Living in paradise

Paradise: an ideal or idyllic place or state.

Perhaps the Izhcayluma Hostel just outside Vilcabamba, Ecuador is as close as one might come to paradise on earth.

Opened in 2001 by three German brothers, the complex sits high above the town on a steep hillside. One of the brothers told me that when they bought the property, the area was a pasture. Now each of the buildings that contain the restaurant and reception area, a bar lounge area, swimming pool, and buildings containing 40 rooms are hidden by trees, shrubs, and flowering plants that host a myriad of birds. Two cats and an old, sweet dog make the place home as well. The dog made himself right at home in my room this morning.

My room is simple, but very nice ($32 a night). En suite bath with a hot shower in a stone-walled space, great Internet, a private balcony just outside the door, comfortable bed, storage spaces, and a bedside lamp. Good reading chair and hammock on the balcony. The meals are good (many German dishes) and reasonably priced. Breakfast is $3.90 and includes a huge bowl of fresh fruit, granola, yogurt, toast, fresh juice, and as much coffee as you can drink. Wine is inexpensive. Oh, full-bodied 75 minute massages are $25. Staff knows your name and is extremely helpful.

The town is a half hour walk down the hill, along a highway or on a small dirt road. (Met a very nice horse this morning on the road.) Vilcacamba is small but has a lovely central square, church, and lots of small stores and restaurants, mostly catering to tourists. A taxi ride back up the mountain to the hostel is $3. (Ecuador uses the US dollar - nice.) The hiking trails are extensive. 

It is quiet here this afternoon as I write this. A gentle rain is falling. Daytime temps are in the low 70s. The altitude is 5200 feet - lower than either Quito or Cuenca. NIghts get down to the upper 50s. The people are friendly - maybe a little older than the average hostel guest, but then this is more resort than hostel in my view. The Vilcabamba Valley is noted for the longevity of its residents. Not sure about the longevity of the tourists who visit.

While the luxurious Shangri La in Bangkok with its ice cream on the breakfast buffet and stunning views of the Chao Phra river may run a close second (thanks to generous conference organizers I’ve stayed in lots of nice places*), except for the difficult spelling and and pronunciation, Izhcayluma just might now be my favorite place to stay

While I will be happy to get back to family and friends next week, I will take advantage of my week here to read, write, and just relax. Oh, and get a daily massage. I think it may be mandatory.

*A little rant from 2009 about five star hotels

Thank you, Oregon Trail

Thanks to Tim Stahmer’s Assorted Stuff post, I learned that the Oregon Trail computer game is celebrating its 50th birthday. To that game and AppleWriter, I owe my career.

In 1981, I was in my third year teaching in the small town of West Branch, Iowa, just outside Iowa City where I had graduated with my master’s degree in library science. I was teaching 7th grade English for half the day and was the junior high librarian for the other half. This year the junior high moved into the old high school building and the high school moved into their brand new building.

One fateful decision the school board made the previous spring was that the junior high should have “a computer.” Since they used the library budget to buy the Apple II computer and printer, I argued the computer should be in the library. I never used an office as a school librarian, so I made a mini-computer lab in that small room. 

I had had only a single one-credit course in BASIC programming in graduate school, but I fell in love with AppleWriter. I always loved to write; my old keyboarding skills I learned in high school came back to me (a bit); and composing knowing I could easily edit was great. My poor English students didn’t have to put up with my poor handwriting on their study guides and tests anymore. And I could save them to update and use them in following years.

The little computer lab proved to be popular, of course, with my 7th and 8th graders. During library time and after school, the tiny room was often packed with kids playing not just Oregon Trail, but Number Munchers, Odell Lake, and Lemonade Stand. (And Eamon, if anyone remembers that line-based adventure game.) And I became the computer go-to person.

And not just for the kids, but the teachers and principal too. I remember teaching the principal how to use the Visicalc spreadsheet so he could easily run budget numbers, especially during teacher negotiations. And I could teach others how to format floppy disks!

The experience taught me that being a librarian did not mean I only took care of books and other print materials - something that many librarians never realized, I’m afraid. I learned that one did not need to be a programmer to use a computer productively - that it could be used by lovers of words just as much as by lovers of numbers.

As most readers probably know, my career evolved into being a district technology/library director - one I found immensely satisfying, despite often being at philosophical odds at times with fellow tech directors who came from math or tech backgrounds. My approach tended to be more user-oriented than machine-oriented.

Anyway, thank you, Oregon Trail, for helping me find my own path, ford my own streams, and avoiding dysentery. Well, maybe not writing dysentery. 

The cross in the corner

 A guide here in Cuenca pointed out a cross similar to the one above painted in the corner where two buildings come together. He asked if I knew why it was there.

 I did not.

“It is to stop men from urinating in this corner. You will see many around town,” he explained.

While I am not overly religious, this method of getting me to pee somewhere else would work just fine. As would a Star of David or the name of Allah painted in such places.

Why tempt fate?