We Won't Get Fooled Again?

A wise man once said, "fool me once, shame on you...fool me twice, shame on me." A less wise man once said, "fool me once, shame on...shame on you. Fool me...you can't get fooled again." O that Brigitte and I would learn to heed these less than wise words. We did get fooled. And then we got fooled again. We are starting to wonder if we are in need of a name change of our blog. Are our "misadventures" simply a self-fulfilled prophecy? Does any of this actually happen or are we just staging pictures and fictioning our way throughout "Ecuador" while really living in suburban Ohio? The world may never know....

This time we were in Vilcabamba. Vilcabamba reminds me of Sedona in Arizona. Lots of New Age folks in a small area. Lots of yoga (we said "hola" to one woman and received a namaste yoga greeting straight out of India....really? Couldn't you just give me a fist bump or a hello or a guten tag or a handshake... a high five? Brigitte and I froze with indecision and uttered Spanglish nonsense). Lots of retreats. Lots of nature as well. Brigitte and I don't really qualify for New Age spiritualists. But we do qualify for mountain and nature appreciatists. 

Vilcabamba is famous for its water and the longevity of its residents...allegedly. Even our taxi driver boasted of a 97 year old father who is actively continuing to  actively enjoy his life taking regular walks, bench pressing 250 pounds, and solving multiple sodoku puzzles a day. 

We arrived on Friday afternoon. We went to a nature reserve called Rumi Wilco. We rented "rustic" cabins for $26 a day. We thought it ironic that these "rustic" cabins had more kitchen tools than we currently do in our furnished apartment. Or that they had an oven...which we do not have as well. 

So many beds we didn't know what to do. We ended up rotating throughout the night in 15 minute intervals. We also invited a stranger from the village to use one of the beds so that they would all be occupied.

Note the pans below the sink. We were overwhelmed with options.

That is what greatness looks like when it comes to breakfast preparation.

The neighbors. Not sure if they were Ewoks or the Swiss Family Robinson.

The part underneath is the bathroom. Hot water. Hot tub. Sauna. OK there wasn't a sauna.

Getting Lost Part 1
Saturday we got up early for our hike. Our goal was to hike to the top of the "Cara de Mandingo". This is translated loosely as make sure you get up early to hike so that it is not in the heat of the sun and also remember that it is an "in and out" hike and not a loop so do not take the loop because you might get lost...or it could mean "face of the Incan"...I cannot remember which.

If you look at the formation in the mountain you can see the forehead, a nose, lips...Brigitte was reminded of the sleeping Ute in Southwest Colorado.

On this hike there were two crosses. We found them both before we busied ourselves with getting lost.

Cross 1. Brigitte and I getting about the business of selfies...does this count as a selfie if it is two people?

Brigitte was inspired by the crosses and the vista of the city below. She jumped.

We then proceeded to take a wrong turn and eventually had to bushwhack a path following the barking dogs, the mooing cows and squishy cow pies back to a road to successfully make it back (we were never really that lost...we could see the town the whole time. We just had to "make" a trail).

If only we had a Dolorian to go back and tell the Andy in this photo, "You're going the wrong way!"

Getting Lost Part 2

The second day we learned our lesson and got up early and did not get lost. Psych. We slept in. Our goal on our second day of hiking was to find a waterfall. We talked to a variety of people and had the impression that it would take us about 2.5 hours out and back. But 2.5 hours in we still had not seen a waterfall. We had run into a group of Ecuadorian women who had mentioned something about going left...but we never saw a place to go left...until we were on our way back...(and yes, it was marked in red with an arrow pointing at it. But it also looked like private property) 3.5 hours into our hike and with our dreams of waterfalls shattered. We were not to smell the spray of water cascading over cliffs. instead it was a day of dust and dirt. That said it was really a nice hike.

You can see Vilcabamba in the distance. This is before we knew we were lost.

Still do not know we are lost.

OK we are probably lost. Instead of taking pictures of waterfalls here are some leaves.

We were defeated...but can you really be defeated when you have a lunch of brown bread from a French bakery and two delicious Ecuadorian apples?

Vilcabamba. A great place to get lost. Next time we will definitely take that first left.