Well, it's only been a couple of weeks since I updated this blog, it felt like much longer - now I don't have to feel so bad!
(as I write this I'm listening to CBC radio over the internet. A little weird to hear familiar cbc voices and programs against the background of noisy buses, honking horns, and all the other Guayaquil sounds!)
It's been a full couple of weeks, with lots going on. Kathryn has been here, just went back on Sunday, and we traveled a bit, saw the sights here in G., and amongst that I carried on with my daily life.
We spent a few days in Cuenca, a beautiful old city in the mountains, about 4 hours south of G. by bus. We stayed right in the old city center, all cobblestoned streets, interesting buildings, markets, MANY churches, some quite lovely and huge, a river running through town, and a big square where I was happy to sit and watch life go by. we had a visit with Daniel who has gone to live there to go to university. And we went one day to visit Ecuador's Inca ruins, tiny by Peru's standards, but I like ruins and I may never get to Machu Pichu, so I was happy. It was cold though, 3180 feet up in the Andes, and there are clouds up there, cold damp ones! As we arrived we could hear sirens approaching, and it turned out that a couple who lived just down the hillside from the ruins had been attacked by their bull, and these were ambulances arriving. I have no idea how serious it was, but in due course, they were carried up a steep hill on stretchers, the man with his hat over his face, put into the ambulances, and off they went, sirens and all, to wherever the nearest hospital might have been. I wish I had the end to that story, but I guess I'll never know it.
link to photos of our time away - http://picasaweb.google.ca/heathermoore21/CuencaJune2008?authkey=_ia_yq4reCQ
And in the meantime, life here has gone on, with its ups and downs. Last week, a crisis hit us that has set us all back a bit. A little girl in the school, 7 year old Michelle, was diagnosed with leukemia and sent straight to the cancer hospital where she has been ever since. It's Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia, and she has already begun the first stage of what will be a long course of treatment. I've been in to the hospital twice now, the first time was just as they were making the diagnosis, and there she was in a little bed on the pediatric ward, attached to an IV, scared, not eating, having been through some unpleasant tests all on her own, no parents allowed to be with her for those. It was a heartbreaking visit, seeing her and her parents, who were looking as though they didn't know what had hit them - she is their only child. And it was also hard to see the other kids on that ward, knowing that they were all there with some kind of malignancy. Cancer is a difficult diagnosis to deal with anywhere, but here, especially if you're poor, it's worse. Not only do these people have to worry about the illness, but also how they are going to find the money to pay for everything. And can it ever add up fast. Before anything is done, they are given a list of supplies that will be needed, and how much they will cost, and they have to go and pay for it all. If you're poor you can go and talk to social services, and you may be given a discount. But always - those bills, wads of them. We are so thankful that in Michelle's case we can help with that, and remove that part of the burden from her parents. This has been a blow for everyone at the school, I believe that this is the first really serious illness they've had to deal with. So they are praying for her, and sending her cards, it will be a good support system for the family as they face the long road ahead.
And then yesterday, some good news - I went to see the man with the leg ulcer who I've been seeing for 2 months now, and many dressings and many prayers later...the ulcer is completely closed!! And great was the rejoicing!! He told us recently that he had had it for 10 months before I arrived on the scene, and 3 different doctors had told him he needed to have the leg amputated! And now he's out and about, and working a bit, able to earn some much needed money. So how's that for rewarding!! How blessed I feel to have been able to be a part of that, to be used by God to help that one little family. And I have got some new friends now, too, people I feel pivileged to spend time with. Such are the blessings of working in this community.

a boat trip

Kathryn is here now, arrived last Monday evening - boy, was it good to see her! We've been out and about ever since - she's been catching up a bit with old friends and coming with me on my rounds in Bastion. It's been nice to have some input from another nurse, we've taken stitches out of a little boy's leg, done the dressing on the man with the leg ulcer (which is about a millimeter away from being healed!), taken blood pressures, and visited. And been fed, of course, often a part of these visits.

And we've had outings, the highlight so far being the one we had on Thursday. We left Caracol at 6:30 in the morning, along with Janna, Nikki and Katie Horne, and caught the bus to Playas. (This time I got a proper seat, no folding stool on a platform on this trip!) We got to Dale and Janet's house at 9, and then all of us piled into Dales' truck for the 1/2 hour trip to Posorja, a little town at the end of the road that goes past camp. I've always wanted to see where that road goes. Posorja is a port town, fishing boats, and some container ships, and there is also a huge smelly tuna packing plant.

In Posorja, Dale had a contact who had a contact and we got ourselves a boat, complete with a very nice man to be our driver and guide, to take us out for the day. And what a day it was! The weather was perfect, you could not have ordered a finer day, sunny and clear, and not too hot. Our destination was a big island just off the coast, Isla Puna, but on the way there our guide took us by a place where dolphins often hang out, and they showed up, as if they had been waiting for us. Lots of them, and they came very close to the boat, and jumped out of the water, and did everything to make us all squeal and exclaim and clap our hands. Which we did. Then he took us past a tiny island inhabited by birds, blue-footed boobies, pelicans, frigate birds, and others.

Then finally to Puna, where he put us down at a beautiful, endless, empty beach. As we arrived, another boat pulled in too, but it was just to unload a few residents of the island who had been to the mainland to get supplies. 2 donkeys and a small pickup truck appeared to help carry them and their goods home, and soon we had the place to ourselves. The other side of the island is more inhabited, apparently, towns and villages and people, but on our side, there wasn't much. A collection of beach huts, which must mean that in the busy season there are visitors to the beach, and a very small village inland a bit. And nothing more. Just what we city dwellers needed!

We had a picnic lunch, then scattered to our preferred beach activities, little boys to swim and jump off the boat, others to lie on the beach in the sun to read and/or sleep, and me to go for a long walk along the beach (with camera of course) and then to join the others for a nap in the sun. It was a lovely relaxing afternoon.

Later we decided to go into "town" thinking that we could maybe buy an ice cream, or something to drink, and see what town looks like. Well, it took some searching, but we eventually found it after a hot walk, and it wasn't exactly "town" - just a few houses scattered around a very dry and dusty area, surrounding a catholic church, a school (John F. Kennedy school!!!) and not much else. Along came a man on one donkey with another in tow, and we asked him if there was a store anywhere, and he asked what we wanted. "Oh just something to drink." Oh well, he could help, and took us to his house, where he sold us a big bottle of "cola" and 4 plastic cups, and we stood out there, with the donkeys, and had our refreshment!

Then we headed back to meet our man with the boat,which we did with some difficulty. We were to meet him at a different place, by a river, a little estuary really, which is only there when the tide is in. Our problem was that we began the search before there WAS a river, so it was a little hard to figure out where he could possibly meet us with a boat, but we eventually found him, and it was a very interesting trip out along that tidal river to the sea. Mangrove trees all along the sides, covered with all the little crabs who live in the sand, but seem to climb out when the tide comes in, huge spiders hanging around in massive webs stretched between the trees above our heads (that one was a little unnerving, I might have been better to have not noticed that!), iguanas high up in the branches, and many birds. It reminded me a bit of the canoe trip into the jungle.

And finally out to the ocean, which had become a tad choppier since the morning. Well, more than a tad, and more than choppy!! Fun for the first few ups and downs, but then I began to wonder how I could save my camera if we went overboard. We kept looking at our man, thinking that as long as he was still smiling we were okay. And he was calm and happy, and said that part is always like that, and we'd soon be out of it. And he was right.

The sun was getting low as we approached Posorja, and everything was looking so nice in that light, and suddenly he said, "look, more dolphins". And there they were, 5 of them, having a fine time, jumping and showing off, and coming so close to us. Our very patient driver circled around for ages so we could enjoy them, what a bonus that was, a perfect way to end a wonderful day.

The other girls went back to Guayaquil that evening, but Kathryn and I stayed over and spent part of Friday at the beach and in town at Playas, and got the bus back that afternoon. 2 great days!

link to photos of the day - http://picasaweb.google.ca/heathermoore21/Posorja?authkey=oeFAyWzFSPY