My life feels so surreal. I wake up every day amazed and compelled to journey forward in experiencing new discoveries. Vilcabamba is exciting. This weekend droves of Ecuadorians descending on the town. The Catholic Church was packed to standing room only. The Good Friday service including a parade of people walking through the streets carrying candles, home made torches and statues of the Saints.
Earlier in the day a dump truck had brought branches of trees to decorate places about the village. Street vendors lined the streets selling local jewelry, artifacts and clothing. Two renegade clowns from, I think Argentina jumped in front of cars stopping traffic and played with the large crowd. The way they passed the hat to collect money was amazing... they would turn their backs and hordes of children would run up to place a few cents in a tattered hat upon the ground. The air was filled with the smell of a lone street vendor selling, meat on a stick, papas and plantains. I think I stood downwind for a while :)
Yesterday was day 20 of my juice feast. I spent part of the day talking to the most beautiful Canadian man. I spent the other part of the day teasing the traveler. There are beautiful and interesting people everywhere and I believe I have shed my reclusiveness and have begun to engage in recreating the social aspect of my life. I feel amazing: spiritually, emotionally, physically and mentally. I have no idea what I weigh because I don't believe in scales. I believe in feelings and how clothing fits. I am a very tall blond that is large boned and sometime long ago in my past I decided that I look better being 150 lbs than 127 and most people don't know the difference anyways.
I am pretty grateful to the traveler. He has been cajoling me to hike with him and in spite of being on this juice feast, in my opinion, rather miraculously, I have started doing amazing and epic hikes of 6 + miles up rain gullies and creek beds. Vilcabamba is so beautiful. In the rainy season it is a lush valley surrounded by mountains. A valley that is at cloud level.
I have never been so hungry without satiating it in my life . I love intensity. The hiking combined with living with a few absolutely not raw boy men has defined my willpower in a deeper way than I have ever known. I love to cook, uncook anything in the kitchen. On this feast I have made vegetarian lasagna and several breakfasts for neighbors and my housemates. After a recent hike I just wanted an avocado. I held the avocado in my hands... at some point I just went to bed. Experience.
Yesterday I wasn't hungry, thankfully. My hunger has been weird and I have placed myself in the midst of temptation. Day nine the boys decided to eat at no less than three restaurants. Food that I would have never found interesting called for me visually and through the wafting of it's scent. Building and defining a new part of my character I was able to embrace and experience part of what it had to offer but rejecting what I did not want. I have eaten enough cheese in my life time to understand what it tastes like. I have not juice feasted enough in my life time to understand this experience.
I have always believed the definition of crazy is doing the same thing you have always done and expecting different results. I would rather be in sane than crazy.
With love, sarah
