travel update vilcabamba again
Saludos a todos,
Wow, I m writing this part of the update from the worlds shittiest keybord locted at an internet cafe a couple of meters from one of my favorite cheap'o hotels, the Aruba in Piura Peru. I am here in Piura to get an extension on my turist visa for Ecuador at the ecuador consulate in Piura. Wow. these goverments and their rules, regulations, laws and their unlimited power over people like me who want absolutely nothing to do with them!! two weeks go, a 90 day extension cost 60 USD now they charged me 230 USD this morning. What bullshit!! 4 passport photos, a photo copy of my passport, credit card (ahh yes that is what they really want) on going round trip ticket from Piura to out of ecuador( they dont care where just out of ecuador!). You have to sit in the consulate and get exacerbated for a while, and then they send you off in another taxi to go to the bank ( not a close by bank but one that is 4 km away) deposit the $$$ because they dont trust their own consulate staff to handle any cash then taxi back show the receipt and wait 30 minutes for the head honcho to sign it in 3 places (10 minuites per signature).
Ahhhh! So finished and done with that...Estelita and I had two weeks of quality tranquil "vacation time". For me it was kind of like my normal life as I am after all kind of on vacation all the time anyway. For Estelita it was really relaxing and a great time to just un wind and for the both of us to have a little quality time together. We went to Piura and visited with some trafvellers we know from Ecuador and had a real nice time going to the places where the locals hang out and we had excellent home made ceviche with rice and yuca and toasted maiz. REal good fun.
We also went to the giant market there and got some dried chinese mushrooms and some dried chili peppers and a kilo of the Occidental worlds absolutely best olives, the lovely "aeitunas del Peru". As good as any I have tasted anywhere. And so cheap theyñ are almost free! 6 soles a kilo in the big market so less than a dollar a pound.
I really enjoy the food in Peru. one of my other favorites is the papa relleno this simple but delightful article is a handful of mashed pottatoes with a half of a hard boiled egg or some cooked ground meat with onions. and then it is formed into a shape like an american football and fried. Simple yet wonderful. ¨They serve it with mayonaisse and hot sauce.
After Piura we went to Chiclayo and hung around for a day and decided we would come back. Then we went to Trujillo and the little beach side town of Huanchaco, where we checked into the Boqueron hospedaje and stayed for 7 nights one block from the beach. The owners are a French guy named Hugo and his Peruana wife Mariaogena. They were very nice indeed, and it happened to be Hugos birthday to boot. He is about 60. Well of course we were part of the party! We had cabrito in two different gravys. For this grand event 4 goats gave their existence in order to become dinner.Both were delicious but I still whispered Ohm-mani-padme-humg to the first forkful...Also served with the inevitable steamed yucca and potatoes. We had tiny little sandwiches and empanadas and veggies with dip Before and chocolate cake after. There was sangria with lots of fresh diced tropical fruits floating in it and there were big pitchers of icy "Pisco sours" which is Pisco brandy egg white and lime juice and sugar and ice in a blender, and 12 cases (750 ml bottels)of Trujillo Beer lovely and refreshing! Oh and a DJ and a huge stack of speakers! we ate, drank partied and danced till the wee hours (well actually 9 pm What do you want from a bunch of old Punters!?!!? ) It was really fun.
We went to the pyramids and Ruins of Chan Chan gathered shells on the beach and just chilled out. There is a good little market in town and our room included a shared kitchen. We paid 10 soles each so that is 7 dollars for the two of us for our room...Mostly of course we went to the market and cooked in our kitchen. We are both good cooks and it is (for me) more fun to shop the market and cook than it is to eat in a restaurant. I love the markets.
so and So..Vacation time is over back in Vilcabamba two days and then off to Cuenca for a ten day silent meditation in an old Catholic monastery about 30 km from Cuenca. Vipassana Meditation taught by NS Goenke. Too intense really and also too personal to describe what your mind goes through in 10 days of 11 hours of sitting meditation each day.WAke up bell at 4am. meditate from 4:30 till Breakfast at 6:30 then meditate from 7:30 till 11 and then lunch (the LAST MEAL OF THE DAY). after a 1 hour break we meditate till 5 and then a 1 hour tea break. then meditate till 7:30 then a lecture and then 30 minute meditation and lights out at 10pm.
Much harder than wat suan Mok in Thailand. different techniques and more intense. No Yoga. No walking meditation. No darma talks throughout the day. Just sit meditate and be silent. Conscious labor and intentional suffering. I am a better perwson for it. Truly.
so I leave off here with some quotea and as always
Peace and happiness to all of you,
robert
"I believe that the moment is near when, by a procedure of active paranoic thought, it will be possible to systematize confusion and contribute to the total discrediting of the world of reality." Salvadore Dali
"In existing criminology there are concepts: a criminal man, a criminal profession, a criminal society, a criminal sect, and a criminal tribe, but there is no concept of a criminal state, or a criminal government, or criminal legislation. Consequently, the biggest crimes actually escape being called crimes" PD Ouspensky
What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?" Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Wow, I m writing this part of the update from the worlds shittiest keybord locted at an internet cafe a couple of meters from one of my favorite cheap'o hotels, the Aruba in Piura Peru. I am here in Piura to get an extension on my turist visa for Ecuador at the ecuador consulate in Piura. Wow. these goverments and their rules, regulations, laws and their unlimited power over people like me who want absolutely nothing to do with them!! two weeks go, a 90 day extension cost 60 USD now they charged me 230 USD this morning. What bullshit!! 4 passport photos, a photo copy of my passport, credit card (ahh yes that is what they really want) on going round trip ticket from Piura to out of ecuador( they dont care where just out of ecuador!). You have to sit in the consulate and get exacerbated for a while, and then they send you off in another taxi to go to the bank ( not a close by bank but one that is 4 km away) deposit the $$$ because they dont trust their own consulate staff to handle any cash then taxi back show the receipt and wait 30 minutes for the head honcho to sign it in 3 places (10 minuites per signature).
Ahhhh! So finished and done with that...Estelita and I had two weeks of quality tranquil "vacation time". For me it was kind of like my normal life as I am after all kind of on vacation all the time anyway. For Estelita it was really relaxing and a great time to just un wind and for the both of us to have a little quality time together. We went to Piura and visited with some trafvellers we know from Ecuador and had a real nice time going to the places where the locals hang out and we had excellent home made ceviche with rice and yuca and toasted maiz. REal good fun.
We also went to the giant market there and got some dried chinese mushrooms and some dried chili peppers and a kilo of the Occidental worlds absolutely best olives, the lovely "aeitunas del Peru". As good as any I have tasted anywhere. And so cheap theyñ are almost free! 6 soles a kilo in the big market so less than a dollar a pound.
I really enjoy the food in Peru. one of my other favorites is the papa relleno this simple but delightful article is a handful of mashed pottatoes with a half of a hard boiled egg or some cooked ground meat with onions. and then it is formed into a shape like an american football and fried. Simple yet wonderful. ¨They serve it with mayonaisse and hot sauce.
After Piura we went to Chiclayo and hung around for a day and decided we would come back. Then we went to Trujillo and the little beach side town of Huanchaco, where we checked into the Boqueron hospedaje and stayed for 7 nights one block from the beach. The owners are a French guy named Hugo and his Peruana wife Mariaogena. They were very nice indeed, and it happened to be Hugos birthday to boot. He is about 60. Well of course we were part of the party! We had cabrito in two different gravys. For this grand event 4 goats gave their existence in order to become dinner.Both were delicious but I still whispered Ohm-mani-padme-humg to the first forkful...Also served with the inevitable steamed yucca and potatoes. We had tiny little sandwiches and empanadas and veggies with dip Before and chocolate cake after. There was sangria with lots of fresh diced tropical fruits floating in it and there were big pitchers of icy "Pisco sours" which is Pisco brandy egg white and lime juice and sugar and ice in a blender, and 12 cases (750 ml bottels)of Trujillo Beer lovely and refreshing! Oh and a DJ and a huge stack of speakers! we ate, drank partied and danced till the wee hours (well actually 9 pm What do you want from a bunch of old Punters!?!!? ) It was really fun.
We went to the pyramids and Ruins of Chan Chan gathered shells on the beach and just chilled out. There is a good little market in town and our room included a shared kitchen. We paid 10 soles each so that is 7 dollars for the two of us for our room...Mostly of course we went to the market and cooked in our kitchen. We are both good cooks and it is (for me) more fun to shop the market and cook than it is to eat in a restaurant. I love the markets.
so and So..Vacation time is over back in Vilcabamba two days and then off to Cuenca for a ten day silent meditation in an old Catholic monastery about 30 km from Cuenca. Vipassana Meditation taught by NS Goenke. Too intense really and also too personal to describe what your mind goes through in 10 days of 11 hours of sitting meditation each day.WAke up bell at 4am. meditate from 4:30 till Breakfast at 6:30 then meditate from 7:30 till 11 and then lunch (the LAST MEAL OF THE DAY). after a 1 hour break we meditate till 5 and then a 1 hour tea break. then meditate till 7:30 then a lecture and then 30 minute meditation and lights out at 10pm.
Much harder than wat suan Mok in Thailand. different techniques and more intense. No Yoga. No walking meditation. No darma talks throughout the day. Just sit meditate and be silent. Conscious labor and intentional suffering. I am a better perwson for it. Truly.
so I leave off here with some quotea and as always
Peace and happiness to all of you,
robert
"I believe that the moment is near when, by a procedure of active paranoic thought, it will be possible to systematize confusion and contribute to the total discrediting of the world of reality." Salvadore Dali
"In existing criminology there are concepts: a criminal man, a criminal profession, a criminal society, a criminal sect, and a criminal tribe, but there is no concept of a criminal state, or a criminal government, or criminal legislation. Consequently, the biggest crimes actually escape being called crimes" PD Ouspensky
What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?" Jean-Jacques Rousseau
posted by Rambling Robert | 7:40 AM
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