I slip off to the Juice Factory for a mango smoothie at 8 am. The all day meditation retreat is scheduled to start at 9 am. We meditate 4 sets of 25 minutes before breaking for lunch. Salad and lentil soup which we eat mindfully.

A mindful walking meditation follows lunch where we walk very slowly for 25 minutes. After two more 25 minute meditations I decide to sit out the next one. Instead I lie in the hammock. I sit through two more 25 minute sessions. At 4:30 pm we break our noble silence and pass the talking stick to allow each one of us to share our experience.

Another salad and soup is served for dinner. I have a 1/2 hour before the sweat lodge is set to start. The fire to heat the rocks has been burning since 3 pm.

16 people show up for the sweat ceremony. We smudge using palo santo and sage before entering the lodge on our hands and feet. I am the second last person in. Women enter first. There are slightly more women than men.

Bernie explains the process before the red hot rocks are laid in the center. Each rock is anointed with tobacco. Once the rocks are in place the door is closed and water is thrown on the rocks. The temperature quickly rises as some drumming and singing begins. In no time sweat is dripping off me. I discover that inhaling by mouth and exhaling by the nose is the most comfortable. I stay upright through the first “round” when the door is opened and fresh cool air rushes in.

More red hot stones are brought in for the prayer “round”. Every person says a prayer out loud going clockwise. It’s hotter than before and someone launches into a long prayer. I start feeling anxious and wish she would wrap up her prayer. We move on. It feels very hot. I’ve laid down to feel cool mother earth when Bernie launches into a very long prayer to push envelope. I start humming just to push through the discomfort. The door opens and I follow Jason out. There were two more rounds to go but the cool outside shower won out.

Only minutes later disco like music starts blasting through the normally cottage like quietness.
I did some remote computer work and started getting frustrated when the program stopped working properly. What normally would take a few minutes turned into the hour. My tolerance for the loud music was decreasing. I got to bed a 11 pm and fell asleep within a few minutes as I released the frustration. I woke up one more time and the music was still going but once again I was asleep within minutes.

Today, Barbara, one of the first people I met upon my arrival to Vilcabamba is leaving to head back to the US. Verena, Jason and I took Barbara to the Secret Garden restaurant for her going away meal.
Just before lunch, I wandered the streets filled with Ecuadorians who come from out of town. They consider Vilcabamba a resort town. I stumbled upon a walled off square which turns out to be the farmers market. Unfortunately most of the vendors had already packed up and left. Darn, I love farmers markets.

Barbara’s taxi arrived at 3:30 pm to take her to Loja airport. Jason, Verena and I head back into town for ice cream. Apparently something everyone does. $1.50 buys 3 cones.

Jason, Verena and I then head off to the river. I join Verena as she heads off to follow a trail through Rumi Wilco, a nature preserve / place to stay. I encounter my first coffee trees bearing green coffee beans. At the end of the path are 4 very unusually building made from putting dirt into tubular plastic bag like stuff that is later coated both inside and outside with concrete. They are painted white and look like bee hives joined together to form rooms of different sizes.

On the way back, Verena points to a cactus, San Pedro, the masculine version of the ayahuasca DMT plant that has become medicine for those on a spiritual quest. There is also a massive fig tree with huge exposed roots.

Verena makes us some soup. After dinner I put up the hammock and we all talk for a while before heading off to sleep.

Today Inga is leaving. At breakfast I find out there is a workshop going on at Madre Tierra a place I was interested in staying at. It features Bill Ryan from ProjectCamelot.org a conspiracy investigator who now lives here in Vilcabamba. Also featured is George Green a government and financial insider who moves with the elite and a man in contact with aliens. Both of these are “rock stars” in the conspiracy circles. I take the $1 cab to the Madre Tierra. The conference room is filled with about 50 people, 49 of them white and one from Argentina. No Asians or Blacks. By the way I’ve yet to see an Asian and I’ve only seen one Black person so far.

Bill shares a personal revelation and introduces George. George shares is history and tells us that we are the “Ground Crew”. The people who are awake enough to change the course of human evolution or the survivors left to repopulate the earth. We are warned that there is little time remaining before catastrophe strikes. Both man made and nature induced. I score a “Handbook For The New Paradigm” book as we crowd moves to the patio for lunch. Lunch is included in the $15 admission price, which just may be way too expensive for the Ecuadorians. George breaks the word politics into poli meaning many and tics meaning blood suckers. We all laugh.

I sit across from Joe Segurola who has cured cancer. This came about through is own health crisis. He’s involved in too many things to mention here but you can check it out at his website www.globalgeniustrust.com. He shares that he is in the news and had his picture on the front page of the Ecuador newspapers. He’s immersed in stem cell work and will be meeting with an Ecuadorian billionaire interested in his work. He’s also created a intentional community with a large tract of land. Next to me is a physicist who mentions to Joel that he designs aircraft as hobby when he finds out Joel is also developing pollution free taxi that work like helicopters but climb at 4 times the speed. Just before we head back to the conference I suggest Joel and I meet again. He accepts.

The next presenter is Nori Huddle www.gardenofparadise.net who has designed ways of creating communities. She’s on butterfly 600 of 1001. She has committed to drawing a butterfly a day for 1001 days. She’s almost died 5 times. She shares her life journey with us and offers up some solutions. She’s about to offer up a different approach to finance than George when her time is up. I approach her saying I’m disappointed she got cut off. I suggest we meet up in the near future and she agrees.

Nori is followed by a group of 4 community builders who ask us to form a circle and participate in some exercises. I walk home with a fellow named Greg who has also moved to Vilcabamba.

I pick up a pendant I had a clasp made for and purchased a handmade pure silver chain to go along with it. I pick up some fantastic Ecuadorian chocolate from the chocolate shop and another place Verena had turned me on to. Some of it is for Elena’s birthday on Monday.

There is so much more that I must leave out because I can’t type that fast.

Today I meet Hunter Reynolds www.astrodharma.org staying in one of the rooms here. I ask if I can join him for breakfast and we quickly get into a deep conversation. He’s teaching a course where he uses astrology and body archetypes to help be more aware and comfortable in interacting with people. He also does astrology readings. He’s renting a bike and he invites me to come riding some time.

After breakfast I get some work done and call Sarah on Skype. She lets me know that a bunch of circumstances led to the canceling of her surgery. We catch up on what’s been going on.

At 1:45 pm I head off for my massage. I’m a little nervous because Lola also does chiropractic adjustments. Something I’ve never had. Lola practices out of a small cabin next to the restaurant. She asks me to take off my clothes. I strip down to my underwear and Lola checks out my back. She says I have scoliosis and tells me to lie face down on the massage table. She tells me to relax. She proceeds to manipulate my body until she hears my back and neck crack. This is followed by a full back massage. Lots of deep work and manipulation. She even walks from the back of my legs to my shoulders. She lays with her back on my back and uses her feet to massage the back of my legs. After flipping onto my back, she places my feet in each crevice of her hip and moves my legs around while standing on the table. She massages my chest and arms pausing on my heart. Next it’s the neck and scalp until we’re done. It’s the best massage I’ve ever had and it took about 75 minutes. She tells me to rest for 10 minutes and makes a cup of tea for me to enjoy once I get up. There are square white pieces of paper all over her wall with notes of appreciation and praise. After dressing, I go into the restaurant to pay. It’s $26 total and I give her $30. She’s very happy and so am I. She climbs on the stool behind the counter and kisses my cheek. I am very grateful.

I go home to wash off the oil and head out to find the chocolate shop. It’s got some fine looking chocolate. I buy the 100% chunks, some figs, granola and sesame seed covered chocolate balls.

I wait for 6 pm when there is a going away party for Inga & Barbara who are leaving in the next 2 days. Verena and Jason have made a curried chicken with rice, bruschetta and a salad fresh from the garden. Bernie has bought a low sugar cake for the event. Lots of great conversation follows as well as a banana bread. I’m stuffed. It’s time to head off to bed.

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.

I get up at 6 am. There is no time for breakfast. The ride to the airport is quick even though I was told there would be lots of traffic. The airport is small in relation to Toronto. A bus takes us to the airplane and we walk up the ramp just like we use to do in “old” days.

The plane takes off in fog from the top of the mountain. Once again I am grateful and impressed with the pilots skill. A quick coffee and the next thing I’m landing in Loja. This landing is even more impressive as we squeak into the valley between mountains and clouds. A summer warmth greets me. A gaggle of cab drivers awaits outside. I look for the white cabs from Vilcabamba but none are found. I wind up with a very persistent cabbie and off I go on a 45 km wild ride through the mountains. Passing at every curve, tail gating and passing police cars all appears so normal and inconsequential. Upon arrival in Vilcabamba the driver asks the locals where the meditation center is. That’s where I’m staying. Turns out it’s just around the corner. The driver gives me a hug and I enter my new home. It’s better than the pictures and descriptions online.

I meet Barbara, Inga and Deb as I round the corner. They tell me that Bernie, the owner isn’t there but should be back shortly. A Ecuadorian woman comes up and somehow manage to communicate that I am staying here. She gets the key and shows me the room. Bernie arrives shortly thereafter and I’m all set. Having missed breakfast, I wander into town. My first stop is the Juice Bar. Lots of us Gringos here. I say halo and venture inside. I open account and order a green smoothie. I start a conversation with Linda and she is interested in sharing a cab to go see the B&B that belongs to Brian o’Leary who was the first astronaut selected to go to Mars. Linda is checking out of one of the places in town and heading up the hill to another place to stay. I get to check out the rooms in both places and part ways with Linda.

I decide to walk home and take in the view. As I’m leaving I hear a bird and it sounds like it’s saying something. I listen closer and I hear “you … your soul”. There are donkeys, goats and sometimes someone riding on a horse. I look up to see what I think are green coconuts on the tree only to discover they are large papaya’s.

I get back to the meditation center and Barbara and Inga are just about to head off to look at some properties. So I join them. Two lots beside each other are on a steep slope with a great view. They sell for $27,500 US each. We head over to another property closer to town. Corn is growing sparsely and there is a tiny grove banana trees with green bananas on a couple of the trees. Paoblo, the real estate agent convinces Inga to also check out a place a 10 minute drive in another part of the valley. It’s got a big house with a lot more land though half is still on a very steep slope. This is selling for $72,000.

We are dropped of at home and Barbara and I head up the street for dinner. I order a vege fajita. The vegetables come out of the kitchen on platter steaming up the whole room almost. Delicious!

By 7 pm I am home. I check my email and get a reply from Elena, a friend of Darinka’s, who lives here and who asked me to bring her some dates. She has invited me over for 10 am.

My neck has been stiff all day and I have a headache so I decide it’s time for bed. I awake a few times and each time I’m thirsty. Something that has been happening since I arrived in Ecuador. I run of water and head to the kitchen for a refill. The headache is there and I hear a voice say that the headache is coming from my brain being rehydrated.

My daughter Sarah and I got up at 4:30 am and loaded a mattress into her Bronco. That was the last of my stuff as today was also the day I was moving out of the Yoga House, my home for almost two years. Today was also the beginning of my journey to Ecuador for 10 weeks to open my heart and continue my awakening.

We arrived at the airport at 6 am. 2 1/2 hours before my flight. That’s when I discovered that I’d left my hoody hanging in the bathroom at the house … which contained my permanent resident card and bank cards. Sarah arranged for a cab to pick up the items while I took care of an online form I needed to fill in for entry into the US.

Sarah came back all excited because the cab driver told her that he had had a dream about the house, Celeste who owns it and delivering a message to the person who he was delivering the items to, namely Sarah. The driver had written about the dream in his prayer journal. He was also from Quito, Ecuador which is where I am heading today.

The message was to trust in God and it is only when we exert our free will that we tamper with what is best for us. Surrendering our will to the divine is the ultimate act of free will.

After waiting to the last moment, I said goodbye to Sarah and stood in line to pass through security. The lady at the gate brought me my stuff when it finally arrived.

The first person at security swabbed my fingers to make sure I didn’t have any chemicals. The next person took my fingerprints and photo as she entered me into the computer. My belongings were x-rayed and missed the optional full body scan and wanding because the security person was busy talking to some suited people.

A few steps later I accepted an offer to shine my shoes from a gentleman originally from India. I wound up walking straight to the plane and boarding immediately into my window seat.

I realize now that leaving my bank cards and permanent resident cards behind is symbolic of leaving my externally assigned identity behind along with complete trust in my life as it unfolds.

My first stop is Miami airport where I hung out for 3 hours. I put in a call to Sarah using Skype on my iPad and we caught up on the events of the morning. It appears to be a significant turning point in her life. Mine too.

My flight to Quito, Ecuador left on time with an announcement that there would be turbulence. I had the luxury of an empty seat beside me. About a half hour into the flight I passed over a large body of water with a road running through it. It may be the road that runs directly through the lake as you head into New Orleans. Quite an achievement no matter where it is. The landscapes formed by the clouds were as impressive as the Grand Canyon.

The plane landed in the dark at Quito airport. I’m impressed because there were clouds, plenty of mountains and the airport is on top of one of those mountains and directly in the middle of the city. As a pilot, this always excites me and I feel great respect for those delivering me safely to my destination.

I was at the back of the plane, so I watched out the window as people slowly disembarked. Each piece of luggage was being checked by an American Airlines personnel.

In the terminal I was entered into the Ecuadorian database. Before leaving the terminal there is a final screening where a security person decides whether I will walk out the door or have my bags x-rayed. He presses a button that lights up the red sign and sends me for the luggage X-ray. Voila I am free to explore Ecuador. As arranged, a driver from the hotel I’ll be staying at is waiting for me with my name on a white piece of paper. I inform him that I need to get a ticket to Loja for the next day. He’s waiting for someone else so I head off to get my ticket. When I have the thought “I’m in south America” a strong emotion washes over me.

To hotel is pleasant and in the old part of the city. There are sign warning me not to wander into the streets in the night. I connect to the Internet and check my mail. I am very cold and thirsty during the night. I have a dream that delivers the message to be generous to the locals.