I am posting this entry from a hotel room in Los Angeles where I have just returned from a ten day photo excursion into Ecuador as a participant in the Tao of Photography Workshop. The first segment of our journey, hosted by the eco retreat Samai, consisted of a one day hike into the rainforest, trips to multiple fishing villages and one extremely colorful surfing town, and a full day trip to the Isla de la Plata, the Isle of Silver or, as it is also known, the poor man's Galapagos. Our hosts at Samai were Ed & Tania Tuttle. Ed, the graqndson of Boston bankers, is a traditional shaman who was kind enough to lead our group through an ancient shamanic ritual..  For the second segment of our trip, we flew from Guayaquil to Loja, then taxi'd to Montesuenos, an eco retreat located in the Andean highlands just above the village of Vilcabamba. Montesuenos, run by Dr. Brian O'Leary, a former U.S. astronaut and his artist wife Meredith, is a truly magical plaqce straight out of the movie Shangra La. Brian and Meredith proved to be wonderful hosts. Our first full day at Montesuenos was spent photographing in and around the retreat itself. The second day, we hiked three miles to the village of Vilcabamba, a village renowned for the extreme age attained by its indigenouss residents. Some of our more adventurous Shutterbugs even took a horseback journey high up into the Andes. Being somewhat of a wimp, I opted out on that one. I n the next couple of weeks, I'll be sharing some of our experiences with you in more detail. For now, suffice it to say that I'll have my work cut out for me as I edit down the approximately 4000 images I brought back into a gallery show, Journey Through Ecuador, scheduled to open at Bizzart Gallery in Bisbee Az on June 14th. Details will be forthcoming.