Ecuador explorer- where's Roseymonster?

“Have an awesome time!”

“I forgot to say have a good time!”

“Some sort of houseing might be a good idea.”

“WK - thanks for the suggestion. I was thinking along those same lines, but have no experience with it. Just in case, I am going to bring a couple of disposable cams and keep them individually wrapped for along the way pics. My digi-cam is crappy, so I won't really be devastated if it goes, but I will be heartbroken to come home with no pics.

Y2 - by housing, do you mean my hammock tent?
;)

nice link, slimmer! I'm going to be Indiana Jones, according to the descriptor. Yeah baby!”

“;op For your camera, like they do for diving. You can get some of the pricey plastic ones, or I think there's one you can get which is basically a plastic bag with a filter in it.

Also for advice on places to go, you may already have your plan, but have you tried: http://www.outdoorsmagic.com/forum/latestdiscussions/mps/dt/3/v/7/sp/”

“Yes it did WK, but it was a mess and the pictures didn't come out very well.”

“I leave tomorrow, so the drycases might have been a good idea with some forethough, but...
LOL
(thanks anyhoo Y2)

A non-TTer (gasp!) friend of mine also suggested that I put one of those dry-packets (that you get when you buy shoes) in the plastic bag with the cam. Sounds like it might work.

Wish me luck. The final countdown (this is going to be the longest day at work EVER.
>:D”

“you work? :p”

“Have fun Amy, I'm green with envy.”

“I'm off, I'm out.

hasta en veinticuatro del Agosto...

¡deseo me suerte! (wish me luck!)

:)”

“Buena suerte.”

“have fun and good luck ameeeee geeeeeee!”

“Hola Everyone!

I am back from an absolutely incredible adventure in Ecuador. Myself
and a group of 7 other certified wilderness medics travelled to the
Amazon jungle for a 2+ week medical mission. After arriving in Quito, it
took us a full day of travel to cross the Andes Mtns...the road was
precariously carved into the mountainside, with evidence of past mudslides
and bus skeletons and car pieces in the ravines below. The road was
crazy and scary, but the views were amazing as the road climbed as high
as 15,000 ft above sea level at its peak. Once we crossed over, we
descended into the "Oriente" region at about 900 ft.

We set up basecamp in Mondana, which was a 3 hour motorized-canoe ride
downriver from the closest "road" access (4WD). From there, each day
we canoed a few more hours on the river, stashed the boat and then
trekked anywhere from 2-8 miles into the jungle to reach the more remote
areas in need of medical care. We packed everything on our backs and set
up make-shift med stations in the community - sometimes it was a
school, other times we just had an open-air pavilion. Each village had its
own way of "appointment setting" for the people. Most of them had a
bell or horn of some sort that would call everyone into the area. Others
had "runners" who would make the rounds, alerting the people that the
"doctors" were here.

We spent our days doing various things, mostly performing assessments
and giving vaccinations (some children were 2 or 3 years old and we were
their first contact with medical care). The highlight of this trip was
definitely the birthing of a baby girl. A young boy came running into
the village that we were visiting that day, asking us to come help his
mom. Since women deliver their own babies almost exclusively in this
culture, this was an unusual situation. Four of us set out to find our
patient...and ended up in a ricketty shack on stilts (typical) in the
jungle. Because they build their houses with no windows, it was pitch
black inside, so we only had my headlamp and a candle to work with.
Jill and I delivered the baby, whose umbilical cord was wrapped around its
neck. I tied the cord with Kling(for lack of any OB supplies) and we
cut it with a pocket knife! Everything worked out well in the end and
we successfully delivered the new baby, Joanna ("Ho-Ahhna"). It was
very cool!

Other mentionable highlights included drinking Chicha, hiking with a
monkey on my backpack, soaking in hot springs in the mtns at 12,000 ft
while cool, misty rain fell and horseback riding around a volcano.

I spent a few extra days in country going solo and exploring the city
of Quito. I also had an opportunity to spend a night at ~11,000ft in
the foothills of the Pichincha Volcano, which coincided with the Perseid
Meteor showers. It was an amazing time.

Check out my pics here:
http://community.webshots.com/album/435427964ZZGrQl”

“I'm a deep shade of green right now Amy.”

“WOW! Amazing story and great pictures. Glad to hear everything went well!”

“Great mission. Congrats. Enjoyed the pix.

That is one hell of a great service project.”

“I also had the opp to see a "shaman" (a term we use, not Quichuan...I forget the Quichuan term) who performed a cleansing ritual on some of us and gave me a braided neacklace with a "protection" amulet:
http://community.webshots.com/album/433974072aKYrUa

Pics from Quito:
http://community.webshots.com/album/433974051EufKVS

Tena, the quintessential jungle town:
http://community.webshots.com/album/433807114QuOvao

Pichincha Volcano foothills:
http://community.webshots.com/album/433807106WzbSfX

Misc Rio Napo:
http://community.webshots.com/album/435444578fXJLTZ

and finally, pics from the hot springs:

NOT!

moohahaaa!
:p”

“AmyG was nekkid!”

“Geo - I've always found experiences like these to be just as beneficial to me as to those I am "helping." It's good soul food.

Bit - shhhh! you weren't supposed to tell anybody!
;D”

“Oh, sorry...”

“I understand you Amy. It's still a good thing for the people you helped.

Joined a friend making up a great meal at a Salvation Army shelter one night. Seeing the smiles on those faces as they came back for second and third helpings was priceless. Who got more out of it ... them or me? I guess those who hadn't had a square meal in a week or so.”

“Congrats(?) on a great trip amy. I too am very envious. What an amazing and life changing experience this must have been.”

“It’s official: Your summer was way cooler than mine.”

“Did you encounter any neat, scary, or annoying creatures or plants?”

“shaved. I knew it!”

“waxed actually (I just hate the itching from shaving). ;p

cool plant...sangre de drago (dragon's blood) is used as in anti-inflmmatory. They drink it for gastritis or apply topically for bite, rashes, etc. I snuck a bottle back home with me...shhhhh. :)

animals...lots of cool spiders, a crocodile (just one) and some pesky bed bugs that bit that he!! out of me on my last night in Quito. (what do you expect for a $6/night hostel?)
We carried antivenom with us, but never saw even ONE snake. Ecuador has several deadly varieties there.

I saw monkeys too!! :D”

“Awesome, Amy - great pics.”

“Well that got me looking at the pictures more carfeully.”

“Y2 - thanks again for the camera advice. I actually ended up doing just fine with my crappy digital and a disposable cam. The rainforest was wet, but somehow the camera held up just fine. Lucky thing, I guess, although I kinda wanted an excuse to upgrade when I got back. ;)”

“Happy happy red X! lol...

Change your image tag to a link to the page...then we will be able to see it.
last edited: 9/02/05 12:14:19 PM”

“Aww, what a litte cute monkey!”

“http://community.webshots.com/photo/435427964/440100832KWrPYV
it's not working?!
:\
last edited: 9/02/05 12:24:41 PM”

“You can't link to the photo, you have to link to the page that displays it, as I see you have.

This is Webshots' fault, not yours.
last edited: 9/02/05 12:25:49 PM”

“thanks bit...the pic was meant to be the silliness, not the fact that I obviously can't link or post images worth a damn! lol”

“I guess I should make a thread with the explanation in it, so I can just link to that every time this happens.”

“I like the butterfly on your head!”