Mother Nature can do that to me. One day I’m going about my rich yet ordinary life–work, hang out with Hank, read, nap, eat, walk, meet up with friends, eat again, read some more. The next, I’m stalking lizards like a star struck groupie at the Oscars. 

Ecuador’s famed archipelago is home to some of the most unusual reptiles on the planet: giant lumbering tortoises, beady-eyed iguanas, graceful sea turtles, and piggybacking lava lizards. And, unlike Sean Penn, they couldn’t care less if I took their picture. 

 “Do you need to be fluent in Spanish?”

 “Is it affordable?”

“What’s the weather like?”

These were questions I asked my husband more than a year ago when he first suggested we try out expat living in Cuenca, Ecuador. 

Now that we’re here, these are the same questions we hear from friends and family who are curious about Cuenca.

The blue domes of the New Cathedral in Cuenca. ©Ellen Barone. 

Why Cuenca? Originally, because…

• It kept showing up in our research as an attractive, friendly and affordable place to live or retire.

• Its narrow cobblestone streets, red tile roofs, whitewashed churches and flowerfilled plazas sounded alluring.

• As Ecuador’s third-largest city, it boasts a sophisticated urban lifestyle, inviting café culture and a vibrant university community.

Beyond that, however, we knew very little about what life in Cuenca would really be like.

But could Palomo trust me? Everyone knows you can’t fool a horse. But fooling yourself? That’s easy. 

How easy it was to forget that the ‘me’ that is seduced by exotic adventures, is only a distant cousin to the ‘me’ reflected in the morning mirror, and - here’s the rub - a complete stranger to the nervous ‘me’ perched atop an Arabian horse in the wilds of Chiapas, Mexico.

Enduro Ecuestre co-owner Gloria Castellanos. © Rachid Dahnoun

As we introduced ourselves – Ryan from British Columbia, Andres from Ecuador, and Rachid from Lake Tahoe - it became obvious that I was not only the sole female guest rider but also the least experienced. The voice in my head that parroted ‘Don’t worry, Elena,’ seemed oblivious to the self-doubt that surged within me. The thought of navigating an English saddle for four days atop raw equine power across challenging terrain had me feeling more than a little intimidated.

For me, one of those places is Ajijic, a quirky lakeside village in the mountains of Jalisco, Mexico, an hour’s drive from Guadalajara. For the past fifteen years, my husband, Hank, and I have called Ajijic home for extended stays in every season. 

Like many of the Canadian, European and American expats that populate the region, we come for the idyllic climate, the scenic Laguna de Chapala, Mexico’s largest inland lake, and the friendly, easy-going village vibe that seems to make problems disappear. 

But beyond the lush gardens, vibrant creative community, easy-access mountain hiking, lake views, and daily sunshine, our brains switch into a different mode when we’re there. It has a strong and immediate effect, being on Ajijic time.

Walking everywhere, running into friends at the plaza, shopping at the corner markets, tuning in to the village soundtrack, and joing the fun at the ubiquitous fiestas —it all makes us breathe easier, smile more, and fall into the rhythm of a kinder, gentler, way of life.

In early June, I headed to South West England for a picture-perfect, eight-day walking vacation across Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks. We were a small convivial group: Four of us, all repeat walkers. It is my fifth walk. Longtime friends, Pat Renucci and Wendy Kersman had joined up for their sixth. And Glen Sullivan, a retired San Diego lawyer, boasted an impressive 14, soon to be 15, Wayfarers’ walks beneath his boots. 

Our days on the trail settled into a comfortable routine. Early each morning, we’d congregate in the hotel dining room for breakfast. By 9AM we were traipsing over Hill and Dale, ambling alongside chattering rivers, across ancient footpaths, and through thatched hamlets and deep valleys eons in the making. 

When a friend, who’d landed in Grand County twenty-five years ago and stayed, called to invite me to join her there for a winter girl’s getaway, I jumped at the chance.

Situated only 67 miles from Denver’s highlife, come-as-you-are Grand County bundles a world class ski resort, spas, yoga, alpine pursuits, and stunning mountain scenery into one of Colorado’s hometown favorites.

Take a little inspiration from these Grand County discoveries and launch your own escape.

WINTER PARK

Local knowledge

For 30 years, Winter Park residents have fueled up on hot coffee and breakfast at Carvers Bakery Cafe. Rustic and relaxed, the homey eatery boasts the convivial sounds and baked-goods aroma of a small town favorite. Try the sumptuous cinnamon rolls and homemade bagels. 93 Cooper Creek Way. 

Home sweet vacation home

Buying a vacation home might be out of the question (damn the recession), but renting someone else’s luxury mountain house, is not only budget friendly, it’s fun! You may think you’ll be missing out on hotel services. Not true. From arranging welcome meals and in-home grocery stocking, to lift tickets and rental equipment, The Grand Concierge service by Destinations West will coordinate your transportation, plan special activities, and customize an all-inclusive vacation that IS all about you. www.mtnlodging.com

© Ellen Barone.

While Nicaragua may not have the infrastructure and services comparable to its better-known and more trampled neighbor, Costa Rica – it offers some of the greatest natural gems in all of Central America:  the largest area of primary-growth rain forest north of the Amazon, mist-shrouded cloud forests, and steamy jungles, more than 600 species of birds, as well as jaguars, sloths, monkeys, toucans, manatees, crocodiles, and the world’s only freshwater sharks. 

A friend in Santa Fe says that she “lives to leave.” I’ll never understand that, for my heart sings when I’m in New Mexico in a way that’s hard to talk about without sounding foolish, annoyingly evangelical, or like a lowlander high on altitude. So, in the spirit of full disclosure let me say this: I am not an impartial journalist writing about a New Mexico walking vacation. I’m a twelve-year resident head over my cowgirl boots in love with the big sky, adobe charms and quirky characters of my adopted homeland.

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“I had no idea,” says Maria, a well-traveled executive from Chicago, and one of seven vacationers joining this mid-September walk with The Wayfarers. “Of course, I’d heard of Santa Fe, but I’m blown away by the natural beauty, diversity and history of this place.”

I know what she means. The first summer I spent in New Mexico, I felt like I’d landed in a foreign country. The low-slung mud brick architecture, the melodic rhythm of Native and Hispanic languages, mañana mind-set and dramatic landscape were alien to my suburban life back East. Vast and exotic, New Mexico is a land of wild places and ancient cultures teeming with authenticity (not multitudes) where pristine light, towering mountains and a combination of cultures, history and landscape exists unlike anywhere else. 

“I’m off to the Bugaboos.” Just saying it, feels bodacious; though I am neither bold nor audacious by nature. What I am, unfortunately, is heavier than I’d like (thanks to a love affair with chocolate), and I can rationalize my way out of a morning run faster than you can say Mocha Grande. So why am I traveling solo to the Canadian Rockies for a Bodacious Girlfriend Getaway heli-hiking and yoga vacation. Why not?

The simple purity and intense beauty of the West has long been a place where dream seekers can indulge such brazen fantasies unfettered by the hard facts of reality. Turning intimidating concepts into inspiring life-enhancing adventures, in fact, is what Canadian Mountain Holidays (CMH), has been doing since 1965 when they first started ferrying skiers by helicopter into the remote mountains of British Columbia.

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“Welcome to my office,” says Lyle Grisedale, a professional CMH hiking guide and designated ‘bodacious bro’ on our women-only getaway. A courteous bon vivant with enough Irish devilment in him to fit right in with the girls, Grisedale is equal parts superhero, spiritual guru and mountain goat. Beyond his outstretched arm, tower the wild and jagged peaks of the Bugaboos –a granite mountain range in the Purcell Mountains of eastern British Columbia.  A stunning land-sea of serrated ridges, turquoise lakes, lush meadows, and blue-tinged glaciers surround us.

Only a few hours earlier, I’d scrambled aboard a twin-engine Bell 212, 14-passenger helicopter at the CMH helipad (near Radium Hot Springs) after a scenic two-hour drive from Banff. The ten-minute flight to the Bugaboo Lodge, one of 11 self-sufficient, eco-sensitive lodges run by CMH, provided a thrilling, IMAX view of snow-capped peaks, evergreen forests, glistening snowfields, and wildflower-filled valleys sandwiched between rocky ridges. By comparison, it would have taken two full days of hard walking to cover the same distance.

This year, trade the city break for the Last Frontier faster than you can say ‘former governor’ and discover Alaska beyond the cruise ports - there’s plenty of it.

Earlier this summer, my husband, Hank, and I piggy backed an InnerSea Discoveries wilderness voyage in southeast Alaska with a tour of the southwest and southcentral regions. Here are our recommendations for making the most of your explorations.

 photography by Ellen and Hank Barone

[before you go]

What NOT to Wear: Forget dress to impress. In Alaska, the focus is not on fashion, but rather the outdoors. Local wisdom has it that “there is no bad weather, just bad gear.” Key items should include fleece, waterproof rain gear, good walking shoes, a hat, lightweight gloves and quick-dry everything. Other items you’ll want to bring: sunglasses, sun block (yes, even in Alaska, especially on the water and ice), a swimsuit (many lodges feature hot tubs and/or saunas), camera, and lots of memory cards! 

[Anchorage]

For guaranteed wildlife sightings, load up your camera and make the scenic drive south to Portage for a visit to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. With consent from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the center takes in orphaned or injured animals for treatment and rehabilitation. We could easily have spent the day there watching the resident bears romp and swim, but bring bug spray. The June day we visited the mosquitoes were fierce.