ECUADOR - My June/July 2003 Trip Journal -- by Donna R. Carter
Page Twenty-Two
~^~ Quito to Baños to Shell ~^~ Friday ~^~ July 18, 2003
On Friday morning, Sonya headed out to the gym, and after making breakfast, I finished packing everything up to get ready to go to the Howards to head to Shell for the weekend.
Time came to go and Sonya was not back yet. Gustavo walked down to 10 de Agosto to catch a cab for me. He came back with a cab and just as I was ready to leave, Sonya came around the corner so I could say "Goodbye" to her.
I got to the Howards and Chuck & Anita were almost ready. Chuck had to finish his breakfast first. Everything was already in the yellow and white Chevy van, ready to go.
We put all my non-essential stuff in the guest room, Chuck finished his breakfast, and we climbed into the van. Anita sat in the middle seat so I could have the front seat side window to hang my camcorder out and film while we drove down to Shell.
We stopped briefly in Salcedo for some ice cream (can you tell that this is something that is just done here all the time??) And then we went through Latacunga where I filled up another of my many film canisters with dirt. I'd been collecting dirt from everywhere, putting it into empty film canisters, keeping the finished film rolls in a ziploc bag in my suitcase. We forgot to stop in Ambato to pick up some there, but I figured we could do that on the way back.
Tungurahua wasn't out again... but it was still a beautiful ride anyway. I had already taken pictures of the Quito to Baños portion of the trip when I came down with Sonya and her sister and nieces a couple of weeks before.
Chuck, Anita and I stopped at a restaurant in Baños and had lunch before we continued on to Shell. The road between Baños and Shell is the "best" one of all .... dirt, mud, rocks.... not paved for most of the way. Waterfalls sprinkle right down next to (and sometimes over) the road. The rivers wind here and there at the bottom of the valley and across the wide valley you can see waterfalls cascading down into the rivers below. Absolutely gorgeous scenery. Wild orchids grow up the sides of the cliffs on the roadside, everything is heavy with moisture and the walls of the canyon are often dripping wet.
I took my camcorder out and recorded the trip from there until just before we hit the pavement again -- My camcorder battery ran out and I had not brought the spare! Fortunately, I had brought the charger, so I could recharge it once we arrived.
Chuck stopped often enough for me to get out and take still photos as well as the video, and I am hoping that I got some really good shots of Pailón del Diablo, The Bridal Veil, and other waterfalls and cascades.
We arrived mid-afternoon on Friday, to Randy & Melanie Umble's house (Chuck & Anita's daughter and son-in-law) where we hung out until after supper, and then Chuck drove me over to the Shell Guest House.
How funny! So much has changed in Shell. I hadn't been there for 23 years. The Guest House now is in what used to be the Shell Hospital! There was a new hospital built across the river. They told me at the Umble's house, that the guest house was just over the foot bridge. I didn't recall any foot bridge, but I figured I'd find it in the morning.
Shell used to be about 3 blocks long with no side streets. Now it was large enough that I could get lost (not for long, but certainly turned around!) - and most of it was now on the other side of the river!
My room at the guest house was formerly one of the hospital rooms. The delivery and operating rooms were joined and converted into the dining room and sitting area! The waiting room was a sitting area as well. It was quite different to be walking through this large "house," knowing what it used to be.
I went to bed early, reminded strongly of being in the jungle in the past - the smell of moisture and humidity hung heavily in the air ... windows were only glass half way up and screen beyond that ... the musty odor of growth permeated the air -- EVERYTHING grows here. Even metal has moss growing on it!
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