Celebrating Zahra, our seamstress extraordinaire! Julie set a beautiful table; a delicious and lovely meal was shared by all!
We started the New Year off right, with a ladies brunch to celebrate our dear seamstress friend, Zahra. She has done so much for our group of gringa friends and refuses to charge us very much if anything at all! Julie hosted the brunch on a sunny morning. Her living room/dining room/kitchen area has a glass roof so its a bright, joyful space (where we also practice yoga together 3x/wk). She set a beautiful table and the gathering of friends was filled with laughter and affection.
I enjoyed a getaway to the jungle with three of my yoga buddies. CiCi came along as well. We went to Misahuall, a place famous for a large troupe of resident capuchin monkeys who rule the town square. They can be very agressive, grabbing water bottles, cameras...even hats and sunglasses - right off an unsuspecting tourists head! Their antics are always good entertainment value! (there are some fotos of them all the way at the end!)
In Misahuall Julie, CiCi and I stayed at a lovely place called Banana Lodge, owned by a Russian woman and
Giant buttressed roots help hold up an enormous ceibo tree. There was so much plant and animal life in and around this amazing tree!
her indigenous husband. Its perched above a beautiful bend in the river. When we hiked down to the rocky river bank, CiCi was not at all happy about me wanting to take a dip in the river...barking like a crazyhead! Mommy, mommy danger! From our upstairs lodgings we had lovely sunrise views of skies outlining silhouettes of the dense jungle foliage.
We all took a little excursion to visit a ginormous ceibo tree -- massive buttresses help support this incredibly tall and wide tree. So much plant and animal life is housed in this huge, amazing feat of nature. One of our reasons for visiting Misahualli was to meander along the river banks and collect driftwood and river stones for garden and art projects. Although Id been to Misahuall several times before, it was great fun exploring it with my gal pals!
Another of the reasons we were eager to visit Misahuall was that our favorite Spanish Tapas restaurant moved from Baos down to the jungle! We enjoyed a delicious afternoon with friends Pepe and Gloria who own La Tasca.
Just below our hostel this rocky beach was an adventure spot! CiCi did NOT like me getting in the river. Danger! Danger Mommy! she barked frantically!
Their new second floor locale is large and airy. Fortunately, a strong morning downpour had freshened the air...otherwise it would have been very hot and sticky since they had not yet installed ceiling fans.
The other three gals bussed back to Baos (about 3 hours) and CiCi and I continued on, deeper into the jungle, to visit a friend who lives just outside of Tena (a town not far from Misahuall). I first met Chelsea about 8 years ago when she was teaching English at the Ikiam University in the jungle. She met her indigenous husband, Timo shortly thereafter and they now have two beautiful children. They had been living in Florida, but due to the pandemic they decided to move back to Tena, where Timos family lives. Theyve been to visit me in Baos and I wanted to see where they live too.
They fixed up a room for me in a lovely center which they had just finished building. Scroll through to the end to see some pics of the spectacular murals which beautify their place! I could
A stunning swimming hole near Tena. A day with Chelsea, Timo and their kids! CiCi was, again, not happy about me jumping in the water!
hear the rushing river from my bed. Their house is at the far end of an open grassy area surrounded by mature fruit trees. As of this writing, their property now houses a Waldorf jungle school which focuses on environmental education...a wonderful learning experience for their kids, Inti age 3 and Faye Nina age 5.
