In order to make sure your stay at Gaia Sagrada is perfect, here are
some suggestions on what to bring and what not to bring.
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sunscreen
§
sunglasses
§
wide brimmed hat – to keep the strong Ecuadorian sun
off your face and neck
§
T-shirts
§
shorts
§
pants
§
sweater
§
VERY warm jacket for chilly Andes
mountain nights
§
7 changes of clothes (laundry available once per week)
§
flashlight – hand cranked or solar types are
best, no battery-run flashlights please unless they are rechargeable batteries
and you bring your own charger. We cannot charge batteries for you.
§
rechargeable batteries & charger
§
Clip on light or headlamp for reading books at night when
your roomate is asleep
§
flip flops or sandals to wear in shower, sauna
and around hot tubs
§
bathrobe for bathrooms, showers and
spa facilities
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Sarong or wrap for entering sweat lodge
§
sturdy shoes with good tread for hiking & dirt walking paths
§
MP3 player (for listening to meditations,
music, or talks)
§
flash drive – if you need to transfer files
from your laptop to another computer or vice versa
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alarm clock
§
medicines you need for as long as you need
them. You might not be able to get everything here in Ecuador, and if
it’s a prescription you would have to pay a doctor to prescribe it for you, IF
he or she would be willing to without a full on physical check up
process. If you can’t get enough for your stay, try bringing your
prescription, although that is iffy as to whether it will work or not.
§
Vitamins & Supplements – there are very few places, if
any, to get organic non-commercial vitamins or supplements in Ecuador. There
is not the selection you might be used to. Occasionally there is something
organic, but it is not dependable in any sense of the word.
§
umbrella / raincoat – or you can buy that in Ecuador if you
want to save room in your suitcase
§
books if you like to read (there are not
a lot of sources for English books in Ecuador)
§
notebook and pen for exercises, journaling, and
notes during workshops
§
bio-degradable soap, shampoo and natural toothpaste
§
camera – lots of cool stuff to take
pictures or video of! Cameras and recording devices are not allowed in meetings
though
§
laptop or netbook – if you need to transfer documents
for hi speed access in the city, bring flash drive with you so you can transfer
documents to the local computers in the city
§
bandanna, hair bands – especially work exchangers who
work in the kitchen, it is required
§
bug spray – there are very few mosquitos, but
once in a while it is needed, especially if you travel to the coastal or jungle
parts of Ecuador.
Lemon / eucalyptus oil is a good natural choice
§
spending money for day trips, excursions and
shopping for souvenirs
§
towels & wash cloth, or use ours with $25 deposit fee (so we don’t
lose all our towels, sorry!)
§
chair back or back jack – for sitting on the floor
comfortably with your back supported. Chair backs and back jacks are not
available in Ecuador.
(If you bring one, we would love to buy it from you when you leave if it
isn’t too expensive. Of course we accept donations too!)
§
ear plugs – in case someone snores
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day pack, duffel bag, or shoulder bag – for carrying around your
notebook, raincoat, umbrella, water, or whatever else you might want to take
from your room
§
musical instrument – we have lots of spontaneous music
by the campfires, so bring your guitar, drum, flute or other musical
instruments if you want to have some campfire fun! We also have talent
nights where people share their songs and poetry.
§
$500 for medical emergencies – no insurance will work here from
your home country
Layers
is the best strategy for clothing since the climate ranges in temperature from
hot T-shirt weather to cold mountain evenings where you need a very warm jacket
and long pants.
Bring
Extra Money for…
§
tourist
attractions in Cuenca and Ecuador
§
occasional
specialty snacks or drinks at Gaia Sagrada
§
health
and healing services from massage therapists, spiritual counselors, or
alternative healers
§
souvenirs
ATM,
Credit Cards, Travelers Checks and CASH
§
Your ATM
card might not
work here, so make sure you have enough money until you get it clear with
your bank that it is you trying to withdraw money from the bank. Even telling
your bank ahead of time that you are coming to Ecuador and will be using your ATM
card doesn’t always work and you might have to work out some glitches with your
bank.
§
Travelers checks don’t cash that easily without a 20
day wait if you can even find a place to cash them. It takes depositing them in
an account to clear them, and it will be work to open a bank account just for
that.
§
Credit cards don’t work in many places and have
high overseas fees if they do work. Only at expensive tourist hotels and
locations will credit cards work.
§
Cash is King in Ecuador! You will need to have cash with you
(called effectivo in Spanish). It is still a very cash
driven society in this country.
§
Bring
small bills with you because large bills above $10’s are hard to change. Do NOT
bring $50’s or $100’s with you unless you are staying for a long time and need
to bring a lot (you are limited to $10,000 at the airport), as they are hard to
turn into smaller bills unless you are a customer at a bank. The banks are
reluctant to accept $50’s and $100’s unless there is an account holder they can
hold responsible if the bills turn out to be counterfeit. There has been
trouble with that in Ecuador.
If you have to bring large bills or a lot of money, no larger than $20’s is
best.
What
NOT to bring
NO
disposable batteries: Disposing of batteries properly in Ecuador is very
difficult. Bring solar powered, hand cranked or rechargeable battery
flashlights with you. We cannot charge batteries for you so if you bring
rechargeable batteries bring your charger that you can plug into the
wall. Ecuador uses the same
electricity that the USA
does, so no adapters are needed if you are using USA electronics.
We must
take care of our Mother Earth, and supporting antiquated ways of doing
things is something we must do our best to avoid. We must do the smaller things
that we can do
in order to change the world. Refraining from using disposable batteries in a
country where they cannot be refurbished or recharged is a good start in
changing the world! Let’s all do our part.
Cell
Phone: Your cell phone is unlikely to work
in Ecuador.
You might want to check with your carrier to find out if your cell phone will
work here. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. It depends on the
technology of the phone and if it matches the same technology as cell towers
here. However, it can be as much as $3 a minute with your cell phone carrier in
your home country, so you are better off using Ecuador’s cheaper methods of
calling your home country.
If you
want to have a cell phone for communicating with people in Ecuador, which
many travelers do, you can buy a cheap cellular here for $40 – $50 and a phone
number chip for $20. Then you buy minutes (saldo) and make your calls as you need them.
You can even call overseas on these phones fairly inexpensively, and your loved
ones will be able to call you too on an Ecuador cell phone. It will be
cheaper for you than using your own phone from your country, most likely. When
you leave Ecuador,
you may be able to sell your phone and number chip to another incoming
traveler, but no guarantees.
Phone
calls to other countries are not expensive here in Ecuador. We have internet
available at Gaia Sagrada so you can keep in touch by email, and if there is
enough bandwidth you can make a skype call. If you want to call home to your
country you can do so from internet at Gaia Sagrada or telephone cafes which
are all over Ecuador.
Pets: There is no accommodation for
pets.
High
heeled shoes or fancy clothes: There will be absolutely nowhere
you can walk to in high heeled shoes at Gaia Sagrada! Fancy clothing that needs
to be dry cleaned is impractical. Gaia Sagrada is not fine dining or
elegant dressing. This is more like camp for adults. You are getting close to
nature here!
Other
Information
Deposits
for towels or books until returned
If you
bring your own towel, you can avoid the $25 deposit fee. (You get your
$25 deposit fee back when you give us our towel and washcloth upon
leaving Gaia Sagrada.)
Unfortunately,
hotels, resorts and retreat centers lose millions of dollars worth of towels
per year, and we cannot afford to foot the bill for all the towels that go
missing after retreats. We are sorry that we had to adopt this rule in
order to keep the prices low at Gaia Sagrada, but quality towels in Ecuador
are very expensive.
If you
want to donate your towel to Gaia Sagrada, bring a used towel you don’t care
too much about and we would be grateful if you left it with us!
Donating
Your Books?
If you
bring English language books, bring some you might want to donate and leave
behind, as there are not many places to buy English books in Ecuador,
especially spiritually focused ones. Please feel free to bring a donation of a
book or two for our library at Gaia Sagrada so that future visitors will have
more choices in our reading room. Spanish language books are welcome as well.
Unfortunately we cannot buy your books, but if you care to leave one or two,
feel free. It would go to a good cause in our reading library that
retreatants can enjoy.
There
is a $25 deposit fee for checking out books from our library, but you receive
it back upon returning all books you borrowed from our library. Borrowing books
is free during your stay here at Gaia Sagrada.
