Hannah and Barbara (both physical therapists) and I hopped on a bus on Friday (the bus in Ecuador is a very frightening experience) to head to Tena, a town known for it's convenient proximity to the jungle and all things related to extreme sports (white water rafting, canyoning, jungle trekking, etc)... I guess to sum it up quick, I'll make a top 10:
10. Not flying out of the raft during the rapids... although our guide did flip me out of the boat on a calm part. We wore wet suits, so the chilly water felt great! (Although now I have the most remarkable wetsuit tan lines! Ha!)
9. Creature seeking at night with my super power headlamp... we saw spiders, a rhinocerous beetle, a tree frog, walking sticks, some really weird looking jungle bugs... I know I'm a nerd, but I loved bugs when I was little. Just ask my sisters ("Know your insects").
8. Reading in the hammock. Whoever invented hammocks was a very intelligent person.
7. Our bus didn't get stuck, break down, flip off the mountainside... we even had seats on the way home! Standing in the aisle for 2.5 hours on the way there wasn't SO bad...
6. Eating the fruit of the cacao tree. The seeds are dried out and turned into chocolate, but I never knew the fruit part tasted soooo yummy.
5. The lagoon was formed by a rainforest river tributary flowing down to meet with a tributary of the Amazon river... we climbed up stream and "rode the rapids" down into the lagoon. So exhilarating!
4. Our jungle trek guide, Solomon, and his knowledge of trees and plants and their uses for medicinal herbs. Also his stories about the snakes (there are several very very venomous snakes that claim several victims a year). One is called the "matacaballos"-- translation "horse killer". Just to put it in perspective, the hospital I'm working in has a snake bite research protocol, so it's a fairly common occurrence. Thankfully we didn't see any snakes at all (some of them, they say, if you see them you're too late... you can't run fast enough to get away!)
3. Being able to travel around Ecuador with 2 really unique and amazing women... Barbara is an Ironman triathlete, (we're going to do a half-Ironman next spring in her home state of California)... Hannah is a sweet college student from England and taught me all sorts of new phrases I've never heard before...
2. We hiked for 7 hours on Saturday and didn't see a single person other than our group... I'm convinced that God made the jungle for his own creative pleasure and glory. It's growing and changing and existing in its grandiosity and beauty even when no one is there enjoying it.
1. The best water pressure I've ever had in a shower was under the waterfall! WOW, it was incredible!
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1 comment:
Kat, I cannot help but smile as I read your posts and can hear the excitement in your voice as if you were standing right next to me about how beautiful the waterfalls were and how awesome God is. I know that God has you in Ecuador for such a time as this! Your passion for His creation, and even more for the people there overflows from you like a river. You have such a gift. Know that your confidence and yet humility and readiness to learn is a true gift from God and I know that you are making such an impact on the Kingdom for God's glory while you are there. I miss you like crazy, but I am sooooo proud of you!
Karen
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