A Vacation for the Soul! - Ecuador 2008
Every now and then everybody needs to reboot. This was my time.
For that matter, the journey to the rainforest lodge turned out to be a great dis-connector from the “real” world. It all started at Quito airport. While I was waiting for the lodge representative to arrive and give me my boarding pass, I heard a voice calling my name: “Hi, Tatjana! How are you and how has your vacation been so far?”. Now, remember, I am in South America, a continent I have never been to. I don’t know anyone in Ecuador. The voice belonged to Miguel, who sat next to me on the flight from Houston to Quito. What are the odds that he would be on the same flight from Quito to Coca? Small world.
The flight to Coca was pretty short, but it took us over the Andean mountains with beautiful views of the snow-capped mountain tops. I took one of my favourite pictures of the trip on this flight. Once we arrived in Coca, the journey into the jungle continued with a 2-hour boat ride in an oversized, motorized canoe-type boat upstream the Napo River. The Napo River is pretty wide and it eventually feeds into the Amazon River (but in a different country). The boat went pretty fast, we travelled 50 miles, but the steady rocking and rolling of the boat had me fall asleep. After we got off the boat it was a 30-minute mini-hike to the lagoon that we then crossed on a smaller canoe to get to the lodge. By now, you can see, we were far removed from reality; we were literally in an information-twilight zone.
The lodge was perfect for a complete vacation from the day to day chores of life. There were no phones, no TV, no radio, no internet, no computer – such a blessing! All there was, was the jungle, conversations with my fellow travellers, my books, my journal and my thoughts. Taking the time to listen to my thoughts was the most incredible thing to do. It brought a lot of clarity and calmness. I promised myself to take time out more often. It’s healthy.
Not surprisingly, my favourite time to take pictures was the early mornings and the sunset. It was such a peaceful environment, the lagoon, the rainforest, the noise of the monkeys. That was actually the most incredible noise I heard, the Red Holler Monkeys’ screams. It sounded like a loud wind running through the forest. It was amazing. Kind of reminded me of when you pick up a shell on the beach and listen to the ocean.
This was it. Relaxed and calmer I am now back in the “real” world, still wondering what the “real” world really is…
My photos from Ecuador 2008 - a vacation for the soul!
View my travel journal on the Adventure Life website.
