Curanderas - Healers

Aloha Everyone,

Curanderas are indigenous people who are known to have healers among them. Juana took us to a plaza where there are at least a dozen Curanderas offering their services.

Señora Carmen allowed us to observe as she treated her tiny client. The mother told us that she brought her 10 months old baby girl because her daughter does not sleep very well at night.

The healing is done with an assortment of leaves and flowers specified by tradition passed on by the previous generation of healers. Señora Carmen first crushed the bundle bringing out the wonderful aroma.

She then let the baby inhale the fragrance.

Señora Carmen tapped the baby from head to toe continuously chanting "kisha, kisha kisha". The meaning of the chant is to remove any blockage from the child's body. Her chant changed to "chuca, chuca, chuca" meaning protection.

The next step was to gently run an egg over the body of the baby.

In some cases, the healer would then break the egg open to examine to see if the treatment worked. In the case of this baby, Señor Carmen was confident that it was successful. She then took a swig of liquid made with herbs and sprayed the baby.

The last step was marking the baby's forehead, above the belly-button and her back with charcoal. The entire treatment took about 15 minutes. 

With fragrant herbal scents, gentle tapping on the entire body accompanied by steady chanting must have felt soothing for the young client. At the end, her eye lids were beginning to droop and she looked very relaxed.

Aloha -- Cathi

Departure Day, Visit to Old Downtown Hollywood,FL

Aloha Everyone,

This has been a very busy day starting with getting Honu cleaned so we won't come back to a "dirty home". We did our last minute washing and packing, and our suitcases are ready to go. The only difference in our packing is that we are taking an extra duffle bag with provisions. Well, I admit they are mainly for me. Soap, shampoo, mosquito repellents and sunblocks. J.J. is much more adaptable to new environments than I am.

For lunch we drove about 8 miles to downtown Hollywood,FL. The place seems to have undergone revitalization. While you still see some old shells of dilapidated buildings, the Main Street is now filled with charming cafes, bistros, restaurants and specialty shops offering trendy clothes and accessories.

After walking up and down the street, J.J. and decided on Vendetta Italian Restaurant. We shared an appetizer of Calamares Fritta. Both my choice of Spaghetti alla Carbonara and J.J.'s Vongole were superb.

My next blog will be from Ecuador.

Our son, Jeff, who suggested that I start a blog, just reminded me that tomorrow will mark the one year anniversary of www.seniorrvadventure.blogspot.com  Thank you to all of you who have been following our adventure.  

Sending this from our airline VIP lounge using their WiFi.

Aloha -- Cathi

Getting Ready for Our Travel to Cuenca, Ecuador

Aloha Everyone,

Today we spent a good portion of the day doing final shopping of items we wanted to bring for our one month away from the states.

We also purchased a medium size duffle bag with handle and wheels to pack all the provisions we will be taking.

Current weather in Miami is 90 degrees Fahrenheit with high humidity.  We are working inside Honu with AC running at 70. On Friday, the day we arrive, the weather forecast in Cuenca will be 55 degrees with afternoon showers, typical Cuenca weather.

To set the mood for our South America adventure, our choice of lunch was Cuban.

Las Vegas Cuban Restaurant is family-owned. The service was excellent and the food was delicious.

J.J.'s choice Bistek Vaca Frito

My choice, Ropa Vieja both served with white rice and fried bananas.

Lunch included a side if black beans.

For dessert, we shared Flan.

Aloha -- Cathi

Back at Embassy RV Park

Aloha Everyone,

J.J. and I are back at the Embassy RV Park. The people here are very nice and friendly. We met a handful of them who even go out of their way to be helpful. Wonderful thing is that they are not expecting anything in return. That is genuine kindness and we are very grateful to have gotten a chance to get acquainted with them.

Lisa takes care of the administrative duties and whatever else that needs to be done to maintain everyone comfortable and happy.

Lisa and her husband loves to go on rides on his bike

Lisa clearing leaves from the air vent of her RV

Roy works with Lisa and takes care of maintenance. He has two daughters who are studying at Florida International University. When I mentioned to Roy about calling for a taxi to go to the airport, he took me in his golf cart to ask Captain Mike if he could give us a ride.

Roy also has several interesting pets. These are his Australian Geese.

And here are two of Roy's three pet iguanas:

Captain Mike is a captain of air boats. He works for a commercial entity that runs boat tours into the Everglades.

  

For lunch, J.J. and I purchased boxed sushi from Publix, a large supermarket chain.

Aloha -- Cathi

iPhone Problems and Sunset Grill Restaurant

Aloha Everyone,

About two days ago when I started to see text messages informing me that my iPhone storage has been maxed out. I deleted nearly all of the photos and videos but did not impact the available storage space. It was explained to me that my iPhone did not recognize that I have been deleting photos.

After a five hour of wait, Argentina, an Apple technician at the Apple Store, solved my problem by resetting my iPhone. Now my iPhone has sufficient storage space and the camera is functioning.

If you are reading this, Argentina, thank you again for your help and namaste!

However, in the process of resetting my iPhone, my personal village of "Clash of Clans," was also deleted! I was extremely nervous that my last nine months of playing the game might have been zapped completely! Fortunately, one of my clan members assisted me in the recovery of my village and all is well and I am happy,

The following photos were taken by J.J. at Sunset Grill Restaurant at Knights Key where we celebrated Easter Dinner with about 100 other restaurant guests. Evening was clear with gentle sea breeze blowing . We sat by the pool watching children splashing and having fun. Musical entertainment was provided by an accomplished vocalist/guitarist with a base guitarist.

However what contributed and made the entertainment very special was the dancer who moved about to the rhythm of the Caribbean-style music. He was wiry, nimble and light on his feet. He moved about as if he was not touching the ground. He would hold poses that are even challenging for advanced Ashtanga Yaga practitioners. In another words, it indeed was a night to remember.

Aloha -- Cathi