Our Best Friend - How We Travel Comfortably

The first few pictures are there, just because I can post them. ;0)

Rainbows are actually fairly rare in Cuenca, so it's always nice to catch one. Strangely, in the Cañari culture they're an ill omen...I prefer the Irish approach, with pots of gold and leprechauns. But what does this have to do with our blog title? Absolutely nothing. Scroll down the photos and I'll get to my point.

Gratuitous rainbow photos, just because I can!

Okay, so, "best friend"...I know some of you are thinking "Hey, that's me!", but alas, we're talking about something more practical than loving human support (not that we don't appreciate it). So what is it, exactly, that I mean? I'm talking about our sound machine.

Not much to look at, is it?

We bought it, originally, for guests at our bed and breakfast, but wound up using it ourselves to kill out the sound of late night pick-up trucks veering blearily down the road as they left the local bars. (I know...it sounds romantic, no?) It took us about three nights to get used to the sound. (We chose the stream setting...which provides a steady sound with little variety.) There are a several sounds and machines to choose from but we like something consistent without breaks or jarring noises. (Imagine the sounds of the jungle at night...the occasional bird squawk can be off putting.) Ours offers a heart beat to lull babies, but it reminds me of The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. (Creepy!) Apparently you can also download apps that will run similar sound bites to lull you to sleep and, hopefully keep you there.

The green blobby thing is the volume, true story.

It's not really magic...it doesn't block out all the noise of the street, barking dogs or howling wind, but once asleep, it lessens those things and provides a calmer night. (Once you're used to it.) I think it's almost Pavlovian, in that, when I hear the machine, I immediately get sleepy.

Why this ode to a ridiculous little machine? Well, as most of you know, we're heading off to trek the Salkantay trail up to Machu Picchu shortly and the burning question is "Do we take the machine on the trail with us???" I know, it seems ridiculous, but the key to surviving the trek will be a good nights sleep, don't you think? Ours actually can run on batteries, so we're seriously considering the possibility. The machine goes almost everywhere with us and is a blessing for hotels with little sound proofing, strange house noises and other odd sleeping situations you might find yourself in.

One word of warning...if you do get used to sleeping with a sound machine, if the power goes out, it will wake you immediately. Short of sitting bolt upright, I awaken abruptly in the silence and groan, knowing that it will take me a while to fall back asleep again without the lulling sound.

Gratuitous cloud shots (sunset) as seen from our apartment