Hello Everyone,
It has been raining A LOT here in Quito the last few days. It starts about mid-afternopon and it rains until sometime in the ¨wee-small¨ hours of the morning. Even the locals say that this year´s rainy season has been worse than usual. There is flooding in many areas, and the President of Ecuador has declared the entire country under an emergency in order to release funds to help those whose lives, livelihoods and homes have been wiped out. All of the damage is in parts of the country other than Quito and the northern highlands where I have been visiting and will visit this weekend.
The idea of going to the Amazon this weekend has been changed. The accident that Chris had that demolished his vehicle took away the primary means of traveling there. We looked into renting a vehicle, but it really is not practical. So, I decided to go back to Otovalo this weekend and go to the fantastic artisans market there and get a few final gifts before I get ready to leave next week. The weekend market there fills up a huge portion of the town and they have things there that are not easily found other places, and the prices are far below what you would pay if you did find them here in Quito.
Also there is an American couple I met there and I will try to lok them up again. I had oiginally met them on my first trip to Otovalo and we made arrqangements to meet again at a sports bar here in Quito to watch the Super Bowl together. They had given me their phone number on a napkin at the bar. Now I can´t find the napkin, but I may be able to find them as they are pretty well know in Otovalo.
I decided not to take my camera on this trip. I would like to but I don´t expect I would get any award winning shots and I can´t take the risk with the only camera I have left.
I would be less than honest if I did not say that between getting sick last weekend and having my camera stolen this week, I am a little ¨bummed out¨ right now. I try not to let it get to me, but in all truth at times it really does. This is such a gorgeous country with so many wonderful people and places, but it is still a third world country with all of the risks and problems that are what make it a third world country. You have to admire those who, like Bishop Ramos and Chris and Trish Morck, willingly accept these risks and problems as a way of life in order to extend the church and make life better for those who live here. They have each endured serious auto accidents, illnesses like mine-and probably worse- all simply to serve the Lord and make the world a better place. They, and so many others around the world, whose names we will never know, could so easily just stay in the comfort and security of the good old US of A and ¨talk the talk¨. I cannot help but be inspired by their dedication, courage and faith, and that will stay with me long after I have left Ecuador.
Well, I need to get ready to go to the bus station and head to Otovalo.
Love to you all,
Glenn+
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
A Few Days in the Cloud Forest of Mindo
Greetings to Y´all.
I just had a wonderful two days in Mindo and enjoyed the tranquil, warm climate. Mindo is a funny little town. First it is very small. There is one main street and there is so little traffic on it that most people just walk in the middle of the street. It reminds me so much of the mythical town in Alaska in the TV series ¨Northern Exposure¨.
In Mindo there is a doctor in town who is there on a one year requirement of doing rural medicie for a year before you can get your medical license. She is a very young, very nice, single young lady who lives at the hotel where I stayed. There is a Sheriff and a police station in town, but often no one is in their offices. Everyone in town knows everyone else. Everyone lives off of the tourism. The town is full of unique ¨personalities¨ with the kind of curious tensions between the personalities that would be a perfect model for a new TV series on this small town near the equator in Ecuador. The could call it ¨Mitad del Mundo¨, Middle of the Earth.
Unfortunately the trip was not without its difficulties. On the bus from Quito to Mindo one of my cameras and a lens were stolen, and most unfortunate of all the camera was my 5D, my best, most expensive camera. It was literally stolen right out from under me too. When I got on the bus I put my camera backpack under my seat. Apparently the person behind me slid the backpack from under my seat just enough to open it and snatch the camera. I didn´t discover it until I was about to go to bed the first night in Mindo. I made a police report, but that is all I can do. The brighter side of it all, if there is one, is: a) it happened near the end of my trip instead of at the beginning, b) there was no violence involved, c) they did not take the whole back pack, so I still have a camera and two of my lenses, and d) they did not take the device that holds all of the photos from this trip.
Well, other than that, it was a fine trip, very relaxing, and I enjoyed being with my friends who own the hotel.
I need to get some groceries, so ¨adios¨ for now.
Love to you all,
Glenn+
I just had a wonderful two days in Mindo and enjoyed the tranquil, warm climate. Mindo is a funny little town. First it is very small. There is one main street and there is so little traffic on it that most people just walk in the middle of the street. It reminds me so much of the mythical town in Alaska in the TV series ¨Northern Exposure¨.
In Mindo there is a doctor in town who is there on a one year requirement of doing rural medicie for a year before you can get your medical license. She is a very young, very nice, single young lady who lives at the hotel where I stayed. There is a Sheriff and a police station in town, but often no one is in their offices. Everyone in town knows everyone else. Everyone lives off of the tourism. The town is full of unique ¨personalities¨ with the kind of curious tensions between the personalities that would be a perfect model for a new TV series on this small town near the equator in Ecuador. The could call it ¨Mitad del Mundo¨, Middle of the Earth.
Unfortunately the trip was not without its difficulties. On the bus from Quito to Mindo one of my cameras and a lens were stolen, and most unfortunate of all the camera was my 5D, my best, most expensive camera. It was literally stolen right out from under me too. When I got on the bus I put my camera backpack under my seat. Apparently the person behind me slid the backpack from under my seat just enough to open it and snatch the camera. I didn´t discover it until I was about to go to bed the first night in Mindo. I made a police report, but that is all I can do. The brighter side of it all, if there is one, is: a) it happened near the end of my trip instead of at the beginning, b) there was no violence involved, c) they did not take the whole back pack, so I still have a camera and two of my lenses, and d) they did not take the device that holds all of the photos from this trip.
Well, other than that, it was a fine trip, very relaxing, and I enjoyed being with my friends who own the hotel.
I need to get some groceries, so ¨adios¨ for now.
Love to you all,
Glenn+
Monday, February 25, 2008
My Last Full Week in Ecuador
Greetings all,
The calendar is closing in on my return date of March 5. This is my last full week in Ecuador and I feel very mixed emotions. I have enjoyed virtually every minute. I say virtually and will explain that in a minute. And I inted to enjoy these last few days to the fullest. Today I am going back to Mindo to spend a little time with some friends I made there and to photograph the fabulous butterfly farms they have there. I may also get another chance to photograph some exotic birds there.
I attended the diocesan convention on Friday and it was very interesting and a valuable experience. Their convention is incredibly small, compared to ours. There are about 40 delegates including both clergy and lay. Consequently everthing is done much more informally. Interestingly they were revising their Constitution and Canons and I learned that those have to be approved by the Ecuadorean Government. I did not have a chance to get more info about that, for reasons that will become clear below, but I am curious about this. Much of their time was spent trying to restructure the subdivisions of the diocese, which they call districts. They have the same issues Arizona has had to deal with over the last three plus decades that I have been in the diocese, that is: how to structure a diocese that has a large central locus and a number of small ¨rural¨ congregations that are separated by enormous distance and even culture.
And now to explain why I say I have enjoyed virtually every minute. Friday night when I arrived back at my apartment I felt ¨funny¨, like sick at my stomach funny, and within an hour I was really sick. I will spare the ugly details, suffice it to say it was one of those times when you are half afraid you will die, and half afraid you wont also. I didn´t sleep at all Friday night. By Saturday morning the ¨action¨ had pretty much stopped and I got some sleep. I slept all day Saturday and Saturday night and Sunday morning. By Sunday afternoon I began to feel a lot better and today I feel FINE.
I have decided to follow through with my plans to go to Mindo. It is a very laid back place, much quieter and warmer than my apartment, much lower in altitude ( about 4000 feet, as apposed to 10,000 feet here) the hotel is very comfortable, and I know all of the food there is sanitary ( I am a little ¨gun shy¨ about that right now). So since I feel well, AND I REALLY DO FEEL FINE NOW, going there for a few days seems like a very good idea.
I am still not sure if our plans to go to the Amazon this weekend will work out. That is still on the drawing board. We will just have to see.
Well, Adios for now.
Glenn+
The calendar is closing in on my return date of March 5. This is my last full week in Ecuador and I feel very mixed emotions. I have enjoyed virtually every minute. I say virtually and will explain that in a minute. And I inted to enjoy these last few days to the fullest. Today I am going back to Mindo to spend a little time with some friends I made there and to photograph the fabulous butterfly farms they have there. I may also get another chance to photograph some exotic birds there.
I attended the diocesan convention on Friday and it was very interesting and a valuable experience. Their convention is incredibly small, compared to ours. There are about 40 delegates including both clergy and lay. Consequently everthing is done much more informally. Interestingly they were revising their Constitution and Canons and I learned that those have to be approved by the Ecuadorean Government. I did not have a chance to get more info about that, for reasons that will become clear below, but I am curious about this. Much of their time was spent trying to restructure the subdivisions of the diocese, which they call districts. They have the same issues Arizona has had to deal with over the last three plus decades that I have been in the diocese, that is: how to structure a diocese that has a large central locus and a number of small ¨rural¨ congregations that are separated by enormous distance and even culture.
And now to explain why I say I have enjoyed virtually every minute. Friday night when I arrived back at my apartment I felt ¨funny¨, like sick at my stomach funny, and within an hour I was really sick. I will spare the ugly details, suffice it to say it was one of those times when you are half afraid you will die, and half afraid you wont also. I didn´t sleep at all Friday night. By Saturday morning the ¨action¨ had pretty much stopped and I got some sleep. I slept all day Saturday and Saturday night and Sunday morning. By Sunday afternoon I began to feel a lot better and today I feel FINE.
I have decided to follow through with my plans to go to Mindo. It is a very laid back place, much quieter and warmer than my apartment, much lower in altitude ( about 4000 feet, as apposed to 10,000 feet here) the hotel is very comfortable, and I know all of the food there is sanitary ( I am a little ¨gun shy¨ about that right now). So since I feel well, AND I REALLY DO FEEL FINE NOW, going there for a few days seems like a very good idea.
I am still not sure if our plans to go to the Amazon this weekend will work out. That is still on the drawing board. We will just have to see.
Well, Adios for now.
Glenn+
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