My dear readers, it has been quite a long while since my last post. I left you all in sunny Bocas del Torro,Panama, as I made my way back to Casco Viejo in Panama City. After exploring that magical city during the Carnival, which, it now occurs to me, is a celebration stemming from the same tradition as the Madis Gras in New Orleans, I continued on the journey into Cartegena, Colombia.
So why did I leave you without telling you so much more about Boca, i.e., Starfish Beach, the unforgettable Yoga lesson on Isla Carenara, or the farm on top of a two mile high hill on Isla Bastamente, where there were absolutely no cars? The only way the farmer could bring his provisions in from town is first by water taxi and then by pack horse over a narrow and muddy path. I climbed that muddy path on foot, swearing all the way up, but in the end it was worth it. This particular farm and the farmer were seriously inspirational. What he has already accomplished is the life I crave.
I left off my writing because, as the old
saying goes, “Into each life, a little rain must fall”. The first
¨rain¨ fell in Panama, where some dental bridgework began to come loose. It got much worse in Colombia, and by the
time I reached Ecuador, it was a critical condition. Try as I might, I could not get any dentist
to respond to my emailed pleas for help.
Until Dr. Jose Acosta in Cuenca.
The news he delivered was devastating.
Much of the work I had had done just four years earlier was history to
the tune of nearly $10,000.00. Now, I
would need three implants to boot. So
just that fast, my dreams of visiting Chili and possibly Argentina were
dashed. I would have to spend my
traveling money on the necessary dental work.
But the good news: I LOVED BEING
IN CUENCA, ECUADOR, and it seemed that the special place for my farm, which I
was beginning to think might never materialize, could very well be in
Ecuador. Surveying the landscape in and
around Cuenca, I thought to myself, “Could it really and finally be true?”
My
dental work commenced with bone grafting (yuk!), but soon it was time to return
to the States to take care of my taxes, visit my baby kitties, and some other business. I wasn´t in the States very long when the ´”rain”
returned in a torrential downpour. That
is, I slipped and fell in a friend´s bathroom, shattering my wrist. And wouldn´t you know it….it required
surgery! In the midst of whole body shock and excruciating pain, my initial thought was, how would I ever manage the two suitcases of supplies I
planned to carry back with me to Ecuador?
Soon after the surgery, the sun began to peek
out from the stormy skies and my outlook brightened somewhat. Thanks to all the very dear friends whose
generous hospitality spiritually lifted me to a place which I know helped speed
the healing. I never had to spend one
single night in a cold motel room. The
accident and ensuing surgery lengthened my stay in California nearly a month
over what I had anticipated, but the time was well spent, since I was able to
see and spend a lot of time with the people I care most about. As my wise mother always said, ¨Behind every dark
cloud is a silver lining¨.
Three days ago, I returned to Cuenca. After traveling nearly 30 hours, I was exhausted to the point that when I
opened my suitcase to get my nightgown, I didn´t notice that my
computer was missing. It didn´t register
until the next evening when I began to come out of the nasty case of jet lag
and decided I´d better check my emails.
My computer had been stolen en route somewhere between Los Angeles and Cuenca. I have a theory about how it happened, and I´ll
tell you about it here, so in case I´m right, you can avoid making the same
mistake.
As my friend Roy was unloading my suitcase out
of his car at the Airport Bus Terminal in Bakersfield, I noticed that the
zipper was pulling apart in one small spot.
The case was packed tightly, and I could just picture it giving way
entirely while en route, so I wrapped it the best I could with some twine. I told the check-in agent at the LAN counter, LAX,
my concerns over the zipper…and here´s where (I suspect) I made the fatal
mistake…I also told him that my computer
was in the suitcase and my fears of what would happen if it spilled out.
¨Not to worry¨, he said. He even put a piece of white tape on top of
the bag and wrote fragile on
it. ¨The twine is a good solution (it
felt like a Beverly Hillbilly solution to me) and it should be just fine¨, he
said. Now I may be way out in left
field, but it seems very possible to me that this agent communicated what he
knew to the baggage handlers and the theft occurred right there. Since I had a 6 hour layover before leaving
LA, there was certainly time. The white
tape could have made the bag easier to identify as well.
In retrospect, I noticed that one of the
reasons I didn´t recognize the theft at first, was because my suitcase was in
the same neat order in which I had packed it. It was not ransacked and nothing else was
taken, not even some very nice silver jewelry.
When I retrieved my luggage in Cuenca, the twine was no longer there and
the suitcase was re-zipped shut, the two zippers tied together with a plastic
tie right over the damaged place. These
observations didn´t alert me that anything might be amiss, it just looked like
it had been inspected by the TSA, as it seems it most always is. Well,
this time it wasn´t, so travelers BEWARE!
Enough about that. But you get the picture. First my ability to communicate with my mouth
is seriously compromised, then I lose the use of my left hand, and soon after
that, my right hand machine…my laptop! At this point I am hoping that the rain will
stop already!
Today, Saturday, is the first day I can walk without
feeling jet lagged and every inch of the 6,250 ft. of altitude here in the
grand city of Cuenca. As I walk along,
gratefully taking in all the lovely surroundings, I am certain that Ecuador is
what I need and what I want. The
troubles I described above are absolutely nothing compared to the deep happiness I feel
having come this far.
From the luscious butter cream avocados, to the
plentiful passion fruit and carrots as big and round as a small woman´s forearm, this is
a land of health. What is better than clean air, crystal clear
water, pure nutritious food, bright sunshine and bountiful rain? This
is the place where I can aspire to a happy and healthy old age. If you are curious and want to experience
this for yourself, and meet some of
the sturdy, engaging and hardworking Ecuadorian people, please do come to
visit. Bring your work gloves, because
although I fully intend to build my dream, I certainly won’t be able to do it
myself. I know it will be a labor of
love, and that is best shared. I remind
myself that all things are possible, and how exciting that is. I expect miracles. COMING SOON:
ECUADOR ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET
