The Valley of Rare Fruits

So, after feeling out the energy of Vilcabamba for a few days, Great Spirit let an apartment near the town square fall into our lives....for $100 per month including utilities....not bad I'd say.....if you notice in the photo above, I am standing in the doorway of the bathroom in our apartment....it is very short....which goes along with the simple fact that in Ecuador I am almost a giant.....we all need something to make us laugh :)

I am reading a book called The Valley of Rare Fruits, by a local who has lived here for many years....an immigrant from New Zealand named Gavin Moore....very interesting about the history of Vilcabamba and the people who have passed through and those who are still here.....my favorite quote of the day, " Chane is the Universal law.....and the worst illness of man is to seek stability and/or permanence."

We have been meeting a lot of the locals and doing research on this "Valley of Longevity" and from what I can tell this place has a long history of people coming here to be healed, to live and/or to open up businesses focused in health, nutrition and the like....a few days ago we were walking around and saw a flyer for a place called, "Sacred Valley School of Herbal Medicine", with a course offered by a Master Herbalist....I scribbled down the contact info and went into an internet cafe to write a quick message to inquire about the program....as I am diligently writing an email, a woman next to me is in distress because of technical difficulties with her PC....I take a second to calm her down and lend a hand....we end up in a long conversation....she in fact is the exact woman I was rushing to write an email to.....the Universe is very mysterious indeed....there are no coincidences....after finishing up she invites my Beloved and I to her house so she can show me her inventory and speak with me about the apprenticeship she offers in Herbal Medicine.....and as we are walking the topic of the Maya Calendar comes up....I mention to her that my Beloved is in fact a Master of the Maya Calendar and Shamanism. She gets very excited and tells me that she wrote her Master thesis on the Maya Calendar.....what a small world....again, there are no coincidences....so everytime we visit her we end up in very long and stimulating conversations about the Universe, the Mayas, past experiences and Herbal Medicines of Ecuador....beautiful! So, I have been learning a lot about the magnificent botanical medicine of Ecuador and specifically in this valley.
The first few nights in Vilcabamba we stayed at Hostel Mandango, which is the name of one of the towering monuments of a mountain overlooking this town.....the owner is an older Ecuadorian fellow and his wife....one day my Beloved mentions that I study Naturopathic Medicine and the man is immediately interested in speaking to me about a health problem he is having....after the consultation, it seems clear that it is in fact a kidney/bladder problem....so, I get an amazing herbal tincture from my new friend the Master Herbalist and checked back in with the patient a couple of days later....he says that he is much, much better and he would like me to also see his mother....wow, I already have fans in this small town of Vilcabamba!
Today, we ate at a very good vegetarian restaurant....while we are waiting for a table I notice an American Naturopathic Medical Association certificate on the wall as well as a Diploma of Doctor of Naturopathy from Trinity School of Natural Health in Indiana....I finally ask the guy running the show there, who do these certificates belong to....and he responds, "they belong to me".....so we get into a conversation about National College of Natural Medicine in Portland etc and about the many healers in Vilcabamba who have come here with the dream of opening a clinic....he is the second guy today that tells me they are planning to open an clinic and wants to be on a team with me in some way or another.....very interesting.....there are only two other places in the world with people comparable to Vilcabamba, the Abkhazia of Russia and the Hunzas of Pakistan.....things to consider.....until next time.....in Love and Light