the joys of horsebackriding...coco, edgar and hogar....

and today a day of pure relaxation...

reiki, massage, pedicure, facial.. with local herbs...
hair treatment ... with plants from the garden mixed with honey..
much needed treatment after all the sun and sea and sand...
which bleached my hair a bold, brassy blonde....

and then a mud bath...the slop from the local clay, which is full of minerals ...
mushed all over my body....then an exfoliant...and more mush all over me...
then wrapped in a blanket of thick plastice...not feeling the plastic because of the thick layer of slop...
and then two warm towels around my body... and cool slices of cucumber on my eyelids...
so cozy and warm...feeling like i am back in the womb...
my skin now feeling as soft as a baby s bum...

then....a manuicure and pedicure...where we had a lot of fun fooling around with their bright colours of reds and bright oranges...

and all this costing less than one pedicure at home..

and a long walk downhill into town...
after a siesta in my hamaca.....
to find a peluquera...a hairdresser...to colour my brassy blonde...
but the first one i find is just leaving...the next says it is too late...sends me to another..
but she is busy with a customer...she sends me to another...she does not do colour..
how many peluqueras can there possibly be in this tiny pueblo...

so i walk past the cathedral... no matter how small the town....always a cathedral..
i go in to say a prayer for all of us....  and stay awhile...
and when i leave, i realize i am just next door to a peluquera...who is free...
her name sounds like ....dear me.....and she is happy to have a customer...
she said my spanish is very good...a stretch, if i may say so myself...

so my horrible brassy blonde is now a cool soft chestnut...

and then the taxi driver on the way back to my hosteria...just a dollar ride uphill..
when it is too late to walk in the dark...
tells me about all the land that the gringos have purchased in the hills...
to build their dream homes...
but the land prices have now escalated so high that the locals are not able to afford anything.....

stressed...a word that was unknown here until now...
vilcabamba...called la valle de la longevidad...
where locals all lived past one hundred...no one really knows why..
maybe the minerals in the land...or never knowing the word....stressed...

finding it difficult to leave this cowboy pueblo in the mountains...
un dia mas...  sorry no accents on this computer..

un dia mas...just one more day....what gerry and i always used to say when in mexico....never wanting to leave...

but manana por la manana....    as i said no accents on this computer..
tomorrow morning... time to leave this valley of peace and tranquility ...
and head off by local bus...a 5 hour trip north in the mountains...
to the big ciudad...cuenca...

always remembering the word for city     ...ciudad...
because when i first learned it...  i thought of a young teenager leaving town for the big city..
and saying.... see you dad....because that is exactly how it is pronounced...

so see you there....

besos and hasta luego.....




LA CIUDAD… CUENCA

so here i am in the big ciudad...

after a breathtaking 4 hour bus ride.... through the mountains...
north from loja to cuenca...
this time driving through the upper mountains with panoramic views
of the soft textured valleys below...
so high...drifting in and out of the clouds and into sunshine...

with ancient farm houses and cows lazily grazing on the hillsides..

from the lush mountain views to tall pine forests...
my ears popping with this climb from 3000 feet to 8000...
chewing on my coco leaves to prevent altitude sickness...

and no tunnels and bridges, one after the other.. like the drive through the italian alps...
just hugging the natural curves of the mountain sides...
watching the gentle lush slopes meeting the valleys below...

and hearing that the bus that i was going to take before 
deciding to take the collectivo...
had just missed the land slide ...the slide a moment before they got there..
across the narrow mountain path...
but it was stuck behing the slide now....for hours..
great decision on my part...

feeling always on the verge of ...safe...or maybe danger...
but still on the verge...

not wondering where my sons get their sense of adventure...

eveyone saying be careful...but am finding such kindness...
the bus driver drove into a pueblo off the bus route just so i could 
see these indigenous people wearing their traditional attire...
saraguro... this indigenous tribe originally live in peru...but ended 
up in ecuador in the 1400 s due to some Inca resettlement...

and tonight in a cafe, reading about some other ecuadorian indigenous tribes....
the Shuar...book says that the older wives sometimes take it upon themselves
to teach the young unmarried men the art of lovemaking...

h..mmmmm...

cuenca..

where .... i already wrote you....

considered the most charming city in ecuador...in the mountains...
with its charming narrow cobblestone streets...winding rivers and colourful gardens...
where people are ever so friendly...
and me chewing on my coco leaves...for the 8000 feet altitude...
where the old women really do spy on the promenading lovers..over their geranium filled balconies...

can understand why UNESCO declared it a World Heritage SIte...

just saw an old man weaving a ...Panama Hat....
.... a leading industry in this region....
the Panama Hat... is a major misconception among people...

this internationally known hat... originally made on the coast of Ecuador...
.. .then sent north to the workers of the Panama Canal...

in the 1900 s the men who worked on the pananma canal used these
comfortable and durable hats to protect themselves from the hot sun....

so, the name became...  the Panama Hat..

the panama..ecuadorian...hat is made form the fibrous fonds of a certain palm 
that grows in the arid inland regions of ecuador....
there is an amazing amount of work that goes into the making of these hats...

the fibres have to be prepared... with the beating of the shoots on the ground...
the fibres are then split to remove the long flat leaves, which are then bundled and boiled in huge vats..
.and then hung to dry for 3 days...
as the split leaves dry, they roll into round strands which are then used for the weaving..
the workers working only in early morning and late evening to prevent sweaty fingers ...

the price of the hat depends on the weave...
the denser.. the more expensive...
they range in price from 15 dollars ...to 500 dollars..
the superfine can cost up to 500 dollars in ecuador..
and much more in north america and europe...

so,  the Panama Hat...
but don t remind the ecuadorians...they are distressed with that...

this city. .cuenca.. .very different from guayaquil....where i was with my hostess friend last week..
guayaquil is the commercial center of ecuador, with several hillside shantytowns....
and one of the most impressive riverside malecons....
it is 2.5 km along the rio guayas....with museums and eateries, gardens and ponds and sculptures,
with an IMAX theatre and a shopping mall....
it is the most expensive of all south american urban renewal projects...
guayaquil is growing in theater and film and the arts....with lively bars probably due to the many universities in town...
its main thorougfare is named 9 de Octubre....
because guayaquil achieved independence from the spaniards on october 9, 1820...

my hostess and i ...walked the malecon...
and then she took me out for dinner to one of the most prestigious and authentic ecuadorian restaurants...
for the best tasting sopa de crab...thick and full of crab...crab season...
and the most delicious coconut cake...pudding like inside... 
but had to share....para compartiva....we were too full from the crab...
wanting to try making it....
but a very difficult recipe say the locals...

so back in cuenca....

here i am sitting at the front reception desk of my small hotel...late evening..
after watching CNN....yuk.... news in my room...but easy to translate the language..
and listening to all news of south america...so very interesting...
.. but then hearing about the impending death of venezuela s president..
hugo chavez...his health considerably declining..
death...so sorrowful....no matter who.. we can t escape it...

with the very young night receptionist...he lets me use his computer..
but decides to take advantage of the situation ..so goes out for a coffee ...
 and leaves me here at the front reception desk..alone...
who would have thought...
a new job for me..
but then he returns with a tea for me...so sweet...but not with hot water...
rather with hot milk in the cup...very delicious...hot milk tea...a comforting bedtime drink..

so we sat up late...him, watching a loud movie on his ipad...and me, writing my journal..
i loved the company... and his laughter....at the weird movie.. a breath of fresh air..

talking about fresh air...it is flooding all over ecuador...but i have found the sun..again..
it seems to happen...
the only place in ecuador with the sun...in this charming city...it really is charming..

there is not one square inch of street that i am not in awe of....the ceramic and cobblestone sidewalks.
.the iron balconies..the architecture so ornate...influenced by french neo classical...

i stop at every building and just stand there and stare...

today, i was feeling a bit blue though..even amongst all this beauty..
think because i am missing the family...julian is in toronto...from LA...for the premiere of his new film..
and i just want to be there with him...

so i sat in church for awile...then i took a long taxi ride into the mountain to visit the most spectacular 
ceramica shop...a local artist...the most well known in ecuador...
just being there was like a bit of paradise...with the view and his work...
reminded me of gerrry s genius...

and walked part way home...and ate my way back....first..a chocolata...then a torta de tres leches....three milk cake...
sweetened condensed, evaporada, and crema de leche...AND then some papas fritas...french fries...with mayo...
yikes...that is beyond comfort food....that is death...

hope my body doesn t mind....a little treat once in a while...

and sitting here tonight...at the front reception desk again...watching news about hugo chavez. s death and funeral..
everything seems more dramatic in spanish...
feeling for his wife and family....

sitting her with young, adorable rafael...the night receptionist... 
we seem to have a connection at some level...
he... watching a siily movie on his ipad thing... and me... here at the reception desk computer...
he lets me deal with the clients.. i screen them for him...one wants a sandwicha...one wants to stay another night..
i deal with what i can... then he takes over...not wanting to take his eyes off his ipad...

maybe thinking how lucky he is that i am here...

but having fun with him... like a new adopted son...

LA CIUDAD… WHOOPS

whoops...sorry but i sent that last journal by accident...

meant to press the...save now...key..

but pressed the ....send.... key instead...

..and as i was pressing it...realized what i was doing..but too late...
the problem with technology...too fast..
the great advantages and disadvantages...

not able to edit parts now.....
so you get the whole unedited version...

maybe meant to be... everything ...  always meant to be...hugs

ECUADOR…. La Pais de Sueños.. on the glide path now

hola amigos..

ecuador...la pais de sueños....  the country of dreams ...they say....

so, deciding to stay in charming cuenca one more day...
before heading into the mountains...to the coast via guayaquil...
to the coast....for some relaxation...the sun and sand and sea...

and then heading home...to canada...a strange word right now..

in cuenca.... walking, walking the cobblestone streets...
stopping at every building...  mesmerized by the ornate and very detailed colonial architecture....
the buildings...none higher that four stories....its the law...
keeping its old colonial feel...

walking...just to look, to touch, to smell the wonderful aromas...

stopped at one tiny ceramica shop..
on the counter were baskets filled with small ceramic items...
i picked up an egg... to feel its smoothness..

but it squished in my hands... it was not ceramic... it was real..
they were selling eggs as a sideline....
we all laughed...with egg all over my hands.. as i offered to pay for the cracked egg...
the shopkeeper laughed and said that the laughter was payment enough...

and meandering along... i see a father with his young son slung over his shoulders..
standing in front of a motorcycle shop...dreaming...
staring at the shiny, red motorcycle being displayed in the window..

memories of gerry...    ...madeleine... do you mind if i just look..

so i ask the young father if he would like the motorcycle...
someday... he says, dreamily ....knowing he could never afford it...
my heart went out to him...

but finally, off to find the local ....collectivo...the shared van...
a bit more expensive than the local bus...but safer and much more convenient...
to take me north through the mountain range to guayaquil..

a four hour drive through this indescribable moutain range...
all i could say is that each mountain looked like some prehistoric animal..
designed by a crazy god, high on drugs...

again, hugging the sides of he mountains, with unending signs...

CUIDADO....  CURVA PELIGROSA...

be careful.... dangerous curves...
with these constant warnings at the edge of the mountains...
and the driver always wanting to pass on each mountain curve..
but there really is no choice, because there is no straight part of the road..
only curve after curve...

driving high into the summits... into the clouds.. it becomes misty and rainy...
not able to see at all...like a whiteout...always hoping for the best... or praying..

but the drivers very expert at these roads...we hope..

then landslide after landslide...
sunny now...but it had been raining here for the past week...
the polizia with workmen here...high in the mountains..
directing traffic, down to one lane now... and clearing the mud from the narrow mountain roads...

but then, on the way down, out of the clouds...out of the mist...and out of the mudslides..

into the sunshine..now, a tropical landscape...with banana plantations and rice fields..
tall palms...and clear, blue, bright skies..

not able to sleep any part of the journey...so intrigued by nature s beauty...

and arriving in guayaquil for an overnight with my host,  my family now...
at her home with its aromatic gardens...
with the aromas of night jasmine and bella donna...and fresh oregano bushes...
and the many orchids all living on their host plants...but not taking nutrition from them,
they get their nutrition from the air and the mist...

and visits with her mother in the hospital, who just had knee replacement surgery ..and doing very well..
private hospitals...clean, and staff very attentive..

and visits with her daughter and new grand daughter...just a few weeks young..
reminding me of my new grand daughter...also born a few weeks ago in copenhagen..
whom i have yet to meet, in person...

and very late at night...the drive to the coast...to the ocean...
arriving late...and a good night s sleep..
before enjoying my last week here in ecuador...

when i arrived two months ago...wondering what i would do with all my time..
and now wondering where the time has gone...

and one last visit to another pueblo just up the coast with a long stretch of white sandy beach...
to visit people i met on this trip...from the U.S. who have a hosteria ....
who kindly invited me to stay with them...
so a two night stay..

and then back to my pueblo....to pack...to say goodbyes...to all my ...new family....as they are saying...
wanting me to return ...

and scurrying around to pick up some little gifts for my family...

and enjoying the last hours of sunshine before heading back to the cold...

am on the glidepath now...

but first wanting to say congrats ...to all my kids...
to jason and jennifer......congrats... on your beautiful daughter turning the big TEN...
and to jonathan and tina...on the birth of the latest addition to our family...your sweet daughter...
and to julian... on the premiere of his newest film...the documentary...  Trouble in the Peace...
             getting great revues..

am so proud of all of you....

happy to have spent the winter here in ecuador...but sorry i have missed all these wonderful family events...
and now... congratulating myself...on the contract of the reading of my book, Our Last Dance, in san francisco next month...

doing what gerry wanted....getting his story...  out there...

so.............to all of you...

thanks for staying with me on my journey....
it made it not so lonely....

hasta luego  ...  and many blessings...    madeleine





…. P.S

SO.....

can t seem to finish without a  .... P..S.

 on the eve of our sad departure....for the last time...departing from our humble pueblo on the coast...
and our last goodbyes....

our friend and driver stopped at the lookout far atop our hill..

we could see the miles and miles of white sandy beach stretching far along the coast...far below us...

and the swirls of orange skies of the spectacular sunset,  
with the sun slowly falling into the pacific...

and at our feet....suddenly appeared a wild peacock...
never saw one before...

he spread his magnificent neon coloured wings for us...

saying hasta luego....  remember us....see you next time..

blessings...   m