Feliz Anos Nuevo 2011!

Happy New Year 2011!
"I am twenty miles or more from the nearest fellow human, but instead of loneliness I feel loveliness. Loveliness and a quiet exaltation."  - Ed Abbey
"Solitude allows a deepening of the present. The Dalai Lama says spend some time alone every day. Take time to digest the constant stimuli of media, especially when so much of it is just plain bad news, and focus on what is important to you. In this state brain cells settle, synapses snap, and your mild calms down."   - Linda Ballous

We aren't twenty miles from the nearest fellow human, but we are in another isolated area and we feel loveliness, exaltation, wonderful solitude, peacefulness and joy in our hearts. Our only manmade entertainment comes from our iTunes songs on the computer, our Kindle and our puzzlebooks! No TV here. Our biggest entertainment however is inspired by nature; from the vistas out of our window, the birds chirp, chirp, chirping and all the rest of beautiful Mother Nature beckoning us right outside our front door. Our brain cells are settling and we feel the calmness and quiet that surrounds us.

We took a walk yesterday morning and let our senses lead us down the narrow roadway. We met up with Joe (owner/developer) and he took us to see his "girls." He has 19 horses and we got to meet the 6 females and his dog Emily.  All but one horse was anxious to greet us--- begging to be rubbed on their noses and patted on their heads. The youngest one was still a little nervous about strangers. The other gals wer eager to smell us and begged for attention. Joe loves horses but he does not ride them. He just loves them. That was obvious from the way they nuzzled him and he hugged back. It was a first experience for me... having several horses come close to be petted was unnerving at first. I've never had a horse come up to my face asking to be loved. We talked to them and told them how beautiful they were and they wanted more rubs and loving attention. This must be what the horse-whisperers attest to. It was wonderful!

Each night we are enveloped in the darkest dark we've experienced in a long time. There are absolutely no lights anywhere near our house. It's awesome to see just the stars at night. It reminded me of the time we drifted down the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon on our raft in the blackness of night with only the stars as our guide.

Yup, we're in Vilcabamba, Ecuador. We're at the beautiful Hacienda San Joaquin. It is about 4 miles out of the small town of Vilcabamba. We take taxis ($4) to town on a dirt road. There are only 25 houses in HSJ on about 800 acres of pristine achingly beautiful lots with bella vistas!  HSJ is surrounded by mountains and hillsides with a river flowing through.  We're renting a house here for 9 days before heading to Brazil to catch our cruise.  We found this absolutely gorgeous serene place three years ago. Our last visit was in the month of Sept., the dry season. It's now the wet season; afternoon and evening rains have greened the vegetation with hillsides and mountains lush with flowering plants and trees. The mangoes are ripening and the smells of freshness are everywhere. Even the cab driver commented to us today about the smells of nature. It took us awhile to figure out what he was talking about in Spanish, but when he cupped his hand toward his nose and said "ah" as the breeze was coming in the open window of his cab, we got it!  We nodded and said, "si, si, si."
  Feliz Anos Nuevo to all!  
Another fresh new year is here …
   Another year to live!
To banish worry, doubt, and fear,
   To love and laugh and give!

This bright new year is given me
   To live each day with zest …
To daily grow and try to be
   My highest and my best!

I have the opportunity 
   Once more to right some wrongs,
To pray for peace, to plant a tree,
   And sing more joyful songs!

William Arthur Ward, 1921-1994
Adios,

Mary and Bob