Especially if done by a woman.
Especially if done for pure leisure.
(at least it's viewed so in this part of the world)
I was in the middle of transitioning my career from one path to another
And I needed a very intimate time with me and myself and nature,
Away from second thoughts,
Away from everyday,
Away from time consuming chores,
Away from expectations,
Away from emails and deadlines.
The outside temperature at this time of the year is around 10 - 17°C, with sunshine and rain entwining their shifts on a daily basis.
The streets in downtown smell of freshly baked bread, wet incense and melting candle wax. Food is exquisitely affordable and so diverse: going from perfectly cured meat and sourdough bread, to heart and belly warming pizza; from fish and chips that outstand the ones I had in Pier 39 in San Francisco to sweet and cheesy fondues that melt you into comfiness; from whole roast pigs with the crispiest outer skin you can image and luscious moistness on the inside to earthy, pleasantly yellow potato soups.
I stayed at a relatively affordable boutique hotel with walls so thin you can hear the clearing of dishes occuring on the first floor while you toss and turn in a twin-sized bed in room 301; where all steppable surface areas are wooden and creak; where doors have ring handles and are opened with skeleton keys.
On the day upon my arrival, after an exquisite meal and a strong solid cup of coffee, I let my feet wander about town, swarming past churches and boulangeries till stopping at an alley of second-hand bookstores. I peeked into a couple shops not impressed but enjoying myself nonetheless, until I entered one called Carolina Bookstore. What first caught my attention was that bookshelf labels and signs were in English. It was the type of bookshop where you knew there was an order within the disorganization- at the entrance of the shop there was a mountain range of books of all genres on the floor these were obviously on discount; the shelves from left to right held a mixture of spirally edged photocopies of books as well as hard-covered classics and God-knows-how-many-decades-old paperbacks. After checking with the woman in the counter that closing hour was 6pm and that they also offered coffee, I unzipped my jacket and got myself into scavanger-hunting mode. With more than two hours at my disposal and no one to hold me back I set down my backpack and roamed around the shop. I first did a quick general scan of the whole place which was divided into three spaces: the general library, the mini back door and the almost secluded upstairs. Then after identifying the location of my three genres of interest: Cooking, Writing and Sci-Fi, I deepened into my hunt. At the back of my mind I carry a list of authors and titles I'm always in the look out for; if this first criteria isn't meant, I then take my time examining each book by cover, looking out for handwritten scribbles left by the previous owner, that might give hints to their fondness of it. At the end of my quest I paid a thrifty price for the following titles:
Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin
The Cattleman's Steak Book by Carol Truax and S. Omar Barket
Top Secret Restaurant Recipes by Todd Wilbur
I was a little hesitant at first to hire a guide- since it meant my hike would not be mere alone-time as I had originally planned, but he gave me enough space to make stops to bird watch, take in the scenery and snap photographs (with my ever so reluctant to focus phone camera). He was quick to catch on with my interest in plants and soil and pointed out the different edible plants, medicinal plants and hallucinogenic mushrooms.
I chewed on earthy berries and microsopic apples, poked inside gelatinous substances oozing from spiky plants, had a feel of how pigmented volcanic soil truly is and repeated the names of minerals that I hadn't pronounced since eight grade Earth Science. I learnt that president García Moreno brought Eucalpytus trees from Australia as a mechanism of stopping mountain erosion, which is why there are so many Eucalyptus trees in Cuenca. Canadian pine trees were also introduced to the highlands as a long-term investment by private landowners. There is an endemic tree of the name of Árbol de Papel, which is like a mille-feuille- having a trunk wrapped in hundreds of thin paper-like layers which is the only tree that survives at 4000 meters above sea level; when during a hike it starts to rain, these are the best trees to snuggle under for shelter. In practical everyday life- none of this rad facts will be of any help yet, as just a Mariel, I feel more me, and I feel a better human knowing these things.
At the end of my trip, I wasn't enlightened, nor did I end up having all the answers I was hoping to find-- yet I challenged myself in unexpected ways, pampered my inner geek/bookworm/child, gave my mind space to clear and rest and have a break from excess labour. I carried out activities that if I'd have been accompanied by a friend, a lover or a sibling, I would have been hesitant of.
As a means of encouraging you to consider giving yourself mini-vacations and possible solo ventures (which as seen from my example, doesn't require a huge budget or planning), I close this blog entry not with a kiss and hug but with some pixels of the Ecuadorian highlands (Parque Nacional El Cajas):
Alright alright...
small kiss and big hug,
Mariel