Wild Things

At the moment I am sitting in a very pleasant internet cafe on Playa del Sol in Puerto Vallarta, with plenty of time to update everyone. Erik is on a solitary adventure; he's been spending a lot of time drawing out ideas for all kinds of new architecture and creations for all the structures at the Treehouse so he is currently researching what kinds of building products Puerto Vallarta has to offer. Although we will not be able to even begin real projects on this trip, he is intent on preparing properly. After writing out long (long) lists of Things We'll Need, he wants to make sure that he knows what's already here so that we don't buy too much in the states and travel for miles with unnecessary extra weight.

That's right amigos! We are already planning for another trip to Yelapa. Tentatively planned of course, but we'd very much love to drive to Burning Man late August, and then drive straight down to Puerto Vallarta directly after... until March. Is it possible? Time will tell.

Erik's Aunt Claire and her partner Mary are in Yelapa! We've spent some time with them and the family they are traveling with which include Mark and Linda and their children Leena and Eli, who are outrageously clever and charming and delightful, which makes me miss Corrin and Saunder and Brahm and Maggie just so much more. :)

A couple days ago they trekked up to the Treehouse with a couple horses for the kids, and we all enjoyed a wonderful lunch, in which they named my tuna fish quesadillas 'Laura-dillas', which caused me to feel pretty good about myself because it meant they liked my food! We tied up the horses and went on an adventure upriver some-more, where we swam at The Waterfall. It was a brilliant series of moments, and a truly splendid group of people to be with.

Erik and I quickly hiked back to the Treehouse and grabbed the horses to bring them to the main trail and make it easier on everyone. Luckily, the horses permissed us to ride upon their backs for some of the trail, in which I felt exquisitely happy. Sun shining bright on our faces, azure sky, tropical jungle surroundings and sweet, gentle, horses emitting something royal or regal out to the hills. Corrin, I was a princess that day, and I thought about ya.

I am feeling somewhat disoriented today, to keep-it-real. What is Culture Shock really, when it's not necessarily Culture that shocks the psyche? It is not Yelapa that leaves me feeling like I've landed on Mars. It tends to be trips to Vallarta.. It's great here! But the hustle and bustle and imposing sounds of a city are quite different from the serenity of being at the beach in Yelapa, let alone the Treehouse, where bird songs dominate and the consistent stream sounds of the river maintain a sublime state of mind and heart.

So here, inside a cafe with loud Beyonce Knowles songs (and really I love that woman's voice) among the cumulative conversations, and maybe yes, Erik's absence, I feel slightly disrupted inside. I cannot help but deeply love our days at Erik's ranch upriver and the way it has resolved my mental noise. There are places and spots and specific trails, even beyond the waterfalls and beauty, where something clicks inside and you know you've stepped foot onto sacred ground. And spending days in that kind of gratitude, beaming at the crystal clear cosmos, I have surrendered to it. I am like a kitty on its back, purring wildly and trusting truly.

It was a couple weeks ago when I built my first fire (EVER). And I have built many since! There's another shortcut to zen: learn what fire needs and how you can serve each other best.

A typical day at the Treehouse begins at the first signs of dawn when we wake. The first task is to locate firewood in the chilly forest. Then, we build a fire and boil a pot of water for coffee/tea/drinking water. After a hot breakfast, we swim in the river, and dress for the day. At this point usually the sun is blasting onto the high cliff house, and will slowly make its way down to the river bank as the sun rises from above the hill.

There's plenty to do, but we have all day to employ ourselves when it feels right. Plenty of leisurely time is spent reading in the hammock, and I have already read more than I thought was possible in three weeks. All the books I have finished so far are The Education of Little Tree, Harvest for Hope by Jane Goodall, The Fifth Sacred Thing by Starhawk, and The Shack, and I am now working on finishing the Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, Women Who Run With Wolves by Clarissa Estes, and the Tao of Pooh.

I recommend The Fifth Sacred Thing!! Especially for Baylee and Colleen. You both would appreciate the idealistic Utopian society and its Wiccan and magickal qualities and possibilities.

Almost every day we also walk 8+ miles. This is one of my favorite things to do during the day! The beauty of the path to the village and the beach is outrageous, and there's always friendly people to greet us '¡Buenos Dias!' and '¡Buenos Tardes!' Why don't I enjoy the path so much at night? Ohhh amigos how the jungle comes alive at night... One night on the walk home from a lovely day at the village, we almost kicked a huge toad that was attempting, with all its might, to swallow a scorpion. We watched in fascination as the toad flinched as the scorpion stung it repeatedly, but '¡Noooo hombre!' the toad seemed to say, 'You're mine!' as it held the beast deep inside its throat.

Almost five minutes later, another scorpion crossed the path in front of my feet. Erik said 'You were thinking about scorpions, weren't you?' and I had to admit, yes, I probably attracted that scorpion right to my feet ReSet amigos. For the next three miles I silently chanted 'I attract positive and pleasurable creatures and experiences,' a mantra I created at the beginning of the trip to keep the things-that-bite-or-sting at bay. Sure enough, I only saw the kaleidoscope of spider eyes glimmering like estrellas, stars, among the brush that surround the path. But they just stood, on their 8 legs, watching the strange giant gringos as they passed.

The dense trails of cutter ants that cross the path in about 6 different places are only bothersome if you sense one or two may have accidentally slipped into your sandal. Really though, my fascination for their superior strength in carrying pieces of wood and leaves just really makes me bow down in respect. 'Buenos noches' I whisper sincerely in their general direction.

When it gets dark, Erik and I will usually light all our candles on the beach of the river and enjoy dinner or hot chocolate under the stars, talking about hopes and dreams. About an hour or two after it gets dark, it feels so good to climb into bed and fall asleep as fast as shooting stars. Insomnia? What's that? Not here. And it's quite loud at night here. Loud in a moving-river-cricket-croaking-electric-bug sounding way. It is blessed and it is soothing.

And when we wake we never know how much sleep we actually got. This is my favorite part, I'm realizing. Because here I must measure how rested I am by how I feel, and without knowing the exact number of hours, it's really very easy to just feel damn good.

Can I just tell you about Henry now? Henry is our resident Garrobo. Basically, a garrobo is a more aggressive iguana that tends to be slightly smaller (SLIGHTLY) and mostly black and yellow versus the colorful rainbow that our dear and tender and tame iguanas dote. I met him up at the cliffhouse during my first week at the Treehouse. He was just hanging out, looking at the view over the cliff, watching birds and stuff. My presence irritated him, I could tell because he just watched me with those reptilian eyes that say 'Don't think for one second I have feelings. Dang you're sure weird lookin'. I'm just gonna check you out some.' And he did that, just watched me intently and slowly, achingly, climbed sideways down the cliff and into the safety of a tree.

And I blessed him with the name Henry, because well, my friend Beth had a very pretty fish she named Henry and he died several days later. Her next fish was Mervin. And after Mervin died she kept naming her fish those kinds of names no one names their boys anymore.

Anthropomorphizing the garrobo has been extremely enjoyable. Henry visits regularly, and we discovered yesterday that he lives right in the enormous rock that serves as the cliff's back wall. I saw him slip into a slender crevice, and I squeaked 'Bye Henry!' very very sincerely. Which made me realize just how much I miss cats like Seth and Orangie. And all cats that purr and rub their heads and palms and talk back prolifically.

Last night I'm pretty sure I heard Henry come out and walk around. Erik thought it was a mouse but I'm convinced he really just missed us.

I'll show you guys vids of this goodness when I return.

Laura Lee Lolly LouLouBelle Laelu land

Warm

I am so happeeeeee!!

Tomorrow it´s back to jungle living at the Treehouse..
I don´t know how much we´ll be online from tomorrow on, but Happy Valentine´s Day! I love you Mom, Dad, Brad, Zander n KayKay, Chi Chi, CoCo, Dan and Sally and family, all my new and old friends, and those that visit in dreams.

Sunshine is good for the soul.

Love,
Lolly

Feliz

Hola amigos! Buenos noches.

Today is our 11 month anniversary and we walked along the beach to Bucerias as a pre-amble to our rrrromantic dinner at the resort, using the 50 dolares we earned at a brief time-share presentation this morning.

Resort living is strange amigos. The luxury is extreme comfort and the cost is severe-adventure-deprivation. This morning we enjoyed a nice buffet... we swam in the 'infinity' pool... then the hot tub... took a wee siesta. We at lunch on the balcony... then took a looong nap. Is this anything to report?

HOWEVER, peering off the balcony this afternoon, I saw something out-of-place in the distance.. Something moving and making splashes in the ocean. I quickly grabbed the camera and zoomed in on the creature, to find it was a humpback whale, breaching endlessly! Every 10 seconds another breach, and another and another! Thank you,Villa Del Palmar, for providing the view to witness such splendor.

Full report

Yesterday Erik and I took a boat to some uninhabited islands an hour or so away from Yelapa known as Las Mariatas. As a bird sanctuary, strangely, these islands had no trees, just many many unique caves and gorgeous beaches, and coral reefs to check out via snorkel. Unfortunately, the waves were powerful and made it impossible to have an enjoyable snorkeling experience, but the tour guides served us seviche and we even saw a humpback whale on the ride out!

Today we completely sidetracked our jungle experience for a temporary change of scenery. For undisclosed reasons, we are able to stay in a shareholder owner resort, very posh, right on the beach in Nuevo Vallarta until Sabado. This place is unbelieeeevable.

At the moment we are in a small town next to the resort called Bucerias. We walked here to pick up cheaper groceries than the alimentos offered at the resort. I love the colors! How are these villages able to use 80's neon colors on their homes and make it seem outrageously magnificent?

Jungle living...

At the risk of sounding romantic and sentimental, I have to admit I will have a hard time parting with the Treehouse. The "Treehouse" refers to all of Erik's land upriver. It includes sandy beaches, tropical gardens, a kitchen on the beach, a treehouse, a cliffhouse, and a guest house, all of which are up high in the canopies of the jungle.

The cliffhouse is where Erik and I have been living. We have a phenomenal view of the hill across the river, and we are surrounded by the multitude of tropical life. I am very impressed with Erik's architecture. But I am most impressed and heartwarmed by how much the people of Yelapa love and respect Erik. I have never felt more safe in any community of people, anywhere.

Although I have fallen deeply in love with the Treehouse and its lifestyle, it definitely took the full week to become completely comfortable. My first encounter with a scorpian shook my psyche for at least 24 hours, wherein every insect I saw following just burned itself into my mind and when I closed my eyes that's all I could see. Enormous spiders, endless species of them, herds of cutter ants, a plethora of creatures I have never known beyond the Discovery channel.

And if you know me, you know my love of all creatures, especially the unusual, the amphibean, the lizards and the snakes and all insects.

And yet, I still experienced a day of solid overwhelmed-ness and unrealistic paranoia of bugs. Thankfully, it dissipated when I realized I needed to stop seeking out the creatures under every rock in fascination and focus on the beauty of all the things I love here. Like the giant birds that hover in warm winds together above the hills, the view of Tamborcito, swimming in the cool river, cooking food over a fire, and even, drinking the river's water, boiled, tasting of smokey ash.

Erik told me I'd learn to love it, and I do.

Truthfully, this jungle IS teaming with life, but it's all very harmonious. Insects are easy to find when you are looking. But they don't have a natural interest in me or giving me the shivers. They stick to their places and I stick to mine.

What I am left with is a great awareness of what is. I do feel humbled. It's peaceful that way.

AAAhhhhh there is nothing like doing your own laundry in the warm sun! I enjoyed that zen Treehouse chore the most. My mind emptied and I recognized the joy of wearing the clothing I myself had washed. Neat.

It's been nice having Kip and Michel here. Their friends, Daniel and Morgan have been very entertaining and helpful as well. Yes, it's turned into a bit of a commune, but because it is temporary it is very nice. We all take turns making meals and cleaning the dishes in the river. We maintain the pot of boiled, drinkable water. Some of us rake the leaves off the sand to create a more tidy and pleasant space. One day we had the whole Treehouse crew taking buckets of rocks up to the cliffhouse, a project Erik and I started several days before. We are about to make some crazy adjustments to our home space.

Which is another revelation: Erik and I are most definitely coming back, as often as possible. Yelapa and the Treehouse will be our second home, and we will make it work. Making improvements on our living space there now is our way of beginning this new, second life, together.

Well, hmm.. back to this mysterious resort where the yuppies check out the hippies in absolute wonder.

Hasta luego amigos!!

Update

I'm not sure how much time I have to write here, but I wanted to assure everyone that the Treehouse is synonymous with blissful, symbiotic, peaceful living.

At the moment I am covered merciless itchy bug bites and a sun burn, but the magnitude of the joys of living 4 miles into the jungle is, fairly, indescribable.

Erik says it's time to go, and I have to admit I'm done being online as well when there is this whole other world out there waiting...

Details to come, very very soon I will have much more time.

So we've made it safe and sound to Yelapa and are staying at the treehouse. It's definately felt like a sort of pilgrimage home after being away for so long. It's a bit strange to type on a computer in a place that I remember as free of electricity, roads, phone, and all of those other modern conviniences that always seem to get in the way of life.
It's good to be here. Kip and Michelle have been at the treehouse for a couple of weeks before us. They've done most of the dirty work of getting the place livable. Though we were hoping to have the place to ourselves, if it wasn't for them we'd be camping out instead of feeling at home. We were able to spend our first night up in the cliff house and catch up on much needed sleep to the lulling sounds of the jungle.
Little by little I've been bumping into old friends from around the village. Yelapa--the place of reunion, continues to prove itself moment by moment. Today I saw my dear old friend Ruben for the first time in 6 or 7 years, and it seems other friends seem to pop up around every corner.
It's quite a gift to share this place and this experience with Laura. In a way it's like being here for the first time. It almost felt like I was hiding something for her before being here together.
Life is good, really good.

--Erik

Tuesday

Today is GORGEOUS! Erik and I just had breakfast at a traditional Mexican restaurant, and are about to embark on our travels to Yelapa.

During breakfast, Erik explained how to insert a needle into my arm in the case that I got stung by a scorpian. I´m excited about the jungle.. this is some kind of Heaven.

Arrival

We are downtown Puerto Vallarta right now in an internet cafe right below our hotel room. ¡I feel amazing in this weather! This reminds me so much of New Orleans.. at night how the humidity is so sweet and soothing...

Our travels were fine and easy. Im anxious to walk around and visit the performances on the beach a couple blocks away. Mainly I just wanted to let everyone know that we made it here and that we are feeling deliciously comfortable here in this moment.

If anyone wants to get a hold of me emailing is the best way. We will be here for one more day to explore and relax so I will be near the world wide web a little while longer.

¡Oh how I wish I could share this warmth with my friends and family in the mid-winter northwest!

So much love,

Laura