Wendy Geise

I wanted to go here even before seeing March of the Penguins.

To see the lemurs of coarse!

I have almost been here! I read about the park in National Geographic Magazine. I signed up for a “group trip” to visit the park on a visit to Bolivia in 2004. After flying into the Bolivian Amazon, I learned that the rest of the group had cancelled and I was the only person scheduled to go up the river and stay at the ecolodge for three days. I didn’t feel this was the safest idea, so promptly called the travel company and asked them to book me to visit my friend in Cochabamba instead. Chalalan Ecolodge issued me a half price ticket to return to the ecolodge before 2007.

I want to meet the local indigenous people, learn all about the medicinal qualities of the plants and of course see all the wildlife.

I don’t expect to go here anytime soon, but it is definitely a place I would like to see.

I am really drawn to the mountains. As you can see I have locations in Patagonia and the Himalayas on my list of places to go. I am very inspired by the images of Torres del Paine. It looks like an amazing place.

I have wanted to live in a Latin American country for a long time. I am currently living in Costa Rica attending the United Nations mandated University for Peace working on my masters degree. It has been a life changing experience living in the middle of the rainforest with so much biodiversity around me. I will miss this a lot when I return to California. I have many stories and pictures about the experience on my blog site My Pura Vida.

I attended the Findhorn Ecovillage training class in February 2003 for one month. It was amazing to actually live in such a community with so many people that shared common values. There were 40 of us from 26 countries. We harvested our food from the organic gardens and cooked cultural vegetarian foods for the community. We learned about how permaculture is being practiced in the community, toured the ecological architecture in the area and did ecological restoration in the forests. I wish I could find a community in the US around the same size that could even come close to this place. The Findhorn Foundation offers many courses throughout the year. It is well worth visiting to experience the quality of life there.

Casa Santo Domingo was the bastion of one of the most grand convents of America: the one that sheltered the followers of the order of Santo Domingo de Guzmán. You can buy beautiful large handmade church candles here that you will want to take back home for all of your friends. There are archeological ruins on the grounds and an interesting museum. The photo is of the ancient gravesites for former preists also on the grounds.

Just after walking across a medieval bridge into the town of Loja, you will see this historical painting of Bolivar. The town is very welcoming to visit on the way to Vilcabamba in Southern Ecuador.