By daylight, I discover that Ecuador is several steps above Mexico’s tourist haven where tourists vacation in clean gated hotels and condos in cities built strictly on the façade of tradition while the local workers live in slum mere meters away. On the contrary, much of the people of metropolis Ecuador live in dignity. Perhaps more similarly equated to my resent sabbatical in Spain. But rightfully so, the Spanish invaders and colonizers of 470 years ago still hold a significant influence on the evolution of this civilization, today comfortably honouring both Incan and Spanish characteristics.

For those of you familiar with my travel writing, it is to no surprise that yours truly couldn’t wait to get off the beaten trail to explore and discover the real world. Ecuador made this easy for me as locals and visitors mingle side-by-side in sidewalk terrace cafes and bars. The only differentiating factor is that the tourists sport shorts and sandals and the locals always fashionable dressed. Matching shoes and jacket being their quiet statement.

Going off the trail even further now, observe now the practical merchants whose storefronts are traffic lights and public buses. As I rode (hunkered down) on public transit on my way to place my feet at the “Middle of the World”, the exact zero of longitude, I got to experience a bold but casual interaction between citizens commuting in their everyday world. At any given time while riding public transit, one can buy anything from limes from juggling road vendors to puréed fruit cups. You might even experience a ‘bus ride and a show’ performed by a pretty darn good one-man-band selling his CD’s. But of course! So if you’re okay bringing home a whole album of cover tunes of ‘I did it my way’ and “The Girl from Ipanema” as your memorable oratory experience of Ecuador, then hey folks, this is your lucky bus ride!

Well only day-two into my journey of Ecuador and I sense I have only yet skimmed the surface. If you’re catching this scribe then please know home still holds a very special place in my heart. I wish you were here.

You see, in light of some of the vast changes in my recent life, I have been compelled to get reconnected with myself, creating clarity and abundance, and designing for myself a beautiful life once again.  I’m sure you can imagine the magical feeling and results that this can be creates when you get focused.

Over the years I have always acted on the thoughts and impulses that ‘come to me’ and what most of my readers do not know is that my most recent journey to Mallorca, Spain was actually 100% driven on running away from the chaos in my head and heart in the wake of my father’s death.  Yup. There you have it. I admit it to the world.

In a few days, I found myself on an island off the coast of Spain, wonder to myself, “What have I done?”.  Ultimately, I did not regret it and the experiences and new friends that I gained have been irreplaceable.

Thank goodness, however, time has done its job, the healing is taking place, and the impulses that come to me have finally been a bit more trusted and perhaps more stable. But I have still come to appreciate that if a thought or impulse comes to me, I must act.  It’s in my nature and still, it has done nothing but serve me in large ways.

Today, my day is filled with one magical moment after another because I do so!

For example, the other day my old assistance came into my thoughts and I knew I needed to contact her to help me get my life organized. I also know that between her and me tempered aggressiveness, we could really implement and keep me to task on my many cool and prosperous ideas I have burning.

And I will share just one more example of acting on a thought or impulse. The other day, I had hit a real low. Crying and sniveling in the wee hours of the morning. Well right then and there, huddled on the floor of in my bedroom, I had an impulse to contact my T’ai Chi family.  I did!  Right then and there I picked up my PDA and sent a message.  A call for help.  By the light of day however, and with perhaps more logical thinking, I felt embarrassed that I have reached out in such a pathetic way. Would I have done it if I had let my head deliberate over it? Of course not!

In the end though, it had proved to be a spectacular thing; A few days later, my T’ai Chi Master and his family came out to my home in the country for a visit. His wife gave me some much needed loving guidance in my new garden, in my kitchen (not my favorite place), and with my disorganized closet.  But the most significant benefit to my recent [embarrassing] impulse was that my old T’ai Chi Master told me that he wanted to train me as a Qigong Master, at no charge, so that I could provide Qigong T’ai Chi classes to this much needed community.

So my most recent lesson in all this:  When you open yourself up to REALLY listening, win-win opportunities will ‘come to you’ that will serve you in ways that you couldn’t possibly have imagined. Roads will open up to take you down journeys full of magic and prosperity only your dreams would have dared imagine. This is Providence.

So think about it!  Had I not acted on that impulse right then and there, in the tender, wee hours of that morning, I would have missed this wonderfully crazy opportunity. And who know where this road will take me…

My weary eyes can barely believe it. I have arrived to Istanbul!  My equally tired head and feet tell me it’s been a long journey.  It’s 11:30 at night, and although the perceptive taxi driver can see I am tired, he asks if I would like to drive by the famous Hagia Sophia Mosque which is near my hotel. Who wouldn’t? It’s famous! But I’m exhausted and I politely decline. He understands completely and we find my hotel in the quaint and very authentic neighborhood of Saltanahmet.

The room in this tiny five-story hotel is small but comfortable. Frankly, a horizontal slab of wood would be comfortable after the journey I made to get here. Calgary – London via British Air and then a 3 hour flight on to Istanbul via Turkey’s own Air Pegasus.  The flight was safe but my tush could tell that the seats had long since lost any last bit of cushion they once possessed.

I scarcely remember my head hitting the pillow. My heart was filled with excitement and optimism for the day I would have tomorrow.

At 6:00am I woke to what I soon fondly referred to as my ‘alarm clock’. This would be the first of five Calls to Prayer that occur throughout the day in these predominantly Muslim cultures. As I listened to the melodic voice over the city, my awareness slowly came back to me and I am pleasantly reminded of where I am. I am in Istanbul and there is much I wanted to explore.

Rumor had it that breakfast was served on the top floor of my hotel so I venture up.  A simple buffet of a selection of cheeses, salami, the common staple of olives and, of course, some cereals and such for the more western pallet.

The most glorious moment since my arrival a mere 8 hours earlier was discovering the stairs leading to the roof. So climbing the narrow stairs to the lovely little roof top terrace, I am met with the most magnificent view: As I gazed over the majestic view of Istanbul, there stood the majestic Hagia Sophia Mosque to one side and the Blue Mosque – my alarm clock – to the other. Time to explore!

As I navigated the streets of Istanbul, I reflected on the folks back home when announced that I was travelling to Turkey, they would throw me a cautionary look and ask with surprise “But why Turkey?”. My answer always the same; “To visit the backbone of how our own societies developed.”  As evidenced on the streets I walked this day and in the faces of the people I came across, Istanbul effortlessly carries those thousands of years of culture. In fact, one would be hard pressed to see a ‘stress-out’ Turk and you will never see one trying to heartlessly talk you out of your money in exchange for some over-priced souvenir. That’s simply not the way Turks roll.  After so many years, these unbelievably accommodating people take warmth in the simple joy of getting to know one another. The transaction becoming so very secondary to the moment.

So what then do we westerns see that gets so misunderstood?  What one might initially misinterpret the Turks as being nosey or forward, western conditioning makes us take the cautionary role to avoid such an engagement, thereby sadly missing out on the finer, ancient art of trade and commerce.

As I marred at the fine textiles and hand made jewelry one merchant carried, a quick call by the merchant on his cell phone quickly produced two piping hot glasses of apple tea and soon we were sipping our hot tea together and learning about one another’s families; that his boy was studying to be an engineer, he and his wife were celebrating their 20^th anniversary, and that some of his cool apparel can even be seen in Hollywood movies such as Tom Cruise’s 2003 film “The Last Samurai”.

You have never met better listeners! Intent on every word and eager to share in conversation and learn of one another’s cultural differences… and our similarities.  Well, before you know it, I had not only gained a very fair price for my new bracelet but had also gained a by far richer experience and perhaps even a friend I might not soon forget. 

Ah, we westerners have so much to learn from this ancient society.

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A travel-junky, explorer extraordinaire from a very young age, Sonja Gosteli has been rightly accused of living fearlessly. Today she wields her pen to beyond the beaten trail in order to discover that other travel story. Copyright 2010, Sonja Gosteli and www.OffTheBeatenTrail.ca

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 There is so much that can be written on the subject of Turkey. If you wish to see more articles or commission something specifically to this or any travel experience from Sonja’s Off the Beaten Trails, please contact her directly. She’d love to hear from you!

I feel that aside from Mallorca being a huge study destination mistake, I am a bit bored too as their hours are strange (as always) and hanging around my flat on my own only gets the internal English dialogue going. Saturdays are pretty quiet around Spain and Sundays are even worse so I will definitely be studying at home on Sunday. On Sundays, particularly in the afternoon, the streets are down-right desolate. They don’t have tumble weed rolling in the streets here but I thing they really should bring some in. I think it would do quite well here.

So, let me give you an overview of this place … be it that this not-so-non-English speaking day is a write-off now anyway, I might as well write you something of my experiences to date.

I have met one of my two roommates; he’s a young man from Boston who’s learning to be an English teacher and has minimal to no Spanish! So is the other gal. So a little disappointing be it that I thought I was housing with future Spanish instructors (that would have been handy), not soon-to-be English language teaches.

In the mornings, I’m up and out of my room in about a half hour. I reserve showers for the evening as sometimes there is no hot water in the mornings. I have mistakenly taken a double room in my flat which is much more than double the size of the single person closet I was suppose to be in. Opps… but ah shucks… they said it would be okay since there are only 3 of us in a 5 room flat and there are 3 baths so I get my own. Although I didn’t realize it until the other day, as I was hording my toiletries in my room.

I bought some groceries from the tiny grocer. Some yogurt and fruit for breakfast and salad stuff for dinner. When I leave my building in the morning, I head down a few blocks and drop into a tiny coffee bar for some decent coffee with steamed milk and a fresh croissant. Exchange a few necessities with the merchant then off I go through the winding streets to my school. A 12 minute walk in total if you’re not lost.

While I generally love Google Maps, it sucks in this town as more than half of the tiny streets are not indicated and, add to that, the streets themselves are not clearly marked. Each corner building must be intricantly observed to spot the street sign plaque on the side of it. Anyway, my first few days were like trying to get through a maze. I am seriously NOT kidding!!

My Spanish Classes are only 4 hours starting at 9:30. Less the coffee break that we have at the neighboring coffee shop at about 11:00 and maybe a snack. I listen to German’s on one side of me and Brits on the other. I have started calling my waiter “Maestro” due to a recent lesson in currency he gave me the other day. I don’t think he minds too much. Also, tipping is not necessary and often times can be considered an insult. Far be it for me to offend. I always hated that part of the dining experience anyway.

Classes are done at 1:30. Occasionally there might be an afternoon tour of some sort starting at 2:30. The other day it was this amazing cathedral just blocks from the school (who’da thought). It was the most massive and beautiful thing. Now, while I’m considered to be quite spiritual, I’m not a religions person but I believe I saw God that day. My mouth gaped open the whole time. In my opinion this cathedral surpassed St Peter’s Square by way of its authenticity and its baroque but grand stature. I must have taken 50 photos.

I am now armed with a real map and aren’t afraid to get a little lost now as I go exploring. Today I wanted to catch the last bit of sun while it hangs low in the sky these days and so found a café attached to the back of their government building. I was sure it would be a fancy setting for some expense coffee and lunch but everything is so cheep anyways compared to Calgary so I splurged. Generally, a coffee is $1.70, lunch on average is about $4.50. Now this place was a bit more but I also quickly learned that it attracts the lifters.

Yes, you read correctly. A guy was trying to walk off with my huge briefcase in the middle of the restaurant. Fortunately, a retired vacationing British couple sitting behind me was watching his moves and got my attention! The fellow, upon realizing the gig was up, ever so calmly placed my bag down and kept on walking out of the restaurant. Now that would have surely messed up my day completely!

Note to self: Add ‘Guarding Your Personals’ section to my www.StreetStrategies.ca Seminars and be sure to take pass port and cheque book out of my briefcase. I certainly don’t need either on the streets of Palma de Mallorca.

This incident is of course an exception to a quaint place like Mallorca but still a reason to always travel smartly. All I can say is I am extremely grateful my English ears were cued in to this couple’s call to my attention.

Well, signing off for now, with the promise of more to come.

I remember this day distinctly, even though it was over 15 years ago now. My good friend, Steve, and I were sitting on a park bench watching the joggers go by and talking about finding “the one”. You know, that one special person in your life that makes you feel like “Hey! – Now life is just that much more complete”.

So I ask “So where do we find that person then and how do we know that it’s them?”. And that’s when, right out of the blue, Steve described it like this:

Well picture yourself jogging along your jogging path of life. Doing what you do and then one day you look over and see that person jogging
along, going in the same general direction as you – along their own jogging path, and doing what they do. So there you are; both kind of
jogging beside each other, both doing your own thing.

Ah, but then you look ahead and see a rock in your path. So you jog around it and eventually you get back on the path and you notice that he or she is still there, doing their own thing, and jogging beside you. Then, up ahead, he or she sees a tree in the path so they, too, jog around it and when they get back they realize that you’re still there, doing what you do – still jogging beside each other.

Well, as my friend described it that day, I understood the metaphor immediately, and I have never forgotten it because to me, a relationship wasn’t something that you had to change or alter yourself for. It was something you grew and developed with. In other words, you go through life doing your own thing, and then one day, you look over and see that person and they’re doing their own thing, too. So don’t
stop doing your thing – somebody will love you for it – if they don’t already!

-        Sonja Gosteli