taking am unscheduled swim in Yambala river

Ok, everyone who knows me well, knows that I am afraid of heights. So what do I do infrequently, I try to over come it, but no more I promise. While in Vilcabamba, a lovely place, we stayed in The Yambala Cabinas, nice place on the side of the hill, run by 2 gringoes and their kids. They also organize horse riding trips. And all of you who know me, know that I love riding. Here´s the glitch... it was called horse treking.... to me, this means riding in the mountains... what I found out was, it was riding on top of the mountains on a 2 foot path, that went straight down. I thought that it was only going to be for a little bit, but we went for an 8 hour ride and 90% of the ride was on top of the mountain or on the narrow path on the side of the mountain. For Rob and Dane, it was a lovely trip,(Rachelle had loose bowels again and didn´t trust herself) for me, it was like living your worst nightmare for 8 hours. I was also put in front of the group, so I had nowhere to look but at the marvelous scenery, which I normally view from below,,,, comfortably. I flexed every muscle possible in my body including and especially the ones keeping me in the saddle, so much for Kiegle excercises. Some of the track was very downhill, just try and not shake and travel downward, guiding a horse with slippery Ecuadorian mud, fun. Now we finally get down to the bottom of the hill and we cross a river, no prob cause I am ground level.... next crossing, the horse and I decide it is time for a swim, unfortunately my camera didn´t much like the idea.

Please pause for a moment of silence for the passing of my dearly departed friend..........

(I have yet to give it a private burial, I am pretending that it will be ok when it dries out but after 3 days, there is still water in the lenses and the digital screen.) I am hoping the memory card is good. I think that it was the only place dry in the camera. There were very good photo´s, but Tokyo Robin might not be allowed to take anymore photos. So sad. But let´s put it this way, the current carried me down and I went under several times in high and fast water in rainy season over rock and brush and I thought I might not get out,,,, but I did and I have more to add to my adventure and I did it in a very exoticly named river. I kept saying to myself, in x number of hours this adventure will be over. And finally after dizzing heights, mud, and steep and slippery accends and decends, and an unscheduled dip in the river, our amazing surefooted friends got us safely back. I am still having nightmares of the mountains but I will continue to admire the people living on the sides and on the tops of the mountains tending their farms of corn and cattle, but I am no longer willing to do it from the tops of the mountains.
The previous day, we met some lovely people, named Isabel and Sharon, (met in Loja and again in Vilcabamba) these gals are wonderful people, who volunteer and help the various people that need their help. They showed us some food places and I admire Isabel for being able to be a vegitarian in such a carviverous country, go girl.
We walked from our hotel to town about 45 min taking photo´s (sigh... whimper) and found the Shanti resturant, very good food and a fun owner. We made jokes in Spanglish, especially about Rob´s need for hot foods. The owner brought out some hot peppers right off this bush, bright red and tiny. Of course, Rob ate one right away, and tearily smiled in relief of finally getting spice. Where upon, the owner sees what a real man Rob is and brings out the ¨Snake Water¨, 80 proof liquor served with lime and salt. Rachelle and I both had a sip and that was all it took, and Rob did the rest. I later found out it is really a snake in the water(alcohol) and my buddist side whimpered for the sacrifice. But to put it bluntly, That was powerful shit, man. That actually was a fun part, and even though I am camera-less it is still marvelous to be here.
We were in Zamora, getting into the Oriente (jungle), and are now in Guyalzimin. Cool names, eh. But here we are in the jungle and we want fresh fruit for breakfast, in the country where they grow it and they gave us canned fruit cocktail. Yuck. In Zamora, we ate frogs legs and here, in Guyalzimin, you can have them too. Not to bad really. To quote a famous disney movie, ¨Tastes just like Chicken¨. They also were serving a creature called ¨Wanta¨, but we couldn´t find it in the dictionary, and felt it might be kind of important to the ecosystem. I asked for a discription for Wanta, and the girl said it is meat for eating. Not good enough. The food here in Gualzimin is less than ok.
It was very sad in Vilcabamba, because they was not alot of wild life, we found out why this is and apparently, alot of hunting by the locals and they basicly ate the wildlife of all kind therefore there is none. It just shows me that our environment is very delicate and I am probably going to try raw foods again, and when we get back to Ecuador we will have our own kitchen and do the veggie thing. However, we have had to try what the locals are eating but I do it with guilt, and sorrow.
Rob is having bed issues, here in Ecuador they usually have very hard, hard, hard beds and the sheets never fit, and skinny malnurished pillows,,,, except in Vilcabama, where it turns out that Sarah, the owner, also has bed issues and therefore the beds there are soft and welcoming with full and lovely pillows and for god sakes, sheets that fit. ( because she made them).
As it turns out, the kids are great to travel with, and greatly add to that family interest from the locals. I guess we will keep them.
Everyone is only one stomach illness away from our goal weights. We have found the business needed to live here. We will bottle the local water, for dieters in North America, as a bowel cleanser and then when they hit their goal weight, we will send them the cure as a follow up vitamin and be very successful. Beleive me, it works. Though the cramps are not fun when they strike, Rob says this is a part of the conditioning to tighten up the stomach muscles for a firmer look. Its all good, win win. This is Rob´s idea for a business opportunity. We are looking for investors, who would like to get on the ground floor of this enterprize, so that we may do further research in Ecuador for viability. ´
Talk with you all later.
Robin