This may be an old post from our last visit here, but the sentiment remains very much the same. I hope we feel the same way as we arrive in ‘home-from-home’ Saigon later this week.
“There are so many amazing places in the world. So many places that leave you a little bit richer for seeing and experiencing them. It’s rare a place touches your heart in a way you never expected. Trabuco did that to me. Just walking in the front door feels like walking into a blanket of happy relaxed love.
Little things make this place special. The wonderful walks in the beautiful countryside and the friendly people, the gorgeous fresh food. Then add in the quirky characters that add colour to a place, the wild asparagus growing along the road side. The strangest Pilates classes ever [which involve a lot of laughing] are just a few of the ingredients that make this place so special.
Going back to Trabuco for just a week made me realize a lot. Firstly my spanish is still not good enough to keep up with the neighbours, who I would love to chat to properly as they are so welcoming and kind. There comes a time when saying “no entendiendo” is just not good enough to make real friends.
Secondly, I really appreciate the feeling of community prevalent here. In the local bar, the barman remembers us, as do the ladies in the greengrocer, the fishmongers and the library and also the chaps who sells us eggs, meat and cheese. In all these places, here in Trabuco, it is not acceptable to just buy your goods as a chat is an essential and pleasurable part of the transaction, however awful our language skills were, this not not deter these traders. I feel privileged to be remembered after so many absent months and feel sad that we are back only for a week and not for much much longer.
Our life is full of travel and we are leaving for a year in South East Asia soon, but Trabuco is fast feeling like home the place we want to come back to between travels.”
The original post was written March 2014. We found Trabuco 2017 just as welcoming, a little busier, more optimistic and seemingly a little more prosperous.
Accidental Nomads 