Paradise. Kinda sorta. If you Squint a little bit.

After our strenuous trek, I wanted a place to recover. And move into the retreat phase of the journey. We could not have found a better place to do that--in Sacred Valley, the beautiful valley between Cusco and Machu Picchu, along the Urubamba river. To be more specific: The Sacred Valley B&B.

Right away, I knew that things would be different here. After walking down a dirt path along a rushing stream, we came upon the small farm, which is located in the picturesque village of Yukay. In the front yard, pressing against the gate, was a cow, perhaps there to greet us, but more likely, simply parked there in between some task or another.

To stay at the B&B is more like staying at your favorite hippie cousin's farm than to stay in a hotel. The first rule of the game: shoes off in the house. After a brief tour of the home (shared bathrooms--and that means soap too!), an unlimited supply of hot herbal teas from the garden, and a quick download of when our family meals (mostly vegetarian) would be, we were set free to explore. The farm packs a lot in to it's urban-like footprint. There are a couple of cows, llamas, sheep, cats, dogs, ducks, chickens, and the prerequisite puppies. On the food side of the equation, there is corn, potatoes, and an abundance of other vegetables, herbs, and flowers--all of which are utilized for the preparation of our delicious, incredibly healthy meals.

Viviana and Avishai are our hosts. Viviana is a native of the village of Yukay. Avishai is Israel-born. They met in The United States. Both have had interesting, and even intense, careers in the past. They have landed here to live out their version of the dream, free of the rat race that has come to define much of the modern world's existence.

At first, I didn't know if I could handle it. This is not the sort of place where you can expect your bed to be made up daily and we were provided one towel upon arrival. "Hang it on the balcony to dry it." And that is not to even mention the suggestion that we use a bidet-like feature in the toilet in order to reduce the need for TP. Well, it's mentioned. Just not utilized at this point.

But these are minor issues when compared to the joys of shared, healthy meals conducted over candlelight, a steady stream of neighbors and visitors enlivening the house, the morning "class" of yoga or or some other similar instruction, and the simple pleasure of being folded into a home--something I can honestly say that I've never experienced before during travel.

I'm not sure that B&B appropriately describes this place. At least the B&B's I've met. Imagine doing your laundry in the yard (yes, by hand in a vast tub of cold water) and hanging it all, and I mean all, out there for anyone's viewing pleasure. But it all seems to work somehow. Life is just too short to get tangled up in your underwear.