Today, I’d love to fill you in on a little secret. In case you weren’t already aware, I’m a bit of a wuss (woos? wus?). Sure, I talk a good game about camping in desolate areas, hiking in the wilderness, concocting delicious meals made using a camp stove we bought in La Paz. Before I left, I was even noodling on about how the noise and pollution of New York City was getting me down. But here’s a bit of truth for you: While I wholeheartedly love the outdoors and am often way more comfortable in a natural setting than in one that’s urban, the bitch of the matter is that I really don’t like bugs. They are not my friends. And truth be told, I’m a bit afraid of them. Well, spiders. Especially large ones. And let me tell you, there are l-a-r-g-e spiders here. I know they eat mosquitos (also not my friends) and that they are weavers, like my mom (huzzah!). But when these long-legged creepy-crawlies are having a party on the ceiling above the bed in which I am sleeping, I do not want to join in. In fact, it makes me wish I was standing on Broadway in the middle of SoHo, talking to the “Do you have a minute for Greenpeace?” people during the lunchtime rush. (Me: “Mark! Get it! Where’d it go? Did you get it? I can’t sleep if you don’t get it!”) Sigh.
Also: Let’s all take a minute to think about yoga. Again, as some of you know, I am into it. I took a tri-weekly class in New York with an instructor who kicked my ass and I loved it. Lots of stretching. Lots of personal growth. Yaddayadda. So, when the opportunity to take a class here came up, I jumped on it. Needless to say, it wasn’t quite what I expected. Although the class was held on a beautiful mountaintop, complete with natural breezes and birds chirping all the while, there were also a few ingredients that kind of tweaked me out. A lot (a lot) of chanting. Some banging on the floor with my feet in the Kundalini style. Some “shaka-shaka music” (as Mark likes to call it). Lots of talk about healing and energy. But not actually a lot of yoga. (Donde esta la yoga?). Although I definitely tried to go with the flow and am, in the end, glad I went, I will say that I laughed when the New Yorker in me came out and I got all judgmental inside. Maybe I’m not so mellow and open after all? Grin.
But! So as not to be a toootal downer, duude, a bit of positivity for you. Today, on our last day in Coroico, we were treated to a lovely and informative stroll in the wee hours of the morning (i.e. 6:30 a.m.) by Emilio, an older gentleman whose family owns a large swathe of land in the surrounding hillside. He is also Ninfa’s neighbor (Ninfa is the lady who owns the cabin we’re staying in). The walk was quite peaceful with the fog rolling off the hills, the butterflies fluttering from tree to bush, and the birds making their usual morning racket. Although the lackluster photos don’t really do his land justice, hopefully you can see how verdant everything is around here. Tons of banana-variety trees. A small coca patch. Lemons, mandarins, apples. Flowers everywhere and butterflies galore. Pretty serene, I say. Albeit, with a few BEASTLY spiders.
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Um, hello, where are the photos of the creepy spiders? You can’t leave your readers hanging like that, Lex. Seriously. Get close enough to take a picture. I dare ya. 😉