-Jeffery Rasely
In this case, I was chasing an angel. While there's much to report these days, I thought I’d start with a fine little tale about a well-traveled ring and how it finally made it to the place it belonged.
The South of America |
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“Chasing angels or fleeing demons, go to the mountains.” -Jeffery Rasely In this case, I was chasing an angel. While there's much to report these days, I thought I’d start with a fine little tale about a well-traveled ring and how it finally made it to the place it belonged.
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"Let the beauty of what you love be what you do." -Rumi For the holiday break this year we headed back to Vilcabamba, a small gringo-outpost in the south of Ecuador. Our specific destination in mind was one of our favorite spots in all of Ecuador - the cabins of Rumi Wilco. A small nature reserve just outside of town, Rumi Wilco is owned by two kind biologists who have made it their life’s work to run and operate an eco-lodge and reserve (with hiking trails, etc.). Lynsey and I find ourselves at our most relaxed, and our best, at this reserve and figured it was probably the best place we could bring in the holidays. Disconnected from it all, it took a moment of stepping back to get a glimpse of which direction to step forward. “Ver el esfuerzo y sacrificio de personas que luchan por su propia cumbre, y no hay mejor escuela para la vida, que la propia madre naturaleza.” "To see the effort and sacrifice of people who fight for their own summit, and that there’s no better school for life than Mother Nature herself." - Fernando Campoverde, Ecuadorian Mountaineer and Club Sangay guide reflecting on why he loves mountaineering. For those of you that don’t know the first half of the story, Lynsey and I attempted the summit of Cotopaxi last December. If you’d like to read the original entry, you can find it here. To recap, we basically encountered a “perfect storm” of shabby equipment, unprepared lungs and legs, frozen hands and feet, and indescribably sickening digestive gas (from me, to be clear). We didn’t make the summit, and left knowing that we had underestimated the mountain. Nearly a year later, I was resolved to make a return, prepared this time, and see what was in the cards for me in the slopes of this icy giant. “I tramp a perpetual journey.” ― Walt Whitman, Song of Myself Friends, family, and readers, hola de nuevo! Time has flown since our return from the U.S. in August, but in the good kind of way where a steady, fulfilling routine gives way to a stream of days and months. Though rains made Cuenca grey through most of September and October, a streak of sun has now found us, intense and beautiful at 8,000+ ft. to warm the days before the chilly nights. News abounds on the work front, adventure front, future front, and just the everyday life front. Yup, it’s just life now in Cuenca. “You will never be completely at home again, because part of your heart will always be elsewhere. That is the price you pay for the richness of loving and knowing people in more than one place.”
– Miriam Adeney Five weeks showed us many sides of our mother country, though of course no single experience could ever begin to encompass the bird's nest of complexity that is “America” (North America, ehem, the U.S. to be exact). In our hearts it was family and friends that brought us "home," longing again in some way to feel familiarity as opposed to the constant newness and challenge of Cuenca. Our sensory appetites also had desires that swirled around in our minds as we had entire conversations with people about “what we're going to eat” along with the unrivaled beer choices that awaited us. Finally, at the end of July we arrived at O'Hare International Airport at three o'clock in the morning, exhausted and excited, to the warm smiling face of my father. We were back. Rejoice with your family in the beautiful land of life! -Albert Einstein Patient readers, hola otra vez! The blog has been sleeping quietly for 5 weeks while a steady stream of Parkers and a Schwab came to see our life here in Cuenca. In chronological order, Lynsey and I first hosted Jerry (my dad) and Jody (my aunt), a brother and sister combo on their first international foray together. Next to arrive was my best friend and brother, Brad, and his lovely wife, Danielle. A short week after their departure came Las Madres - the Parker and Schwab matriarchs traveling with two firsts: the new continent of South America and as new travel partners. There are far too many stories to relay, so instead I'll speak of some highlights and let the photos tell the rest. However, I must say that, overall, having family visit was past meeting present; who we were meeting who we are. Our family brought “home” to Cuenca (including lots of goodies: clothes, spices, chocolate, shoes, a computer... the list goes on), and knowing that they all left with a fuller understanding of our life here and why we're staying for another year. Here are a few lines I wrote on this theme: Thank you for letting us go so that we can welcome you anew. Life might be a line forward, or just continually leaving before coming back- only to leave again. |
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