On the Pacific Coast of Ecuador, just north of Mantañita and Olón, lies a little fishing village called La Entrada. In Spanish, “The Entrance.”
An unlikely name for an unassuming Ecuadorian village. The entrance to what?
We found out last week. It’s the portal to a world of dreams.
Villa de los Sueños, the place is called. Villa of Dreams. A four-story retreat on the rocky outskirts of La Entrada, overlooking the ocean. A beautiful bed and breakfast where every room has a terrace overlooking the sea. But it’s much more than that. It’s a haven, a place of peace, where you can see visions in the clouds and hear the music of your soul in the waves endlessly rocking against the shore.
A place where Choco the lab brings offerings of rocks and tennis balls and escorts you on your walks along the beach. A place where the villa’s hosts, Marsha and Shell, create an ambiance of hospitality that welcomes and heals and morphs into friendship when you’re looking the other way. A magical place, aptly named.
Life beats us up sometimes, rushes us, digs a rut we can’t seem to get out of. We fail to recall, in those moments, the dreams we once had, the way we wanted to live, the passion and purpose that make us who we are. We lose sight of the truth that life is about the journey, not the destination.
We forget ourselves. We forget each other. Sometimes we need to pause, and let ourselves remember.
La Entrada. . .
The entrance
to a place of dreams,
where the rhythms of wind and surf
recalibrate the beating
of my heart,
slow my pulse,
remind me that I am part
of everything—
water and sand,
sun and cloud and rock,
laughter, tears, and visions
that stretch to the curved horizon,
and beyond.
Here, now
my soul is rekindled.
I remember
love and passion,
hope, tranquility,
and the promise of bright tomorrows.
Here, tonight,
in this Villa of Dreams,
with the crash of waves echoing
in my ears,
I take your hand
and find myself again.© 2017 Penelope J. Stokes
http://www.villadelossuenosecuador.com
Life Beyond Books 
Hi Penny and Pam.
Sara sent me a link to your blog when she saw you had posted and noticed, under your “About” tab, that you had a doctorate in Renaissance Lit. FYI: before I left academia I was a Miltonist. I only have an MA, but I was publishing and presenting at conferences, until it all became too much.
Love the image above of visions that stretch “to the curved horizon,/and beyond.” Well said!
By the way, we want to get together with you all sometime soon.
Just subscribed to your blog. Look forward to reading more.
Hugs from across town,
Kathy and Sara
Excellent. We’d love to get together with you guys. Will be in town until August third, and then gone the rest of the month. Let us know when you’re available and we’ll figure something out. Penny and Pam
Your words make the place come alive … even better, make me see the place where I am as such a place of peace.
Looks absolutely delightful. I’ll try it!
You’d love it. You can take the dog, too, if you’ve a mind to.
Beautiful and resonates with my soul!
Thanks so much, Karen. Hope you’re doing well.
So very beautifully articulate, as always. You made me feel as if I were there. Thanks so much showing me the entrance to another place of discovery. You have always been good at that.
Joyce
Thanks so much, Joyce. I so appreciate your affirmation. Do you have any idea, I wonder, how much I miss you?