Day 2 and we are on the road. Quito is a bustling place and it is very enjoyable to watch the world go by form the comfort of the bus surrounded by our great team. Don is as great tour guide as well and keeps us informed in each area we pass through.
Just when the miles begin to become tiresome Don makes a quick stop for ice cream!
We called this little number chocolate covered butter. All natural cream frozen and dipped in chocolate. I was delighted!
This was a three layer fruit “La Finca ice-cream (three flavors were Mora/Limon/Taxo)” as Don describes below in his debrief. It was also delicious and as with all the food I sampled in Ecuador it was the freshness and all natural ingredients I appreciated the most.
The local String Cheese which was very good as well! For a tall lanky fellow Our friend Don Wolfram sure does get excited about food. By the end of the trip I was very glad for this fact.
Here we are riding a cable car over a gorge and ride above a water fall!
This was our first full meal out on the road and the place was amazing. I had much trepidation about eating local food for fear of getting miserably ill but with Don’s enthusiasm and experience I finally abandoned most of my caution and boy am I glad I did.
This plate of Trout was caught right out of the farm pond and prepared in 20min. The price was less than $4.00. It was delicious.
An unexpected stop along the road was the Nate Saint house in Shell. I could feel history come alive for ever since I was a little boy I had heard the story of the five missionaries who were willing to give their lives to reach people for Jesus.
It was very exciting to wander the grounds and see the house.
After our days travels we came to rest at the most amazing lodge “Los Laberintios de Chiguaza” which was just across the Chiguaza River! You will have to read tomorrows post to see the great images we captured of the place at sunrise.
Ecuador trip brief as recorded by Don Wolfram our missionary guide in Ecuador.
Day 2: Saturday 28th-Traveled from Quito to Shell by first heading straight south right down the center of the Andes mountains, then turning East in Ambato and dropping elevation quickly out of the mountains to the edge of the Jungle at about 2000 ft. elevation. We added Fede, Eric and Ps. Jorge to our team. On the way we saw the “Panecillo” or small bun-like hill in the center of Quito which holds the Virgin Mary protector of Quito statue. We saw Pichincha, the mountain that dominates this capital province, and tried to see the snowcap volcanoes of Cayambe, Antisana, Cotopaxi, Illinizas, Chimborazo, Carihuarazo and Tungurahua. We saw mountain Indians known as “Quichuas” – they are the descendants of the Inca Empire and farm these highlands.
We drove briefly through Baños, rode the “Taravita” cable car over the Pastaza River at the Manto de la Novia waterfall and hiked around above the “Pailon Del Diablo” waterfall in Rio Verde on some land known as “La Isla”. In Rio Verde, Don went to fetch Rolando, a Bible and Dental Student who then joined our group. We then stopped for an asado (grilled) trout lunch at “Arco Iris” where the Cashaurcu stream meets the Pastaza.
After lunch we continued east towards Puyo, now entering the Pastaza province, stopping briefly in “Mangayacu” to drop off some parts at the Bible Seminary. Mangayacu is the campus where we meet every 2nd month with about 30-35 Bible students for training. We then drove through Shell so as to drop off the surplus of meds at HVO (Hospital Vozandes del Oriente). We were received by Florence Judd, a long time nurse from Australia. Some members took a brief hospital tour while the others unloaded and sorted out the meds.
**the hospital was VERY low on meds and greatly appreciated these supplies for their regular needs as well as for the medical, rural and jungle outreaches that they initiate. They send a big “THANKS & GOD BLESS YOU!” Dr. Mark Nelson and many others were ecstatic!
We then also visited the Nate Saint house in Shell and saw the kitchen and radio room in which the 5 widows first heard confirmation that their husbands had been martyred. We then proceeded to Puyo where we added Ana Galindo to the team and also Octavio Ankuash (student, pastor, community leader and guide) and pushed on our way another 70km (44 miles) to the bridge across the Pastaza on the road
“via Macas”. We crossed into Morona Santiago Province, just across the Pastaza river and there we turned off towards our Hostal: “Los Laberintios de Chiguaza” which was just across the Chiguaza River. The bus could not cross this bridge, so we huffed all our stuff across so that we could reorganize one last time for the walk-in in the morning. Romulo Garlarzes received us there and we found our rooms and ate roast pork for a late supper.
New Places: Drive about 120 miles south to Ambato, then 80 miles East to Shell. The Pastaza river forms just above Baños at “Las Juntas”. Baños is a touristic town with many hot springs. Rio Verde is where Don & Mary started their ministry here in Ecuador. The Pailon waterfall is famous. Mangayacu is the campus where we operate the CEMIM (Centro de Entrenamiento Misionero Internacional Mangayacu) Bible seminary. In Shell we visited the HVO hospital, the Nate Saint house. Puyo the Capital of Pastaza province, Los Laberintios de Chiguaza – in Morona Santiago Province where we spent the night.
New People: Byron-the bus driver, Fede (Federico) Borman – assistant to Don & Translator, Eric Soledispa – Translator & CEMIM instructor, and Ps. Jorge Ailla – AG (Assemblies of God) pastor and a national missionary to the Shuar Indians. Rolando Zamora??-CEMIM student and dentist/student, Ana Galindo – CEMIM student, secretary and optomologist/student. Octavio Ankuash – CEMIM student and community leader in San Pedro/Ankuash.
New Things & Food: Ate “avas” (highland bean), La Avelina ice-cream (chocolate coated butter), La Finca ice-cream (three flavors were Mora/Limon/Taxo). Trout at Arco-Iris in Cashaurcu; Then roast pork, xx and xx.
