Out the door and into the car to be driven to Tena and the hostel La Casa Abuelo which would be home for a couple of days.
The road to Tena was a winding, though paved for the most part, road. But we were to learn that is not as simple of a trip as just driving. The heavy rains of the previous weeks left the roads cluttered with mud and rocks and more mud and more rocks. Luck did shine on us because road crews were cleaning the roads. They work carefully and slowly. On the return trip on Saturday afternoon, June 12, some of the same parts of the road to Tena still had the mud and rocks.
Tena is a town of about 15-18,000 people. We met some of Maura's co-workers at the clinic. Also saw that Maura has a schedule listing patients just about every hour of the day. Reality in the Amazon region of Ecuador means the patients do not always arrive for the appointment. As we walked toward the clinic one young boy ran to Maura and wrapped his arms around her smiling all the time. His father stood by approving his son's embrace. As parents we truly enjoyed seeing our Maura engaging the patients so positively.
The next day we met three young Ecuadorians--Raphael, his sister, Isabella, and her boyfriend Fabio. All us went to Misahulli for a canoe trip on the Misahulli river to visit a village of indigenous people. Interesting and educational as we were introduced to the ways of the people living off the land. Mary Ann excelled above the others at the blowgun and Maura sounded the conch like a pro. It was at the next village that Doug showed his skills in native dance accompanied by one of the older women from the village. That night we went a little farther into the jungle for dinner, mostly chicken and fish. Jungle is what the Ecuadorians living in the Andes mountains call Tena.
The next day we met Gaby, Juan Francisco and Gaby's mother. Gaby is Maura's landlady. We all went to lunch at a pizza place. In the afternoon we went to the hostel where Maura ran into some friends who were gathering for a party.
Tena had some sudden flooding in April and some of the damage is still evident, the zoo on an island had the bridge wiped out. A bar suffered some damage but was reopened by the time we arrived.
Then back to Quito on the road from Tena.
In Quito we saw an exhibit of art work from the rebellion to independence. We went to San Jose church, a very modern church filled with parishoners who actively participate in the service. Closing commments to follow.
The road to Tena was a winding, though paved for the most part, road. But we were to learn that is not as simple of a trip as just driving. The heavy rains of the previous weeks left the roads cluttered with mud and rocks and more mud and more rocks. Luck did shine on us because road crews were cleaning the roads. They work carefully and slowly. On the return trip on Saturday afternoon, June 12, some of the same parts of the road to Tena still had the mud and rocks.
Tena is a town of about 15-18,000 people. We met some of Maura's co-workers at the clinic. Also saw that Maura has a schedule listing patients just about every hour of the day. Reality in the Amazon region of Ecuador means the patients do not always arrive for the appointment. As we walked toward the clinic one young boy ran to Maura and wrapped his arms around her smiling all the time. His father stood by approving his son's embrace. As parents we truly enjoyed seeing our Maura engaging the patients so positively.
The next day we met three young Ecuadorians--Raphael, his sister, Isabella, and her boyfriend Fabio. All us went to Misahulli for a canoe trip on the Misahulli river to visit a village of indigenous people. Interesting and educational as we were introduced to the ways of the people living off the land. Mary Ann excelled above the others at the blowgun and Maura sounded the conch like a pro. It was at the next village that Doug showed his skills in native dance accompanied by one of the older women from the village. That night we went a little farther into the jungle for dinner, mostly chicken and fish. Jungle is what the Ecuadorians living in the Andes mountains call Tena.
The next day we met Gaby, Juan Francisco and Gaby's mother. Gaby is Maura's landlady. We all went to lunch at a pizza place. In the afternoon we went to the hostel where Maura ran into some friends who were gathering for a party.
Tena had some sudden flooding in April and some of the damage is still evident, the zoo on an island had the bridge wiped out. A bar suffered some damage but was reopened by the time we arrived.
Then back to Quito on the road from Tena.
In Quito we saw an exhibit of art work from the rebellion to independence. We went to San Jose church, a very modern church filled with parishoners who actively participate in the service. Closing commments to follow.
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