Path & Purpose in the Subtropics (Limonal)

Along the river in subtropical forest-Limonal
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In early November, we took a short trip to a tiny dot of a town called Limonal in a subtropical area of Ecuador. As you descend the slopes of the Andes going west from the highlands where Cotacachi is, the terrain becomes lower, wetter, greener, warmer and more tropical. If you kept going west, you´d eventually end up at Ecuador´s beaches and coastline on the Pacific Ocean.

To get to Limonal, we took a bus to the city of Ibarra and then another bus that led on a road coastwards to a city called San Lorenzo. This road connecting the two cities was only completed a little over 10 years ago. Prior to that, the only way to travel this direction was by rail. Now the rail is unused and buses ply back and forth on the road frequently all day long.

Riding horses on dirt path climbing through forest
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It felt surprising to us to watch passengers getting off the bus at what looked like the middle of nowhere--just seemingly random spots along the roadside, with not much in sight beyond the low mountains, lush trees and maybe some pineapples growing in a field. But they obviously had somewhere to go, and trekked off, often with big loads on their backs, to their destinations hidden in the landscape somewhere.

After about an hour and a half, we arrived in Limonal and hopped off the bus ourselves. We had arranged to stay at a place called Bospas Forest and Fruit Farm, just outside of Limonal. We walked up a dirt road into the village and then up a steep hill leading into the forest, with Bospas nestled in the trees about 10 minutes up the hill on our right.

Subtropical forest and low, misty mountains
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Bospas Forest and Fruit Farm is a remarkable place owned and run by a Belgian man named Piet who has lived in Ecuador for almost 20 years. He is certified in permaculture design and techniques, which he uses on his land. His real mission though he described as making the world a greener place--literally. He has been working for years to reforest the lands around Limonal, planting trees on his own property, and doing his best to convince others to plant or let him plant on their land. The small farmers in the area use the slash-and-burn technique to clear the land for planting, yet this seriously increases erosion and soil run-off, quickly depleting the soil and making it unproductive for further planting. Piet told us stories of how very quickly the land can replenish itself when planted with trees, even when they are young and small.

Tropical fruit growing abundantly
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Being at Bospas turned out to be a powerful and important catalyst for us in getting a lot more clarity on what we are really up to here in Ecuador. Life staying on that farm felt even more simple and stripped down than our simplified life in Cotacachi (which is of course much simpler than what we thought was a simplified life at home in Portland!). And, as much as I embrace and value simplicity and slowing down, I felt strangely that I had met my limit there...that it was so out-of-the-way with so very little to occupy ourselves it began to form a crucible in which we had some intense and deeply clarifying conversations about what we need in our lives to feel fulfilled.

So this is how pineapples grow...
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We both realized what an absolute priority/necessity it is for each of us to have a meaningful Purpose to embody and fulfill, wherever we are living. It isn´t going to work for us just to find a nice place to live (climate, community, size, pace of life, financially, etc.) Having a nice place to live without also having a clear, meaningful Purpose won´t be enough. And, we realized, finding that Purpose in Cotacachi or Ecuador is more difficult than we first understood for 2 reasons. One, the language barrier, and two--there is a lack of the kind of nonprofit/volunteer infrastructure here that is so readily abundant in the United States. At home, you can choose your cause and plug into a robust, existing structure to volunteer or work for a purpose, whatever it may be(environmental, animals, kids, homeless, literacy, arts, education, etc., etc., etc.). Here, that kind of infrastructure is either nonexistent or much less developed. So, you are faced with perhaps starting something up from scratch on your own. Which feels to both of us like an enormous amount of work that feels heavy, not uplifting or inspiring. Piet of Bospas Forest Farm talked to us at length about his experience working for years around Limonal--about how there isn´t a sense of community spirit you might tap into to get support for projects. How absolute fluency in Spanish (which he does have) is essential or no one will really listen or follow you. How he keeps going even though he feels he is "tilting at windmills", but that that suits his personality in a way.

Welcome to our place of deep reflection
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So, it became clear to us this calculus:

Cotacachi =

easy to live (due to very low cost of living + healthy, peaceful lifestyle)

AND

Waiting for the bus leaving Limonal
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difficult to fulfill purpose (due to language barrier + lack of cause-related infrastructure to plug into)

U.S. =

difficult to live (due to expensive cost of living + hyper/frenzied/stressful culture)

AND

easier to fulfill purpose (due to no language barrier + very established infrastructure to plug into)

In these ways, the two places are mirror images of each other. How to pick or prioritize? If we choose Cotacachi, it is uncertain how or if we could effectively fulfill purpose. If we choose to remain in the U.S., we might more easily fulfill a purpose, but we can´t afford to quit working and dedicate ourselves to it because of the much higher cost of living.

We concluded that we will open ourselves to discovering a third option out there--a place in the world where it is easy to live AND easy to fulfill purpose. And, for the remaining time we have in Cotacachi, we will continue to explore Purpose there with a new eye and understanding about its importance, and perhaps a new creativity about ways it might manifest outside of an existing infrastructure.