NOW

Today is the first day of the rest of your life.

What’s the TravelnLass up to today?

Note to self: under NO CIRCUMSTANCE should you ever be foolish enough to publish a page that needs constant updating – silly girl!

That said, I *have* managed to revise this “NOW” page a few times over the years, but it’s high-time (July 2022) I pecked an update that halfway reflects my World TODAY.

As my TravelnLass site rarely reflects real time, this page is the most up-to-date snapshot of where I currently am on the Planet – usually in my beloved Cuenca, Ecuador these days. But (as evidenced by the slew of 30-odd countries that I’ve visited since leaving my native land 14+ years ago), at any given moment I may well head off for a spin around… most recently London, Belgium and Ireland. Else hop on over to Ethiopia, Uganda and Rwanda (January 2020 – I barely made it back into Ecuador before they closed the borders due to “The Unpleasantness”), or Cuba, or Easter Island or Japan or Turkey, or, or, or…

Travel Dreams

Thus it is here that I shall post my latest plans for future travels,

You know it’s funny. Funny how/where my next-up travel destinations spring from. I don’t “count countries”, nor have I ever had the proverbial “Bucket List”. So generally where I head next is pretty much utter whim. Could be some stray mention in the Lonely Planet FB group or my Google News stream, of a corner of the globe I’d not given much thought to before. Or could be a quiet, latent travel dream suddenly come to life – like glancing at the calendar and remembering my long-time dream of celebrating “El Día de Muertos” properly, authentically where it originated… in MEXCIO!

Thus with little more than 3 months after my month+ romp around top-to-bottom Italy in ’22 – incl. a repeat visit to Venice, along with Bologna, Cinque Terre (my new bff on the PLANET!), Puglia and Sicily – I opted for a trifecta of diverse Mexico locales – a week in CDMX (another of my global faves), a week in Oaxaca (for the El Día de Muertos festival), plus a week of wiggling my toes “a la playa” (something I rarely choose to do) in Puerto Escondido on Mexico’s southwest coast.

And (speaking of “NOW”) – since this “Traveln Lass” managed to achieve yet another (ever-more breathtakingly dodderin’ milestone decade), she/I am (necessarily) slowing down a tad. Never one for no carefree guided “group tour” (where somebody ELSE conveniently handles all the logistics, the transfers, the perfectly scheduled daily activities, etc.), nor most certainly no posh, easy-peasy cruise. Nosireee. To date, my lifelong travels have always been utterly solo DIY (not to mention, on a pretty tight shoestring).

So after my many adventures in Spain, Italy and Mexico, I happily opted to sit-tight here on my beloved mountain-top in Cuenca for more than a year (with but a – fabulous – 2 week fling in Ecuador’s capital, Quito in fall of ’23) before launching (yet another) trifecta to London, Belgium and Ireland last October/November ’24.

That near-month skip through 3 countries in ’24 surely proved exceptional. But – given my little “Disaster” on my 1st full day in London – not to mention a cold that plagued me through 2 full weeks in Belgium and Ireland… suffice I began to question this dodderin’s endurance with month+long skips through multiple countries on the other side of the globe.

Nonetheless… I (in retrospect, foolishly) again cobbled together yet another marathon to Europe (a week in Malta + 3 in Albania) scheduled for this past October ’25. Only to… for various good reasons – cancel the whole shebang (incl. a non-refundable rt. air ticket to Paris) at the last minute.

So… what “NOW”, Dyanne? Do tell – is the “TravelnLass” finally finished exploring new corners of this magnificently diverse globe?

Packing Light - convertible rollie-backpack

Dulce approves of Traveling LIGHT!

No. Siree. BOB.

Suffice, no way am I ready to turn in my lifelong Wanderlust Badge. Just a matter of lightening up the travel program, and choosing a tad shorter adventures – a bit closer to home (read: quicker plane hops, none of this marathon He!! in a cramped, economy plane seat across the Atlantic.)

Indeed, (and in short, to finally bring up-to-date here in November ’25): after canceling said Malta/Albania caper, I swiftly switched gears, and am now headed for a sweet (most manageable) 16 night explore of a neighboring South American country (but a blessedly few hour’s plane ride from Ecuador), in…

COLOMBIA

So that’s the “NOW” travel plan: Come next week, Colombia is where you’ll find me. Trust that my carry-on is already packed (just 6.89 kg – fully *11 pounds* UNDER Latam’s cabin weight limit – so plenty of room for souvenirs), and I’m presently noodling out ever more places to graze (both cheapo arepa, etc. street-eats, as well as a couple of high-end restaurants like LEO in Bogota, and Celele in Cartagena).

Projects & Passions

And here too I shall periodically scribble some of my current gotta-do’s and wanna-do’s. Which presently include:

Teaching English: I’ve been teaching EFL off and on ever since I left my native land more than 10 years ago. And while I’ve loved all of my classroom teaching assignments (students of all ages and English levels in both Ho Chi Minh City and Dalat, Vietnam, as well as at several schools here in Cuenca, Ecuador), such formal teaching gigs tend to cramp my wanderlust style (i.e. continuous set terms with but a week’s break between terms – how’s a lass s’pose to explore new lands on THAT schedule?)Furthermore, the pay scale here in Ecuador (even for folks like me with a CELTA, a Masters and years of EFL teaching experience) is woefully pathetic compared to the $20+/hour I earned in Vietnam. Thus… I’ve now gone totally freelance, and only teach small private classes in my home. Though it’s never been about the money – the good news is that with just 3-4 students (the max. I have room for in my small apartment), I can charge each student as little as $4 per hour (i.e. very affordable for most Ecuadorians) – and still make nearly twice what the local private English schools pay.In short, it’s a win-win for all, and with private classes, I can easily rearrange my teaching schedule should I want to skip off to some new far-away land.
¿Hablas español? Still far from “fluent” here. But the good news is that I can now fully hold my own in most any Spanish conversation with my Ecuadorian friends (some speak a smattering of English, others none at all, and a few are fluent – though I insist on speaking Spanish and appreciate both their patience and their gentle stray corrections). Of course I still have a long way to go and I’m ever striving to add new vocabulary and hone my grammar (which is still pathetically limited to but 2.79 tenses with an occasional future progressive tossed in). I hired a private tutor for awhile, and took a couple of intermediate level classes, but I found that neither added significantly to my progress. Indeed, I’ve learned far more by simply avoiding perpetually hanging out with my fellow gringos, and instead speaking with locals every chance I get. After all – that’s the beauty of living in a Spanish-speaking country like Ecuador: full immersion is right there for the taking!
New Passion: FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY!

Lemon-Meringue Popsicles – Yummm!

It started with the grim restrictions on movement thanks to “The Great Unpleasantness”. Like many of you, I was necessarily “quedate en casa” for many months. With no hope of whizzing off to some far-away land, and much of my social life restricted, I necessarily turned to my alternate life-long love of photography for consolation. But of course it couldn’t be new iconic world wonders or quirky foreign locals in front of my lens, so… what’s a girl to do? Why photog right here in my own “cosina” (kitchen)! There was plenty of time to cook and fuss with pretty desserts and such, of course (as evidenced by my blossoming waistline!) So began my new love affair with food styling and photography.

What could be better (short of hopping planes to far-away places) than… whiling away the weeks ‘n months enjoying two of my favorite pastimes: Cooking and photography! Indeed, I’ve now amassed quite a collection of foodie pics (do check out my Portfolio). I’ve even started shooting food for a few of the local eateries here in Cuenca.
Hobbies and Stray Interests: Exploring ever new corners of the globe continues to be my Numero Uno passion of course. But I must say – having a semblance of a “home base” here in Cuenca, Ecuador (not to mention a most coveted permanent resident visa) offers a myriad of perks not available when one is perpetually skipping from one foreign country to another.Staying put in a foreign land for months and years on end would seem (leastwise for this wanderlust) to be the best of all worlds: Learning a new language and the many challenges of living day-to-day in a wholly new culture suits the adventuress in me to a T. Plus basing myself first in Southeast Asia, and now on the South American continent enables me to easily sample the variety of foreign lands that surround me. Yet – at the same time, the stability of having a permanent address allows for building close relationships with both local Cuencanos, as well as a few fellow gringos.^*
Best of all, what with 8+ years now in Cuenca, I’ve come to know most every nook ‘n cranny of my beloved (delightfully walkable) “El Centro”. And I still have to catch my breath whenever I gaze at the splendor of those incredible blue domes of the New Cathedral.

And now I have the best of all worlds – recently I stumbled upon a new *penthouse* apartment overlooking the gurgling Rio Tomebamba (for little more than $350/mo. furnished, w/ all utilities!) Needless to say, I’m greatly enjoying the serenity of my new Cuenca digs. And thanks to the nearby electric Tranvia (runs every 9 minutes @ but 17¢ a pop for we dodderin’ “tercera edads”), I can swiftly be skipping around the cobbled streets of my beloved “El Centro” – visiting old neighborhood friends, munching on juicy “hornado” (tender pulled pork – straight off the roasted pig!) at my favorite 9 Octubre market, and enjoying a perfect gel “mani” for just $10.

In short…

(yeah Dyanne, when did you EVER keep the mots “short” here?) – though my day-to-day life here in Ecuador is much like yours – filled with grocery shopping, errands, and a seemingly never ending “To Do” list. I’m grateful for this most enchanting life of expatdom, and the ability to continue to follow my dreams.

Dyanne

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