I awake to the sound of rooster then birds. My headache is gone and my neck is more limber. Mist hangs in the mountains and I can feel the warmth of the day. My first Ecuadorian coffee is delicious. I chat with Jason and Barbara while we wait for breakfast. Eggs from the chicken on the property, potatoes, toast and a bowl of fruit. My first experience of papaya’s grown locally. So yummy and different than back in Toronto. I notice how I’m eating quickly because of my 10 am appointment. Any kind of schedule feels like a real stressor. I ask directions from Bernie and it turns out there a stone’s throw away from me.
A blonde lady is sweeping the stones outside the huge white gate with 11:11 written on it. It’s Elena, exuding a wonderful warmth and beauty. I step through the gates into paradise. A grove of orange and mango trees fill the yard. We tour through the garden of many things to eat and a stone circle with crystal pushed into the center. It’s an energy portal. There are also two greenhouses with more vegetables growing inside.
There is a smaller house, the one they lived in while the second was built. Maria emerges from the small house and I recognize her from outside the juice bar yesterday. Maria heads off into town and I head inside the white big house. I’m shown the sauna that could hold 4 people comfortably. The rooms upstairs lead to a balcony with a magnificent view. Kiwi the poodle is biting my socks in a playful manner. I sit down to watermelon, cherries and local mangos. Again the mangos are so fresh and different tasting. A crate of them goes for $10.
Elena, Vladimir and I get to know each other and then Vlad heads off to do chores. Elena goes inside and emerges to say that she’s “checked in” and Vilcabamba is right for me if I decide to move here. After sharing that Sarah is going in for surgery she brings out her divining rod and tells me that Sarah has 6 entities attached to her. Two of them mega galactic attached to her womb. She invites me to imagine Sarah sitting at the table with us and proceeds to detach the entities, rebalance all the organs and clear her energy field. She suggests that Sarah imaging divine energy enter her crown through to her heart and connect with her mothers heart. Then she is to send clearing and healing energy along this conduit. Elena is a Reiki Master and teacher.
As we finish, Maria returns and I get to check out the smaller house. It’s beautiful. A round queen side bed in the bedroom, a big kitchen with living room and a bedroom loft. They rent this place only to people with energy they like and she suggest I come and stay there with Sarah when she arrives. I head back home and Elena show me how to unlock the gate from the outside so I can just come in when I come for visit.
I come home and video chat with Sarah on Skype. I share all that I discovered at Elena’s and catch up with her about my trip.
A quick call to my friend Kaya as well and then off into town to see what’s next. Deb and Inga are sitting on the curb. Deb and I decide to check out the Secret Garden restaurant but everything has corn which Deb is allergic to. Off we go to to Shanti’s for the best pizza in town as well as the home of the best massage therapist / chiropractor in town.
Deb and I stand outside the locked gates staring inside when a woman emerges and unlocks the gate. Inside a man with a huge must age and cowboy greets us with menus. Deb thought she might like trout and sure enough this place also known for the best trout raised on the property. We dine on grilled trout, potato cubes and vegetables and 6 bowls of seasoning. I have my second cup of Ecuadorian coffee. This is Deb’s first ever trout experience. Good choice. I wonder out loud if this is the place with the massage therapist, only to look up and see the “massage” sign on the counter. A couple of minutes later, Lee arrives to book a massage. Lola tells him that the day he wants isn’t available and he books another date. Lee joins us as I rise to ask Lola for an appointment. She’s book for a whole month so I ask her if she can call me via Bernie if she gets a cancellation. Lee shares his journey that led him to Vilcabamba and he heads home. I pay the bill and Lola informs that there’s been a cancellation for 2 pm tomorrow. How perfect is that.
I invite myself to Deb’s to check out her rustic accommodation in the nature preserve. It’s a short walk away into a lushly vegetated piece of land. The cabins are $7 a day if you share with someone else. Deb’s been lucky because no one else has checked in so she has it all to herself. She shows me the grand view she sits at to watch the sun go down. She walks me to the bridge, a slab of narrow concrete, and instructs me on how to get back to town and how to avoid the mean dog along the way. I buy an eclair along the way home.
I chat with people as they arrive for meditation class. A yoga enthusiast from Argentina and someone else on a year long sabbatical from Switzerland. I compliment her on traveling alone and she says she had lunch with 10 other woman doing the same thing.