Hare Krishna villages Are Not Hippie Ashrams

Day 307: Aucallama, Peru

Eco Truly turned out to be very different than I thought it would be. I had imagined some kind of isolated hippie ashram but as always things are never as I expected and always illuminating.

First off, I know there will be lots of questions on the space domes, they are called trulys and based on indigenous buildings, they actually stay quite cool in the day, warm at night and are just made from the earth and water – pretty incredible.

As for the Eco Truly Village, it’s a bit difficult to sum up so I’ll cover it in a few posts but first I thought I would just share the daily schedule with you.

7am – Yoga with Susu a volunteer from Slovakia. I say 7am but the class never starts at 7am but I can’t blame Susu as she starts her day at 4am at temple.

Instead of getting uptight about this everyone just meanders in after seven and starts stretching.

 

8:30am – The breakfast bell rings and we make our way to get food and sit at a communal table. Someone brings out the whiteboard and duties are assigned ranging from cooking, gardening and general cleaning.

 

10am-1:30pm – Volunteer duties. I spent most of my time in the kitchen mostly chopping vegetables as I really like the solitude.

I also loved my first day in the garden but after half an hour or so with the pick axe almost as large as me they quickly realized perhaps I should just be weeding.

 

1:30pm – Lunch with everyone at the communal table. Like breakfast it is peaceful and breezy, no one rushes to finish and many stay to talk.

It’s my favourite time of day as even though many people speak English we try to converse in Spanish so that everyone understands.

Afternoon – It’s free time. Many of the afternoons a quick nap turned into a 3 hour slumber fest.

Most afternoons I caught up on writing, listening to podcasts and reading all the e-book PDFs I downloaded from my favourite sites but never read.

6:30pm – This is optional temple time. It’s not expected that volunteers go but they are welcomed. I tried to show up on time the first few days only to find out that 6:30 temple often starts at 7:15 or later.

8:00pm – Dinner, it’s a bit late so it’s a light dinner finished with local Peru fruit. The first few nights I was famished at 8pm but I adapted quickly and didn’t mind eating so late without snacking.

 

9:00pm – Bed. I know I’m a loser but I was constantly seduced by being able to sleep 10 hours AND wake up early. Plus there was no lure of alcohol or parties so sleep was the most attractive option.

Stay tuned for what I learned while staying with the Hare Krishnas.