TO THE HOSPITAL!

This morning I woke up feeling like I had been hit by a bus! I skipped Spanish class to go to the emergency room at the hospital. They took an x-ray of my right shoulder and upon examination the doctor decided he needed another x-ray, but this time I had to hold ten kilos in my right hand. He also wanted a trauma specialist to take a look at the films. After reviewing both films, the trauma doc said I may have a slightly separated shoulder, but without a CT Scan he couldn't be sure. What he was happy about is that I had no broken bones, I had almost full range of motion and to his knowledge all of my nerves were intact. So, he prescribed me a sling (that I have to wear until Monday), a muscle relaxer (cyclobenzoprine) and a COX-2 inhibitor (a glorified ibuprofen). I had to pay for the drugs and the sling out of pocket... The grand total: $24.80. JACKPOT. The bad news - is I may not be able to do white water rafting and canyoning this weekend. Ugh.

Anyway, this week we are travelling to a rural clinic in Rio Verde, a small town near Banos, to see yet another aspect of healthcare in Ecuador. It was very similar to a primary care provider's office in the states except that the people were given the drugs at the office (for free) since they don't live near a pharmacy. Nothing too exciting today. Just kids with diarrhea and coughs. The doctor is a really nice guy though. I enjoy learning from him and chatting with him in broken Spanish. He is ONLY 25! Apparently, the way medical school works here is that you are not required to complete three years of undergraduate studies to go to medical school. The degree itself is a six year undergraduate program. Then you are required to work for the government for two years (since tuition is free) in primary care. After you finish that you can specialize if you wish. I am really getting a great perspective on a different type of healthcare system. It is mind blowing what they can do with so few resources.

Rainforest - Day 3

Today is our last day in the rainforest. Our itinerary includes riding in a motorized canoe up and down the river to visit an animal shelter, an indigenous museum, a ceramic shop, and a balsa wood shop. We started the morning with a delicious breakfast. After we ate, we packed up all our stuff, said goodbye to the lodge and piled into the canoe.

Our first stop was the animal shelter. It consisted of animals that police confiscated at the borders and unwanted pets. There were toucans, macaws, capybaras, monkeys, wild pigs and ocelots. IT WAS AWESOME!

Next, we stopped at an indigenous museum. Here we learned about a variety of traps used by the natives to catch their prey. We also learned and practiced shooting a target with a blow gun. Next we decided to go swimming. I wasn't going to swim until we saw the sweet zipline you could ride into the river. So I decided to take a shot at it. I was third in line to go. When it was my turn, I grabbed the wooden handle and took a leap, in an attempt to avoid a rather large bush at the shoreline. The series of events that occurred in the next 5 seconds went something like this: I jumped, I flew, the handle snapped in half, and I fell... HARD! The fall was about two meters and I landed on my right shoulder. When I stood up it was visibly dislocated. When I tried to move it, it snapped back into place. I was covered in mud and leaves and water. It was rather comical (although nobody else thought so) so I started to laugh. Jenny helped clean me up while Rachel and Susan got me some ibuprofen. It hurt like crazy. After everyone calmed down, I put on my clothes and we all piled back into the canoe for the next stop.

Upon arriving at our final destination of the day we discovered the balsa wood shop was close (the owner was out harvesting more wood) so we went straight to the ceramic shop. There we were shown how they make ceramic bowls using only a campfire. I wasn't really paying attention at this point because I was a bit nauseous due to the pain. But once my ibuprofen kicked in on our ride back to the trucks, I was feeling much better. From where we docked our canoe we took two trucks back to Tena. From Tena we took a public bus to Banos. It took about 3 hours and we were back at the hostal. We went to eat dinner and then went to bed. Tomorrow I go to the hospital to have my shoulder checked out.

Rainforest - Day 2

Last night I woke up to torrents of rain, one could barely hear themselves think. This morning we had breakfast and then got ready for a four hour hike. The river was really high due to the rain we had gotten the night before, so our plan to swim later in the afternoon was abandoned. For the hike, we took a motorized canoe up river about 2 kilometers. When we got out, it looked like our trails had been washed out, but we managed to maneuver up the hill with little difficulty. The hike was AWESOME! We saw some birds, learned about more plants and trees and we even saw a poisonous snake! Toasted the end of the hike we had to wade in water up to our waists. While hiking in the stream we saw a walking stick and we got to sample a few edible plants. We were also taught how to quickly weave a basket out of palm fronds. It started to rain a little as we finished up, but we didn't care as we were already wet from the stream and sweaty from the hike. When we got back to the lodge, we ate lunch and took a small siesta. Next, we went to visit our forest guide's family to get a better idea of how the people from the area live. On our way we walked near a hornet's nest and five of us from the group got stung (including Susan and I). While we were there we learned how to prepare dark chocolate and make chicha, a drink made by fermenting yuca. After returning to the lodge we had dinner and celebrated our last night in the rainforest by having a few drinks. Our guide taught us an ecuadorian drinking game and we were in bed by eleven. Another great day!

Rainforest - Day 1

This morning we left Banos at five thirty. It was a three hour bus ride to Tena where we picked up our guide, he bought food and drinks for the trip and then we set out, with our cooking and cleaning staff, to the river. When we arrived at the Napo river, the food and staff went in the first motorized canoe and all 14 of us plus the guide piled into the second. It was crazy to be in such a narrow boat on such a giant river. It was about a twenty minute canoe ride downstream to the lodge we were staying at. After arriving and walking up one hundred stairs or so, we made it to our home away from home. It was BREATHTAKING! We got assigned to rooms and then had an hour to look around before lunch. There were five hammocks under a covered area, cocoa trees, a bonfire pit, and the bugs were crazy! We saw ants biting off pieces of leaf and then taking them back to their colony. It was like National Geographic. After lunch we had an hour to digest and rest before we took off on a three hour hike into the forest. I packed my poncho, some water and a ton of bug spray and I was ready (not to mention the huge rubber boots everyone was wearing). It was so hot and muggy. But the trek was very interesting. Our guide showed us medicinal plants and insects, we learned about different trees and he gave us some information about the indigenous people of the area. When we got back to the lodge we were hot, sweaty, muddy and hungry. So everyone showered, using brisk rainwater, and we ate. The lodge only had electricity via generator between the hours of six and ten pm. After dinner we sat around until ten to see how dark it would get. It was pitch black! We wanted to look at the stars but it was cloudy so we headed to bed. Tomorrow we have a long hike!

The Last Week at the Banos Hospital

This last week was our final week at the hospital here in Banos. I am going to miss it! The doctors, students, and interns were a lot of fun. This week we saw a case of Chilaiditi Syndrome - a rare disease when your colon displaces your liver and puts pressure on the right lung. It was really interesting. We also got to clean wounds and watch some sutures get placed. I gave my first penicillin shot in the buttocks and my first intervenous shot of corticosteroids to an elderly gentleman with a nasty case of contact dermatitis. All in all, it was a great week. Saturday we leave for a weekend in the rainforest. I can't wait!

Back to Banos

Monday morning Rachel and I got up and went for a jog on the beach. It was great! After our run we ate breakfast and headed to the beach for two hours before we had to return to the hostal and pack up. After we loaded the bus we went out for lunch. Most of us got shrimp ceviche... It was really tasty! We ended up leaving Montanita around one thirty in the afternoon. Boy was it an adventure on the way home! We stopped at a gas station for dinner and I ordered a ham sandwich. This may have been the worst decision I have made on the trip so far. By the time we finally arrived in Banos, around 11:30pm I needed to use the bathroom really bad. All I have to say is traveler's diarrhea is the worst thing ever... (I didn't go to bed until 2 or so because of the urge to defecate) Anyways, that is about all that unfolded on our last day of vacation. Back to Spanish class and the hospital tomorrow.

The Beach, Surfing and a Pufferfish

Sunday we had to ourselves in Montanita. After waking up around nine we went to have breakfast and then headed to the beach. The weather was beautiful and we slathered on sunscreen like it was our job! At one we headed to the surf shop to pick up our boards and meet our instructor. There was a small language barrier, but with his minimal English and our Spanish we made out fine. The lesson was two hours, and within thirty minutes we had all had at least stood up on our boards once. The waves were crazy strong. After two hours of surfing we were EXHAUSTED! I had swallowed about a gallon of sea water, I had salt and sand everywhere and my eyes were killing me, but it was well worth it. After returning our boards we ate and headed back to the hostal to clean up and nap. Later we explored the town a bit, had dinner and took a walk on the beach. After walking to the end of the beach, Scott found a Pufferfish that had gotten caught in the sand when the tide went out. It showed some signs of life, so we attempted a rescue mission. Knowing that Pufferfish spikes can be lethal, we didn't want to pick it up directly with our hands. Instead I was volunteered by the group to use a large flat shell as a "gurney" and take it to the water. I got it on the shell, with the help of Jill's foot, but when we were almost to the water it squirmed off and landed near some rocks. I was pretty excited because I wanted to see it swim, but getting it to the water turned out to be a bigger project than initially expected. While I was trying to roll him to the water with the shell, a a slightly larger than expected wave caught us off guard, sent the Pufferfish farther onto the
beach, got our feet wet, and caused Scott to slip and scrape his arm. Finally, after five minutes of battling waves and slick rocks, the Pufferfish made it to the sea to live another day (at least that is what we like to hope). All in all, our evening turned out to be much more exciting than anticipated. That being said we were in bed by ten thirty. We leave to go back to Banos tomorrow.

Isla de la Plata

On Saturday we were up, packed, out of the hostal and had eaten breakfast by 7:55am. After everyone was ready, we headed to the beach to take a boat to "The Poor Man's Galapagos," also known as Isla de la Plata. They didn't have docks, so we had to wade out to the boat we were going to take to the island. On the way we passed all the fishermen bringing in their catches. There were sharks, ling cod, sea bass, and even a marlin! Anyways, we waded out to our boat and got ready for the hour and twenty minute ride to the island. The boat was nothing like I expected - it had two outboard motors and a canvas covering. AN ADVENTURE! On our way to the island we saw five humpback whales! One of them even jumped out of the water right in front of us! The rest of the ride was pretty smooth. Upon our arrival to the island, we waded in, put our shoes on and started our two hour hike. On the hike we saw lizards, and blue footed boobies. We also saw another bird that puffs up a red sack on it's chest when it is mating. It was pretty sweet. I was also amazing to see how dry and brown the landscape was. It looked like a desert. After our hike we did some snorkeling. It was pretty cool! We saw a tortoise, quite a few different kinds of fish and some sea stars. The ride back was a bit bumpier, but I thought it was great! When we got back to the mainland we jumped on the bus and headed to Montanita, about an hour away. After checking into our hostal, we discovered that if someone was showering on the first floor, people on the second and third floor had no water to shower, wash their hands, or use the toilet. A bit frustrating at times, but the view was worth it! After everyone was showered we headed out to dinner. We ate at a place that made their own pasta. The food was good and the wine was cheap. ;-) After dinner we went out to explore the night life. Oh, the fun we had! We went to a bar called HolaOla where six dollars bought you unlimited well drinks! After a couple hours at the bar we went to the beach for a quick swim. The water was perfect, however I was the only one of the four who left the beach unscathed. Apparently there was a rock hiding in the depths that Rachel and Scott busted their feet open on and Susan scratched her hand on. So we went back to the hostal, Susan broke out her first aid kit and we played doctors! After that, we tucked ourselves into our mosquito nets and fell asleep. A GREAT DAY!

Puerto Lopez, Agua Blanco and the Drive to the Coast

Thursday night, after Spanish class we quickly ate dinner and were off to our first Salsa lesson. It was fun, but a bit more challenging than I expected. I'll need to practice for sure! Hahaha. After our class, we tried "Ecuadorian Tequila" at a local bar for 25 cents a shot. It was different, but good. After quickly packing we met our guide, Celso, out at a bar. It was a good time but after an hour we had to leave to catch our bus to Puerto Lopez. We left Banos at eleven thirty and arrived at our hostel on the beach at ten in the morning the next day. IT WAS BRUTAL... I only slept about two hours. Once arriving at the beach we ate breakfast and were off to see some ancient ruins at Agua Blanco. It was crazy hot out, but we hiked around for two hours learning about the ancient culture, the flora and fauna of the area, and ended up at a naturally spring known for it's healing powers. We swam in it and put some of the natural clay on our skin. It smelled like rotten eggs and made me feel slimy all over. Don't know if I would do it again, but it was an interesting experience. After the ruins we went to a BEAUTIFUL beach. We hiked up to an outlook and the view was breathtaking! After the short hike we swam in the ocean. The waves were the strongest I have ever swam in! We tried body surfing on some of them but after Jen, Susan and I got annihilated by one (Jen lost her contact and I got stung by a jellyfish) we were done playing. So we got back on the bus and had seafood practically on the beach. The sunset was fantastic and after dinner we sat on the beach and drank a few cocktails. We had an early day planned on Saturday so we were in bed pretty early.

The elusive "Mobile Clinic"

So yesterday two people were suppose to travel with the mobile clinic and it left without them. Today, I was supposed to go with them and it never showed up. Instead we stayed in the emergency department in Banos. We saw some interesting cases: a woman with ameobiasis that resulted in secondary Crohn's disease (it was a textbook presentation!), a man with cholecystitis caused by fatty liver disease, a little girl with a kidney infection, and a pregnant woman having complications. Even after two days I have seen a huge improvement in my understanding of medical terms in Spanish. Can't wait for tomorrow!

A first hand experience with healthcare in Ecuador

So I have been battling a sore throat for a couple days and had diagnosed myself with a strep infection. I needed penicillin so I went into a pharmacy and asked if I needed a prescription. I did, so I figured I would just wait to see if it would resolve itself without intervention. Then this morning when we were working at the hospital, I met an intern that wanted to go into otolaryngology, so I had her take a look. Diagnosis: strep throat, Treatment: a penicillin injection in my butt. Oye ve! So they took a history, asked about allergies, I dropped trou and got a shot. Cost: $0. JACKPOT! Other than that our first day was pretty uneventful. Due to the bad weather, there were very few patients. All we saw was a man with a dislocated toe, that needed to be put back in place, a child with a sore throat and fever, a woman with gallstones and a woman needed a refill on her high blood pressure medication. Tomorrow I get to travel into the mountains with a mobile clinic that provides care to people who can't make it to Banos to see a physician. I am pretty excited! That's about it here on this end. More to come later this week. We leave for our beach trip Thursday night. We can't wait!

Salasaca, Pelileo, and the Hospital

Sunday morning Jen, Rachel, Susan and I got on a bus to Salasaca - an indigenous town known for its beautiful textiles. The bus ride was about thirty minutes and cost $1.25. They had some really great stuff. I bought an alpaca wool sweater for $18 and some linen pajama pants for $8. The girls bought alpaca sweaters as well! From Salasaca we got back on a bus to Pelileo - a town known for its jeans and brown sugar empanadas. A woman from our program told us that the bus driver would know where to drop us off for the empanadas if we told him that is what we were interested in. When we asked he said he would... come to find out, he was wrong. When we got off the bus the empanadas were no where to be found! So we did a little shopping (I bought a pair of pants - which was a lot more challenging than expected because everyone is so short here!), and asked around about the empanadas. Three people pointed us in the same direction so we started our trek. About 5 minutes into it a passing van started honking at us like crazy! When we looked closer, it was everyone else from the program on their way to Banos. Celso, our program leader in Ecuador, told us we were walking in the wrong direction for empanadas, and that it was about twenty minutes the other way! So we turned around and after asking 2 more people on the street finally found the empanadas. They were DELICIOUS! And at 8 for a dollar how could you go wrong? After 8 empanadas and a couple hours of shopping we were ready to go home. Our options were to get back on the bus, or contract a truck to take us to Banos. We tried getting a truck, but they wanted to charge us $5. We didn't want to pay over four, and they wouldn't budge on the price so we walked to catch the bus. Upon our return to Banos, we met up with the rest of the group and had dinner. We ate at a restaurant that was supposed to have the best chicken in town... It was pretty good.

Yesterday we toured the hospital in Banos. Talk about rural medicine. The hospital has 15 beds and specialists in surgery, orthodontia, psychiatry, physical therapy, pediatrics, emergency and obstetrics only. That being said, there are currently no surgeries being performed due to the fact that they dont have an anesthesiologist. The lack of diagnostic equipment and laboratory equipment was astounding. Nothing like in the US. Working in the hospital down here is going to be a real eye opening experience. After our hospital tour, we did a scavenger hunt in Banos, speaking only Spanish. It was a lot of fun! Later in the evening we got our class/hospital assignments. Jen, Rachel, Susan and I get to stay in the same Spanish class! We have hospital work 8:30 am to noon and Spanish 3-6 pm.

Bridge Jumping and Bike Riding

Yesterday after Spanish class we jumped of a bridge... It was probably one of the scariest things I have ever done! All we had to do was sign a waiver, pay $20 and meet the guide at one of the bridges outside of town. I didn't think it was going to be that bad until we got to the bridge. When you looked down it was a 100 meter drop to the river below. Oye ve! The rope was 70 meters long. So they put us in our harnesses and we were ready to rock. I went first. The technique: make sure you jump out away from the bridge and went head dirt with your arms and legs open. I got up on the platform, and fortunately the guy helping us counted down or I probably would have taken a bit longer to jump. "Uno, Dos, Tres, VAYA!" I was airbourne! What a rush! I can't wait to do it again. Susan and Rachel followed. WOOT WOOT! Afterwards we went out to a bar for a celebratory drink! We got a local favorite: La Cucaracha - a delicious blend of tequila, coffee liquid and brandy. It is served on fire! Then we had our first Ecuadorian karaoke experience. The four of us sang Backstreet Boys... the bar LOVED it! Then we had a disappointing dinner at a German cafe. Won't be eating there again!

This morning we got up early to go biking. There is a 21 kilometer bike route starting in Banos that takes you near 4-5 beautiful waterfalls! It was fantastic! We saw some beautiful scenery and we took a cable car to see two waterfalls on the other side of the river. I had never been on a cable car and for only one dollar we had to do it! On the other side we got to see a trout farm as well. Apparently you could fish them right out of the ponds if you wanted. Then we proceeded to one of the most amazing waterfalls I have ever seen: El Pailon del Diablo. It was breathtaking. If you wanted you could climb through this tiny tunnel made of rock, I had to take my backpack off to fit through, to get up to the top where you could walk behind the cascade. I was soaked afterwards, but it was well worth it. On our way back to the bikes it started to rain. So we decided to eat lunch in hope that the rain let up a bit. It didn't so we got a ride back to Banos in a truck. It was a crazy ride... The truck was like a milatary truck with the back covered in canvas. We sat on wood benches in the back with our bikes. It was pretty bumpy but we were just glad to be out of the rain. Tonight we are thinking of going out to experience Banos bar scene. Should be fun!

La Casa de Arbol and El Cafe de Cielo

Today we decided to climb up a portion of the volcano... Our plan was to hike up the side of the mountain behind Banos to the huge cross that overlooks the town and lights up at night, proceed to La Casa de Arbol (the Tree House, a tree house that is located at the highest point up the volcano one can hike without a guide), then proceed to El Cafe de Cielo (The Cafe in the Sky which is part of a luxury hotel that overlooks Banos up on the mountain). It was our understanding that the trek to the cross would take about thirty minutes, and according to the map, La Casa de Arbol was about forty minutes away from that point. WERE WE WRONG! Apparently the map was not drawn to scale! So after two and a half hours and an elevation gain of 2000+ feet we made it to La Casa de Arbol. It was treacherous! The worst part was that the volcano as covered in clouds so we could barely see it. Fortunately for us Carlos Sanchez, a 68 year old Banos native, was up at the site monitoring seismic activity. He offered to show us a way to get to the cafe in the sky that only took 25 minutes. We were a bit skeptical at first, but once it started to rain, decided to follow him. After chatting with him a bit we discovered that he was quite a character! He spoke no English so we had a lot of fun communicating with him! As we were leaving the Tree House he grabbed his backpack and two and a half foot machete! HAHAHA. We immediately thought of the movie Hostel. OYE! So I walked behind Carlos and the three girls followed. It was quite the trek down... Carlos was showing us what trees and roots to grab on to while hacking away at bushes and vines in our path. Sure enough, thirty minutes after we started, we arrived at the Cafe in the Sky. What an EXPERIENCE! We splurged at the Cafe in the Sky and bought cocktails, dinner and dessert. It tasted so good after walking for three and a half hours! From there we decided to take a taxi back to our hotel. What a day! Stay tuned for bridge jumping tomorrow!

Banos

After being in Banos a couple days we are starting to get a feel for where everything is. We are also making huge strides in our Spanish skills. Five hours of class is a lot, but we are used to it. We have been hiking all over the city (I say hiking because everywhere you turn here you are going up a hill). On Monday we hiked to a statue of the virgin of the holy water; a Saint that was native to Banos. It was BRUTAL! After that we decided to cross town to see the waterfalls named after the same saint. The trail was a bit dicey at parts, and the wind was crazy, but the view was spectacular!

Yesterday we decided to go to check out one of the many public baths located in Banos. We got there and it was not at all what we expected, so we turned around and made our way back to the main square, where we ate one of the best meals we have had in Banos. It was also one of the most "expensive" (a two burrito platter with beans and rice, a huge salad with a homemade garlic dressing, a 600ml beer, and a cappuccino for dessert all for under $10).

Today, after we finished Spanish class, we decided to hit up the town market (it only takes place on Wednesday and Sunday). It was like any normal farmers market, except for the prices, which were about one fifth of what I would normally pay in Buffalo! So for dinner we ate fresh fruit and vegetables. We also picked up some Gouda cheese and some fresh out of the oven bread ! It was a nice change from eating out. After letting our dinner digest a bit we went out for a n ice cream cone. While we were eating our ice cream, we walked around a part of the city we hadn't seen yet. We came across a tagua nut store (the tagua nut is part of the base of a palm tree that grows in Ecuador) where they sell jewelry . The tagua nut is known as "ecuador's ivory." We also went past a sugar cane stand and bought some fresh sugar cane. You chew on it to get the sugar cane nectar out. It was surprisingly good.

Tomorrow we plan to hike as far up the mountain behind Banos as we can in order to get a good view of "Mama Tungurahua" the volcano near us. There is a cafe at the top with 4 pools heated by the local hotsprings. Should be a lot of fun! We are going to bridge jump Friday! Wish us luck!

Bienvenido a Banos!

After a 4 hour drive we made it to Banos! The trip was beautiful. Banos is about 2000 feet below Quito so the drive was downhill almost the entire way. The more I witness ecuadorian drivers, the more I realize that road signs and markings are mere suggestions. We are staying at the Princesa Maria Hostal. It is really nice and the couple who owns it is really sweet. They don't, however, speak any English which makes communicating with them an adventure! We start Spanish classes tomorrow. I'll try to update the blog later this week.

The Middle of the World

Today we went to the equator! It was wicked sweet! We watched water flow counter clockwise a couple feet north of the line, clockwise south of the line and straight down right on the equator. We also tried to balance an egg, but weren't successful. :-( While we were there, we learned about the indigenous people of the amazon... They don't wear clothes- the men only wear this rope thing that they use to tie their foreskin up against their abdomen. You may think this a weird ritual, but they have good motivation to do so: lurking in the waters where they are native to resides the "penis fish." This fish will swim up an unsuspecting man's penis then fan out so it can't be removed. The only treatment: SURGERY! No swimming in the rivers for me!

We also travelled to the "old town" portion of Quito. It was beautiful! There were so many churches, and the streets were really steep (reminded me of San Francisco). We climbed up to the top of one of the steeples and got a great view of the city (although safety was not the first priority of the people who designed the stairs to the top, we survived). We also went to a church that had 52 kg of gold painted on the walls... It was INSANE!

We traveled around the city via bus. Which means we got to experience, first hand, the bus system. The way public transportation works here is that instead of a subway or a trolley or a train of some kind they have buses that travel in bus only lanes. IT WAS CRAZY! The buses take corners and travel at a speed as if they were a subway trains! Talk about getting jostled around. Anyway, we are back at the Hostal Junior Plaza safe and sound. Off for some dinner in a bit! We leave for Banos at 10am tomorrow.

We Made It!

We made it to Quito this evening! The flights went really smoothly and we were on time. Customs was quite the experience, however. After making it to the counter, we were told that we needed to fill out another form before they would let us through to pick up our bags. When we got to baggage claim it resembled a war zone: there were bags on the carousel, off the carousel, piled in the corner, just about anywhere you could think of. So an hour and a half later we finally met with our guide and made it to our hostal. It is located in the gringo section of town, so things are a bit more expensive. We had a nice dinner and our first batidos - an ecuadorian specialty consisting of fresh fruit juice and cream. IT WAS TO DIE FOR! Can't wait for our city tour tomorrow!!!