tiny home on the range

Here's a cross-post to my design blog, about a recent trip to New Mexico. My friends built a tiny home and  I stayed in it. Read on!

And here's a cool, tiny-house-inspired RV, the Wheelhaus Roadhaus Wedge. In case you'd like to take the show on the road. 

paradise, protected

Friday: Thirty years ago, Rebeca and Rodrigo had a vision to protect the forests in Ecuador. 

With $25,000 they raised, they created a foundation to protect the water and trees and incredible biodiversity of 100 acres, hoping for a ripple effect in the nearby community. 

From the moment you arrive at Maqui Pucuna, you're surrounded by butterflies and hummingbirds. 

Arsenio took me on a hike up over the valley and pointed out this transparent-winged butterfly. 

And the flowers: orchids and bromeliads and luscious ferns.  

It's unimaginably rich and fertile land, less than two hours from Quito, though quite a bit lower. 

They planted coffee trees too. I'll be going on a tour Monday of their shade-grown finca. 

Hard to imagine a better way to unwind, though not having internet (for four days!) will take some getting used to. 

Instead I'm listening to birdsong, chatting in Español, and making terrific progress on my novel (Donna Tartt's Secret History, about to expire as soon as my iPad reconnects to civilization). 

Also dreaming of spotting pumas, toucans, and the endangered spectacled bears that live in this Nubian forest. Till then, I'll be hiking, birding, and reading in my hammock. 

black sheep of the family

Yesterday, after five hours on the bus, complete with a Mexican chick flick called Casarse Quien Puede, I arrived in Chigchilan at the extraordinary Black Sheep Inn ecolodge. 

Eva and Edmundo met us (me, breathless from wheeling my overloaded suitcase up the steep driveway at 10,000 feet) and welcomed us with carrot cake and pineapple on the sundeck. 

At 4:30 we did a session of tantric yoga led by one of the other guests. Then we literally crawled into a gorgeous sauna with a door suited for hobbits. 

water bottle for scale

Dinner at 7 is family style vegetarian. This is truly a traveler's paradise, complete with inexpensive day trips to nearby Quilotoa Lake, the cloud forest, Quechua markets, and the Paramo cheese factory. Because it's an ecolodge there are composting toilets

and wood-burning stoves heating the fancier rooms. 

The gym made us all laugh. 

Although the meals are vegetarian, the farm is also home to adorable piglets. 

I'm taking a lazy day today to acclimate and read and appreciate the incredible surroundings. 

I may never leave.