At the opening orientation for our group, I gave people permission to skip an activity—to pace themselves, their energy, their body’s response to the altitude, and their need for down time and solitude—by sitting out a scheduled activity on an as needed basis. I asked that everyone come to writing class if at all possible […]
Fear of Missing Something Read More »
On our bus trip yesterday, late afternoon stop was just outside the town of Maras. When the bus stopped it was cold. We all put on layers and windbreakers and piled off the bus. Down below us was a vast interlocking series of white pools. It is where salt has been farmed since the time
When I posted the picture of myself with oxygen and told you about my headaches, a lot of you wrote back worried I’d have a blood clot in my brain or that I had terrible altitude sickness. Even my son Eli wrote me and said, “Take the fucking medicine.” Some of you told me I
When we started this retreat, I asked everyone to take a risk today and last night at dinner, I watched Michelle, who was sitting beside me take her risk. She picked up this strange-looking unfamiliar fruit, cut it open and scooped some of it out to taste it. It looked kind of like a lemon,
After writing class today, we took an afternoon field trip to Moray, the ancient archeological site built by the Incas. A local guide from Urubamba, the next province over, joined us on our excursion today. Valentin grew up high in the mountains, the son of farmers. “The soil is very fertile with the good weather,”
The Magic of Moray Read More »
On almost all of my travel trips, we spend one morning of writing class doing an exercise in deep observation. Paying attention is one the most important qualities a writer can foster, so this morning I read my students a story about deep observation in a scientific setting, and then sent them out, dressed in
The 12 Inch Exercise Read More »
I was up this morning at 3:30 AM with a headache. I’ve had a headache for some part of every day I’ve been here and the day we went up to Cusco to pick up our students, at 11,000 feet, I felt like my head was in a vise the whole day. As soon as
I’ve always loved string figure games. I grew up doing Jacob’s Ladder and playing Cat’s Cradle. String games are kind of like riding a bicycle—once you learn how to make them, you never forget. It’s muscle memory—cellular intelligence. When our kids, Eli and Lizzy were in elementary school, they went to an alternative elementary school
The Things You Can Do With String Read More »
(Note: the Wi-Fi has been out for more than 24 hours. It has to go through seven towers to get here and people steal the antennas. So I will be doing several posts in a row to catch up.) This morning, Karyn taught her first yoga class for our newly arrived community, and after breakfast,
The Retreat is Launched Read More »
This morning at 7:00, before breakfast and before we take off for the airport to meet our 18 travelers, Karyn offered her first early morning yoga class to me and Brenda and any of the Sach’a Munay staff who wanted to attend. I don’t usually go to yoga class, Karyn’s or anyone else’s, but I
A Beautiful Start to Our First Official Day Read More »
What I love about staying in eco-lodges—and I do stay in them as much as I can in my travels—is the relationship the lodge has with the extended community. Late this afternoon, when we went into the yoga room to see if it was all clean, we could see that the floor still needed to
What I Love About Eco-Lodges Read More »
Brenda and Karyn and I, and the phenomenal staff at Sach’a Munay, spent the entire day on last minute preparations for our guests who arrive tomorrow. We’ve gone over room assignments, menu plans, and the arrangements needed for each day of our itinerary. We’ve tweaked here and tweaked there. I watched the writing room come
All is in Readiness Read More »
Two days in and we’re getting over our altitude adjustment. What a beautiful hike and we had perfect hiking weather. The hard part. The path back to dinner at Sach’a Munay.
Stills From Our Waterfall Hike Read More »
Yesterday I went on a morning walk through the neighborhood around Sach’a Munay and I shared it here with you through photos of my journey. This morning, I decided to head out in the same direction, but this time I wanted to take the walk as a writer. This is one of the first skills
This is How a Writer Goes for a Walk Read More »
It was time to get a little exercise and test my lungs and legs this afternoon at 9000 feet and so I braved a tiny drizzle in my hiking sneakers, a pair of jeans, a scarf, a sweater and a light raincoat. I focused on all the textures I saw along the way because I
A Walk in the Neighborhood Read More »
