Lunch with Jerri, Korina and Eliza at the Juice Factory.

Dinner with Thomas, Pat and Karmen.

Karmen reads my palm … I’ve made a significant shift in my life and will now meet someone accordingly.

The day starts with waking from a dream about being able to click on all the options that make life perfect.

Over breakfast Thomas and I converse and extends to about 11 am.

The Card My Sarah Sent – LOVE it!

My Inner Child

A quick coffee & breakfast. A stop at the post office to pick up the first letter delivered to me here in Vilcabamba. A very endearing card from my Sarah inside along with a picture of her and my mom. Plus a picture of me when I was much younger.

Slow bus ride into Loja. A stop in at the Immigration office and then on to the Notary.

Walked around oja for almost 2 hours waiting for the notary to come back to his office. People here take long leisurely lunches. Good for the digestion.

Shower and short rest before Thomas, Pat and I meet up with Alison at Cafe Cultura for asian fare. Mark is there with Josh and Irena. The meal is a delight to my palate, Alison is feeling under the weather and still great company.

As Pat and I walk back to the meditation we connect with Karen who is similarly not feeling well.

The Main Dish

SOUP

HAND-MADE UDON NOODLE

IN SEAWEED VEGETABLE BROTH

APPETIZER

HOME-MADE TOFU 

IN GINGER MUSHROOM SAUCE

ENTREE

MISO-SAKE MARINATED

CORVINA (ROASTED FISH FILLET)

& HOME-MADE SHRIMP DUMPLINGS

SERVED W/ JAPANESE RICE

OR

FOR VEGETARIAN,

GREEN BEAN CARROTS DUMPLINGS

& VEGETABLE TEMPURA

SERVED WITH SUSHI ROLL

& ASSORTMENT OF PICKLES

DESSERT

HOME-MADE LEMON-CURD MERINGUE ICE CREAM OVER CHOCOLATE CAKE

Chatted with Jakob at the Juice Factory.

Completed some work.

I came across this link about portals in the Andes.

I eat filet minion at Hosteria Vilcabamba restaurant with Pat.

It took two years to get the perfect image from an Island close to Madagascar. 

Jill, Doug, Pat and I walk to Madre Tierra for lunch. Yummy sweet potato fries. Belated birthday lunch for Jill and going away for Doug. Doug shares a really tasty chocolate he’s made. Kacper sits with us. I enjoy his experience of putting the police in a trance.

Ginna calls to let me know that we no longer are required to get a census card.

The food processor starts to smoke when I use it to chop up the dates and red bananas. It gives up the ghost when I attempt to use it after cooling down.

I cut my thumb while putting together the grinder so Anna assits me in making the batch of cacao, coconut oil, peanut butter, dates and dried red bananas chocolate. Jill and Pat also assist.

I assist Doug in carrying his stuff to the hostel where Anna is staying. On the way we bump into Jerri and Korina.

I meet Stephanie for the first time at the hostel. Stephanie, Marcus, Doug, Anna and I eat at Charlitos.

Marcus and I walk with Doug and Anna to the bus stop. Doug and Anna board the bus to Quito. They are on their way to the hot springs outside Quito. Then Anna is off to Arizona while Doug is going back to the jungle of the Ecuador.

Stephanie, Paul and I enjoy a cup of tea and chocolate together after their meditation.

Work and more work. 

Mocha smoothie and salad from the garden up at Madre Tierra. And of course the presence of Alison. Walked and lunched together with Pat.

Thomas, Pat and I enjoy dinner at Izhcayluma. Really enjoyed the trout, rice and fries. Then back down to Sambucha’s for lime pie.

My first hot shower with the newly installed hot water.

Feels good having the time to hang out after breakfast with Thomas and Pat.

What is strongly resonating with me from the night before is the word “trans-fusion”. I love this word to describe the change in consciousness. I am fusing with divine LOVE and consciousness.

Cool logo online design tool here.

Anna comes by to say hello.

It is so good to see and hug Ginna again. On our walk up to Madre Tierra with Jill and Felix, Ginna shares her experience related to her journey from and to Guayaquil.

Some sleep and work in the afternoon.

Dinner is at the Chinese food restaurant with Mason, Anna and Doug.

Dreamt eating anything with magnesium in it is mag-netic.

My friend Juno’s birthday today. Happy birthday!

I make a batch of chocolate with cacao paste, dried red bananas, dates, peanut butter and some coconut oil. I make it a littler more chocolaty and chewy than the last batch.

I say goodbye to Trina. Thank you for being a loving friend and wishing you a safe journey.

I take a cab up to Josh and Irena’s place. I have a chance to chat with Josh alone while we wait for the others to arrive.

Irena arrives a while later and then Kacper, Shihan, Tara and someone who reminds me of my friend Tara in Toronto. Her name is Chaska. Chaska shares her memory of looking a whale in the eye from 10 feet away while swimming in the ocean. Then a memory walking in the Andes of Peru and feeling like she would be lifted off the earth. She shares her experience of traveling with many elders of indigenous tribes of South America while we sit around a fire inside a heart shaped fire pit. I feet like a participant in an energetic field. So much sharing, love and support.

Kacper passes military grade night vision glasses with us. The zillions of stars are revealed while one of them is huge.

We all walk back around 11:30 pm.

On my ride into Loja with Bernie I learn more about sweat lodges.

No cell phone and internet service most of the day.

At Lolka, I savour my coffee. Very smooth and naturally sweet. I buy 4 slabs of exquisite roasted chocolate for my batches of chocolate.

I decide to go to the bank and handle the transfer on my own. Success!

On the way back there is some rain.The first in over 4 weeks. Bernie shares his knowledge of mindfulness meditation. Pat is back when we arrive.

I take care of more banking.

I walk back to the center with Tamara. I walk her to the entrance and Trina arrives.

Trina and I share stir fried vegetables, ruce and vegetable soup at the Chinese food restaurant. She’s leaving to go the US either tomorrow or Sunday.

Trina and I walk up to Irena and Josh’s place to meet up with Kacper. They are Mark Englands neighbours. The dog who visits at Trina’s house accompanies us.

We share insight about consciousness and creating from the heart. Irena comes home while we are getting started. Irena nourishes us with tea and food.

Our walk there and back is movie like. With stars, fireflies and beautiful scents.

I wake with an inspiration to “tune” into energies of people, places and things and see if I am aligned with them and be guided by them rather than my normal senses, feelings and ideas.

Enjoying breakfast with Thomas.

Lots of work related stuff going on.

Get a message from Debe saying she is back in town. She comes by the meditation center and after meditation we meet up at the Juice Factory for lunch.

More work then I enjoy another salad at Gingkos. Irena shares her experience of visiting Drumvalo in Arizona while Galen and I listen.

Debe and I take a taxi up to Monte Suenos for the Solstice celebration. The new amphitheatre like seating and fire pit overlooking the valley is spectacular. 

NEW Seating

The Fire Pit

The View

The Fire

Drumming starts when the fire is lit while the sun sets. More people arrive.

In the darkness a new moon with a bright halo is looking surreal.

Debe, Korina and I walk back to the valley guided by Debe’s flashlight. We stop often to gaze at the stars and enjoy the night Jasmin. On one of the stops we clearly see a shooting star.

We arrive at Shantaz and enjoy a meal together.

My night ends with more work.

Happy Solstice!

Thomas eats breakfast with and shares his experience of taking someone through the medical system here in Vilcabamba and then on to Loja.

Pretty much keeping to myself today. Accomplishing a large amount of work.

Assisting Celeste with some online stuff.

Kathleen writes to say she is feeling far better than last year. Hooray!!!

Anna stops in to say hello and share a warm hug.

I hang out at the Juice Factory enjoying my ensaladas frutas surrounded by goddesses. There is talk of all the events taking place in Vilcabamba to celebrate the new moon and the summer solstice.

Trina and I prepare an innovative version of Guacamole with some fresh ingredients from the graden. Trina does her magic with presentation. Doug adds kitchari to the options and we dine on the lawn.

Lunch is served

The Frame of the Larger Sweat Lodge

Hipstamatic Photo

Julian Assange coming to Ecuador????? 

Wow. 8 hours of sleep and still feeling tired. I guess I needed it after my last two late nights.

Bernie invites Thomas and I to bend a couple of the saplings that make up the skeleton of the new enlarged sweat lodge.

The Making of the NEW Sweat Lodge

The smoothie bar at Madre Tierra is vacant except for the radiant Alison.

The restaurant terrace keeps populating and depopulating with the women gathered at Madre Tierra for their conference. There is some handmade jewelry for sale close by. Individually three women come by to order a smoothie. One stays long enough to hint at what the conference is about.

My View From Smoothie Bar

Feels right having Alison to myself for a brief while. Thomas shows up for his lunch break. He leaves and a while later Lucas stops in for a smoothie.

I walk home and go to sleep.

Trina comes by the center to use the internet.

Late rising at 9:45 am. Feeling like the root of all suffering and happiness is good – bad. Of this is born rules and laws. These are the constructs of the idea we call EGO.

A very loving father’s day greetings from my Sarah kicks off my day.

A longing fo Anna to still be here evaporates and fills in with her essence.

Spoke with Tom then Karen in the square. Hot summery day.

Made a batch of chocolate with Jill’s assistance.

2 hour nap.

Walked with Trina to Mark Englands place. Well almost. We hopped into the back of a taxi with other party goers about half way there.

The large container of chocolate I brought disappeared along with the pot luck food others brought. So many people to LOVE.  Danced.

Walked home under the canopy of stars and night jasmin and other fragrances wafting in the air.

8 am rise and shine. That’s 4 hours sleep.

Anna’s first day on the job and we don’t have electricity. We still have gas so I get my Americano coffee.

Alison pops by with some greens for tonights dinner.

Ectricity comes back on but the internet is still down so I go into town.

I stop by Gingko’s. Ben and Gabriella are outside. The tiles are blotched with what looks like blood. It’s berry blood.

They invite me inside to join them for lunch.

The internet is back up so I start on my third PetTime story but I am having a hard time staying awake. Time for a nap.

Trina shows up an hour later. I relax in the hammock while she surfs the net.

Alison arrives on time at 6 pm and the crew starts making dinner. Marco and Sean show up as well. I make popcorn and by 7:30 pm dinner is served. I screen my animations.

Marco, Doug and Anna

Some Of The Food

The Weird But Yummy Fruit

Most of us go to Pura Vida to catch the end of the music. It’s smoky and the music lacks dance ability. So I go back home.

Getting Unplugged – Just Quit (Start a minute into the clip)

I wake up late from a dream where there is a silvery twiggy kind of thing with tiny silvery drops all over it. Each drop is a hit of acid.

The cat inspires me for a PetTime Story. 

Most of the morning is spent solving remote computer crisis in the Matrix. Then all is well.

I get a chance to commune with Jade at the Juice Factory.

On my way back to the center I stop at the Chinese Food restaurant to enjoy some time with Karen.

At the center the doors and windows for the rooms Bernie is completing are being installed.

Trina is there and so is Anna. Anna our new barista and replacement for Mindy who is leaving today.

I use Xtra normal animation software to create a video of my cat inspired story for pets.

I’ve created a new Tumblr account just for these here.

I wake up with the thought that seeking spiritual enlightenment feels like looking for air. I am in it and it’s everywhere.

More banking. This time success with the ongoing help from Yadira and Sandra.

Internet is back up. Some work.

I make a new batch of chocolate with even more peanut butter. It’s almost cake like. Alison and Anna arrive just I finish pressing the chocolate into the trays. Perfect timing I say. I can tell it passes the satisfaction test by the closed eyes and smiles.

I LOVE the way Anna hugs!

Time to go to Cafe Cultura with Mindy and Doug. The food there is outstandingly delicious. It’s Mindy’s last supper before venturing to Columbia. I enjoy seeing their delight in the surroundings and the meal.

Me, Doug and Mindy