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Hello from sunny South America! It's getting hotter and hotter here as it gets cooler and cooler there! Weird that Christmas is just around the corner when we are heading into the heat of summer....we feel like we are in an odd little bubble here and can't quite track the time. But, when we take time to calculate the time, we realize that we have been here in Mancora nearly four months already! We even had a weepy moment the other day thinking of leaving all these beautiful people behind. As one of the volunteers recently said to us, "It's good that you're getting your worrying in early!"
We recently took a trip to Ecuador to renew our passports and spent an absolutely fabulous 10 days there. It is a gorgeous country and it's lush green valleys renewed and refreshed us.
We spent 4 days pampering ourselves at Madre Tierra Spa in a place called Vilcabamba...the Valley of Longevity, getting massages and facials and mud baths...it was SO great! Oh, and did we mention hot showers?! A couple of things were a bit different than perhaps they are in North America, like our hot/cold combination bath that is supposed to cleanse the blood...we sat in a n enclosed wooden box with only our head exposed that was extremely steamy and hot and filled with eucalyptus leaves. Then we stood (buck naked I might add!) while the spa lady toweled us down with freezing cold towels. We then sat in the hot box again for a while, until she had us sit in a freezing cold bath and dumped buckets of freezing cold water on us. Then a third time we sat in the steam box, followed by us standing in a shower and her spraying us with freezing cold water from a hose! I wonder how a treatment like that would go over in Edmonton! A new career opportunity for us when we return...it seems like a fun job!! We also went horseback riding through the mountains in the pouring rain. It was incredibly romantic and fun and was definitely a highlight of the trip.
We took a day trip to some Incan ruins, which are second to Macchu Picchu in importance here, and even bought some "cosas preciosas de los Incas" from an old woman on the side of the road. When she approached Stacy trying to sell Incan artifacts from a small plastic bag, initially, Stacy ignored her, being the skeptic that she is, thinking it was a scam. She told our tour guide (a friend of a friend back home and also a history/anthropology buff) what happened, and he called the lady over immediately. After conversing with her for several minutes, he said that the pieces likely were genuine because many artifacts have been recovered by the local people whose property sits at the base of the ruins and the images carved from the stone were typical of the time period. Plus, they just look really really old! ;) Our guide thinks that two of the four pieces are even pre-Incan from the Canari civilization. Who else can say they bought artifacts for $10 a pop? It was neat too because then when we saw her again after our tour and she wascarrying a big sack of groceries from the market. We are having fun supporting the local economies. :)
We also spent a few days in a city called Cuenca, which was amazing too. Lots of really old colonial buildings and people dressed in traditional wear. We visited a Panama Hat factory, which was very cool and, of course, purchased a hat or two. It was neat afterwards to see women around town weaving the hats as they carried about their day. My favorite spot was the Market at Gualaceo, which was a colorful, bustling place with women in traditional garb weaving hats and selling their goods. They also had really really good pineapple there. :)
We also did a half-day hike through the Andes, which was breath-taking (literally!) at 4600 ft. above sea level. Man are we ever out of shape! This is the place to go if you are in training for a marathon or some other crazy activity that's for sure! We finished off our trip for another rejuvenating few days soaking in the hot springs of Banos, just outside of Cuenca, and Shelly loved her quiet time.
Being in Ecuador was refreshing and relaxing. We needed the break and to see green. It is so lush and fresh. We really love the people too....although Stacy didn't like one lady at the market who wouldn't let her take a cool photo). We have to admit, so far we MUCH prefer the Ecuadorian landscape to that of Peru's, so luckily we are close enough to Ecuador to visit there on occasion!
We actually were glad to be home when we got off the bus! There is something about being in the known even if it is the dust and bugs and brown that you know. The people here have become a part of us and we are grateful to be here most days. We are also grateful to be able to share this experience with you and feel that you are behind us and support us. Some days, knowing that is the only thing that gets us through. Thank you for your thoughts and emails. Keep them coming.
Chao for now
Stacy and Shelly
p.s. We've added some video clips under the video tab now if you are interested in taking a gander. :)
p.p.s. For inquiring minds, the address you can send packages to is as follows.:
Stacy and Shelly Norrbom
c/o Cecilia Barreto
Las Palmas 150
Urbanización Los Alerces de Monterrico
Lima, Peru
Please just make sure that your package is under 2 kilos or it's very expensive for you and us, and it's extremely difficult to receive. You guys are so great! ;)
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