Thank you! Gracias!

We'll wrap up this blog with the words of thanks sent by Ralph to the mission leaders....

David and Hector and Victor...

Thanks so much for all you and others did to make our Rotary trip to
Guayaquil a fantastic experience.

It was great for me for three reasons.

First, it was very meaningful because of the several thousand people
we served. We accomplished the primary purpose of our trip, to assist
so many Ecuadorians with vital medical help they otherwise would not
have received. I think we made a difference. The one thing missing
for me was being there when folks received their glasses. That would
have made it complete. I was humbled by the way so many don't have
what I take for granted, the ability to have excellent medical care.


Secondly, working with other Rotarians (and non Rotarians) from other
clubs in our area and especially from other countries. So many great
people with big hearts and gracious spirits. The Club Rotario
Guayaquil Sur was a fantastic host. They took care of us and hosted
us very well.


Finally, I was so excited to be in Ecuador again after having lived
in Quito for two years in the mid 60's. I saw new places and visited
Cuenca, the one major city I never before visited.


Having led several intergenerational church work camp/mission trips
to the Dominican Republic in recent years, I enjoyed being a
participant and others being in charge of the big and small details.
You managed so much behind the scenes stuff and needed to make
adjustments so many times and deal with things one couldn't
anticipate. I think we all handled surprises, vehicle breakdowns and
changes in a good spirit. Whatever happened was part of the experience.

Thanks again for your leadership!!
I'm ready for another Rotary mission.

Ralph

The Journey Home

Early Monday morning we gathered our equipment crates and carry-ons and boarded the bus for the airport. We loaded 24 of the crates onto the bus (2 for each of the 12 of us heading back today - the Galapagos crew will bring the others back with them) and headed out to the airport. About 2 seconds after Ralph commented that we were leaving 4 minutes earlier than we planned, and about 3 blocks from the hotel, mission leader David Ritter questioned if his bag had been loaded into the bus ... it had not. So, back to the hotel we went to find David's bag.

Things went well at the airport and we soon were airbourne over the Andes on the way to Miami. From the air, Ralph pointed out where he had lived in Quito in the 60's and we were able to see several volcanic lakes.

In Miami, we had to reclaim our crates and go through customs and then re-check the crates. This used up most of our 90 minute layover.

We arrived at National in D.C. on time, 7:30 pm, only to find out that 6 of the crates still were in Miami. After filing the lost-baggage claims, we boarded the bus for the trip back to York. Everyone agreed to a McDonald's stop since we hadn't had time for a dinner break. We arrived in York around 10:30pm and were back in Etown about a half hour later.

Our Final Day in Ecuador - Trip to the Coast

About half of the Pennsylvania group flew out this morning for a 3 day visit to the Galapagos Islands. The Galapagos sit in the Pacific Ocean about 600 miles west of continental Ecuador.

The rest of us, who needed to be back at work, school, etc. and were unable to afford the additional time away from home, were originally scheduled to fly home today. However, American Airlines was not willing to honor our group rate on a Sunday. Therefore, we had a free day for sightseeing.

A day after our journey into the Andes Mountains, most of us decided to take a trip to coastal Ecuador. The Ecua-Andino tourism company (owned by Rotarian Victor Chiluiza who was the logistics coordinator for the entire mission) provided us with a small bus and tour guide Shirley.

Our 60 mile trip took us to Puerto El Morro, a small and humble fishing village. At the end of a pier, we adorned our lifevests and got into a small outboard-powered boat.



We navigated through a channel bordered by mangroves until we got to an area abounding with wild dolphins. We spent at least a half hour here watching the dolphins swim around and occasionally jump out of the water beside the boat.


We then journeyed 30 minutes out into the Bay of Guayaquil to Isla de los Pajaros (Island of the Birds). This island is home to 20,000 sea birds, mostly the Frigatebird. We disembarked our boat by using wooden planks spanning the muddy shore area and grabbing onto a mangrove to pull ourselves up to a trail.



The trail took us around shrimp ponds to the nesting area of the Frigatebirds. The Frigatebird is a large sea bird with a 3 or 4 foot wingspan. They have the largest wingspan to body weight ratio of any bird. The males have inflatable red-colored throat pouches that they inflate to attract females when mating.

Our walk took us right through the sites, smells, and sounds of 20,000 nesting birds. We were within "touching distance" as these large seabirds were taking off and flapping over our heads the entire time. It was a surreal experience. Fortunately, and amazingly, none of us were left adorned by any bird excrement.

On our way back to Puerto El Morro, we had a brief encounter with the dolphins again and then came upon a flock of pink herons.

Back in the bus, we traveled onto the beach town of Playas where we had a seafood lunch in a local open air eatery. We then spent a little time looking at the wares of local artisans along the beach.

Aventura en la Cordillera de los Andes

written by Ken...

Saturday morning started off with an early breakfast at the hotel and then we boarded two buses around 6:30 for our Aventura en la Cordillera de los Andes (adventure in the Andes Mountains). We were heading to the city of Cuenca, Ecuador which is about 4 hours east of Guayaquil in the Andes Mountains approximately 8,000 feet above sea level. It is the third largest city in Ecuador with approximately 467,000 inhabitants and was named for Cuenca, Spain.

Our trip started out pretty uneventfully with a flat drive through the banana groves and small towns that lay scattered along the main road. Before heading up the Andes Mountains we made a quick pit stop in one of the small towns where we all stocked up on snacks and drinks. Only problem was that most of the drinks were at least 1 year past the expiration date and some of the chocolate we purchased looked like it was 20 years old. I guess they don't sell too many items to the natives but are glad to see us Gringos stop in and buy anything that looks edible!

We started up the Andes Mountains on roads that were in some state of construction almost the whole way to Cuenca. The cars, trucks and buses on the road had no fear of the heights, sharp turns and long drop-offs as they would pass going up hill or down hill, in both the fog and the sunshine. The best way I can describe it is a NASCAR race through the mountains. After about 1 hour of climbing up the mountain roads the bus that Ralph was riding in broke down. They were not going to be denied getting to Cuenca however and were able to hitch a ride on a public bus into the city. The sights during our long drive up and over the Andes Mountains were beautiful as we saw llamas, mountain lakes and beautiful mountain peaks and ranges. Many of the views were postcard material.

Once in the city the bus that Joe and I were on decided to lunch on traditional Cuencan fare. We ate a restaurant called Marabu whose specialty was roasted pig and cuy. In case you were wondering, roasted cuy is another name for roasted guinea pig. All of us tried a little piece of the meat (it tastes like chicken) but ordered the more traditional fare of roasted pig. We shared quite a few good laughs over that meal!

After lunch we went to the local market and spent some time walking through the streets of Cuenca. We then proceeded to the highest point in Cuenca to a look-out over the city. The city was a very beautiful city with most of the buildings made out of a red brick with stucco type roofs.

Around 5 p.m. we headed back up the Andes Mountains to return to Guayaquil. Once again after only going about 1/2 hour up the mountain the bus that Ralph was on broke down again (was Ralph the common thread here?). A replacement bus was called and everyone was able to return to Guayaquil safely although a bit later than expected.

It was a long day but it contained many memories of the sights and sounds of the Andes Mountains and the people of Cuenca and the towns in between.

Observations on Ecuadorian traffic and the road system....

Ecuadorians do drive on the same side of the road as we do.

Many of the streets/roads have lines painted on them. However, nobody seems to pay any attention to the lines. If your vehicle fits somewhere, it's a lane. Motorcycles go right in between cars at traffic lights. Cars, buses, and trucks drive on the shoulder. Beeping your horn is the way you let the person beside you know that you are creating a new lane and they shouldn't drift into your car.

Many streets and highways have fairly high curbs separating lanes of traffic. This is probably to prevent too many lanes from being improvised.

Also, a full stop at a stop sign appears rare. When traffic lights are out because of the rotating black outs, you need to slowly edge your nose into the traffic until someone stops. Then your lane appears to have the right-of-way.

Horn beeping is very common for many reasons. However, no one seems to get upset or use hand (or finger) gestures.

Busses are plentiful in Guayaquil. In the city, elevated platforms are often in the center of the streets with "bus only" lanes.

Interesting, there seem to be a lot of newer vehicles on the roads. Chevy and Toyotas appear to be popular.

The roads are in fairly good condition in the city and the highway system appears well designed. Outside the city the roads sometimes are a little more bumpy and sometimes very bad. A lot of the larger boulevards in Guayaquil have very nice landscaping and the city does a great job keeping trash cleaned up. At different places in the city, you can see tile art designs decorating highway bridge underpasses. This has successfully cut down on graffiti.



Gas is $1.48 per gallon. Yes, per gallon, not liter. This is due to the fact that Ecuador is an OPEC member and the government keeps the price controlled.

¿Qué hora es?

Friday November 13...

To get another perspective on the mission, President Joe asked Ken Wolfe to write today's message.

Today was the sixth and final day of the mission. We saw 266 people today in the vision area which puts our 6 day total at 1,674 people who were helped in some manner by the eye team. In total, between the eye, dental and medical parts of the mission we helped over 3,000 people in 6 days. A pretty incredible total. Most of these folks will have a much better quality of life due to the assistance that was provided by this Rotary mssion.

I believe the plan was to see around 175 people today so that we would have time to pack up our equipment which we were able to leave at the hospital all week, however, the people kept streaming in, and we ended up seeing almost 100 more than we had originally planned. That was how it worked all week as we worked well after 5 p.m. on most nights due to the number of individuals who needed help. Even though it was tiring we all agreed that we would do what it takes to help as many people as possible.

There was some feelings of remorse realizing that this was the last day that we would be able to help the great people of Ecuador. There remains so many more people who could use the help that we were able to provide.

After the equipment was packed and accounted for we exited the hospital to load our equipment and board the bus back to our hotel. One problem-our bus had a mechanical failure, so we were without transportation (a Friday the 13th coincidence?) As a result we sat around for about 45 minutes and waited. (One thing I learned is that when you are on a mission trip like this, things don't always go as planned, so you have to be flexible and patient).




Ralph and I, along with a Danish doctor and her daughter, eventually jumped into a taxi (being named a taxi was being gracious as it was one of the smallest cars I have ever ridden in) and proceeded to have a very harrowing ride back to the hotel. The roads are utter chaos with cars, trucks, busses and motorcycles constantly cutting across lanes without warning. You feel fairly safe in a bus but in a taxi the size of a large envelope, it is a little disheartening! Right after Ralph and I left in the taxi they were able to get the bus running and everyone else returned to the hotel in the bus.

The Rotary Club of Guayaquil Sur invited everyone on the team to one of their member's residences for a party tonight but only Ralph attended. Joe and I and our daughters opted for dinner at the hotel and a more relaxing evening here since the party was expected to last until at least 10:30 PM, and probably much later, since nothing seems to run on time here in Ecuador.

Tomorrow we must leave at 6:00 a.m. for an off-day trip to the Andes Mountains.

Changing Lives...

Thursday November 12…

Day 5 of mission. The poverty of some of the local people is evident in these photos. The crowds were better controlled today and the clinic is running smoothly. We saw 328 people today- more than any other day. We have now run out of sunglasses which we were using for people with pterygiums - a growth of the conjunctiva onto the cornea resulting from sun UV exposure. We have well surpassed our expected 1000 patients and have 1 more day to go.
Ken got to move from the visual acuity station to the optical area. Ralph has been working in the refracting lanes, interpreting Spanish for the Danish optometrists. Katya and Andria are mainly working in the visual acuity or frame selection areas. I am checking ocular health. The people are very appreciative of the help they are receiving. Ken even got a kiss on the cheek today from an 80-year old woman.
It surprises me how some of these people have been able to cope with the level of poor vision they have. For some, receiving their first-ever pair of glasses will completely change their lives.

The mission team enjoyed a cruise up and down the Rio Guayas this evening on the Henry Morgan, a restored Spanish galleon. The city is beautifully lit in the dark.

Commentary from Guayaquil South Rotarian…

This was written by Hector Hurtado of the Guayaquil South Rotary Club.

“To be a Rotarian is a good thing. You have the opportunity to know very kind people and beyond, you have the chance to improve yourself as a person, helping others to have a better life.

"Last weekend, I feel excited looking at a Rotarian army arriving to “Hospital Universitario”. It was an army with weapons, but not for war, army for peace and for humanity.

"John Kenny, RI President, has challenged us to take the future of Rotary in our hands. We have assumed it and we will comply with it, because we are committed with service above self.

"Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once says: “Give what you have. To someone, it may be better than you dare to think”. Medical mission Rotarians, welcome to Guayaquil, you honor our home and our land.”

Policia, and Another Busy Day

Wednesday, November 11th...

The 4th day of the mission. Up and out at 8 am. Most of us were refreshed from our off day. When we arrived at the hospital, we were told that there were over 1000 people looking to get in for eye exams. The policia were called in to settle the crowds. The hospital complex is gated, so we are a good distance from the gate and not in harms way.

We worked efficiently today despite having less and less interpreters as the week goes on. It is a good thing we are learning our Spanish… although today even the interpreter had trouble with “nerve palsy”. I think we saw around 290 today including some interesting children. The people are very polite and appreciative.

Again we worked past 5 but were out a little earlier today. Many of us stayed in and ate at the hotel restaurant tonight.

The Guayaquil South Rotary Meeting…

The Guayaquil South Rotary Meeting…

Tuesday evening - off to the Rotary meeting. The Guayaquil South Rotary Club meeting is held at the Circulo Militar, an establishment for retired military….similar to our VFW. Guayaquil South has 19 members.

The meeting’s program was the visit from the District Governor (who we met at lunchtime). They graciously welcomed us. They began their meeting with robust singing of the Ecuador national anthem followed by speeches from various people including DG Connie, David and Hector from Harrisburg Keystone who organized the mission. Their District Governor gave a brief speech then it was time for dinner.

The first course was cold octopus and some other cold fish. Ralph and Ken ate theirs up but I had a hard time eating something with suckers on it. Merlot was served…and the glasses were kept full throughout the evening.

The main course was a generous piece of beef with a chocolate sauce and a side of quinoa. At first this beef/chocolate dish seemed odd, but the combination was delicious. The Merlot went brilliantly with it. I was glad I didn’t fill up with octopus! We found out later that the Rotary Club had flown in the chef of the President of Ecuador from Quito to prepare the meal.

Before dessert was served the entertainment began - an Ecuadorian folk band - Ganchozo -which played all authentic local instruments. The music was upbeat and delightful. Eventually, the good music and wine had almost everyone up and dancing. Ralph was a buzz saw! Ken has video proof. There was even a congo line… It was not the kind of Rotary meeting we are used to! We finally loaded back into the busses and returned to the hotel by 11 pm. It was a fantastic evening!

A Highlight, While in Some Low-Light

Tuesday November 10th…

A day off! We began our day with a walk along the revitalized Guayaquil waterfront, known as Malacon 2000. Many beautiful sights, monuments, gardens etc. The Rio Guayas (Guayas River) is interesting in that the current flows one way with approaching high tide and flows the opposite way with approaching low tide.

Later in the morning we were supposed to meet with the Mayor of Guayaquil, but he was out-of-town so we met with the vice-mayor. The Rotary District Governor for Ecuador (one DG for the whole country) was also there. Many speeches, some in just Spanish and some in both Spanish and English. The highlight was Miss Guayaquil who posed for pictures with many of the Rotarians.

Ecuador has major power issues right now because they rely mainly on hydroelectric power. The rainy season has yet to start so there appears to be rolling brown outs. Traffic lights are often out in different parts of the city which backs up traffic. It was a little annoying in city hall as the lights kept pulsing brighter and dimmer.

We had lunch at the Yacht Club on the Rio Guayas which lasted until past 2:30. Many of the Guayaquil South Rotarians joined us. We were then off to Cerro Santa Ana, a large hill with a lighthouse and chapel on top and 490 steps to climb up. We all made it up eventually to the top of the lighthouse for a fantastic view. Then we went to the handcraft market for some serious haggling and shopping.

Today's Message Brought to You By the Letter "C"

Monday November 9th…

The 3rd day of the mission was just as busy as the others. 295 patients seen by the eye team today brings us up to around 800 total . For the 3rd day in a row, our efforts to finish by 5:00 were thwarted by the great demand. We finished around 6:20 today and were totally exhausted.

We helped some people with very high prescription to get glasses. We are seeing all ages on this mission and have had typically 10-15 each day that are in need of surgery, especially for cataracts. The sun exposure in equatorial areas plays a much more damaging role than in our latitude. Fortunately, we were able to bring along trunks of donated sunglasses to give away. Patients needing surgery are being recorded and we are hoping that arrangements will be made through the local hospital.

I also saw one of the worse eye infections I’ve seen in my career today. I treated her with our top-of-the-line antibiotics drops. Unfortunately, I expect her eye to be permanently scarred. She did have decent vision in her other eye.

There are 30 Rotarians staying in our hotel from Ontario Canada here on a wheelchair distribution mission. It is a small world when you are a Rotarian!

Spanish lesson - The “C” on the shower faucet stands for “caliente”, not “cold”. Katya found out the hard way!

Dinner tonight was at our hotel…a lovely restaurant called the 1822 Restaurant commemorating when Simon Bolivar came to Guayaquil to form his alliance. Excellent food and great conversation with Dr. Bob, Kay, and District Governor Connie recounting interesting aspects of past missions including varied "restroom" accommodations. Many belly laughs! Tomorrow we have an off day for sightseeing and the local Rotary meeting.

Incredibly Productive Day

Sunday November 8th…

The second day of the mission. We were on the bus at 8am and at the clinic by 9. We were better organized today in terms of clinic flow. Less interpreters but our Spanish is getting better. Everyone stayed extremely busy all day. The eye team saw 314 patients today. In 2 days we have served 519 people… over half of the intended 1000 for the week.

The dental team had a slow day yesterday, so they split up and half of the team went into the villages to see if they could find more patients to help. Apparently this was successful as both the split teams had productive days.

Another enjoyable dinner as 13 of us walked to a steakhouse in the city. While the restaurant is known for it’s steak, Ralph’s grilled sea bass looked awesome! Now I’m enjoying watching the Eagles vs. Cowboys on Sunday night football.

Off to a Great Start

Saturday November 7th…

First day of the mission. Up and out by 9 am this morning. (We got an extra hour to sleep in due to our late arrival). Wonderful breakfast in the hotel with fresh pineapple, guava juice, eggs and pancakes, and very good coffee.

We had an hour drive to University of Guayaqul Hospital which included a switch of busses alongside the roadway when our bus broke down. We had a very warm greeting by the local Rotarians - they all lined up a shook everyone’s hand. It took us about an hour to get the clinic setup and our equipment unpacked.

Once we were up and running, Ralph, Ken, Ken’s daughter Andria, and Joe’s daughter Katy were in the visual acuity testing area. Joe was in the eye health evaluation area all day. We have 6 optometrists from Denmark on the mission. The Danish eye docs refract but they aren’t medically trained like American optometrists.

Today we saw 205 people - mostly adults but some children. Many needed glasses, especially reading glasses for the over-40-year-old people. The people were extremely appreciative and showed their gratitude with handshakes. Dr. Amy even got hugs and kisses.

We worked past 6 pm since we had a late start and were quite exhausted by the end of the day. I hear we had people lined up outside for a long distance. Many had to be told to come back tomorrow.

We got back to our hotel around 7pm. 14 of us, including the Etown group, walked a couple of blocks to La Canoa for Ecuadorian cuisine. Sea bass, fried plantains, and Ecuadorian cerveza were some of the items consumed. Our walk back took us through a park inhabited by large iguanas who were sleeping in the trees.

A Long Day of Travel

Friday November 6th…

Long day of travel!! We gathered at York at 8 am and after final packing and distribution of mission shirts and caps got underway via bus enroute to National/Reagan airport in DC.

We made good time to DC and then enjoyed the process of unloading our 40 fifty pound equipment crates (plus our carryons) and getting them into the airport and through check-in. The “enjoyed” comment was sarcasm.

Our 2 hour wait in the airport gave us time for lunch. We then boarded our plane only to wait another hour while they fixed a battery recharger. This delayed our flight to Miami which would have meant missing the only flight out to Ecuador that evening. Fortunately, with 27 of us and 10 others expecting to make that Ecuador flight, American Airlines wisely held the flight for us.

We landed in Guayaquil around midnight. After going through immigration and customs and getting our crates out (they all arrived!!), it was 2 AM until we were in our beds.

Ecuador is in the same time zone as Etown. Really! Look at the map, below:

On the eve of the journey..

Tomorrow we begin our journey to Guayaquil Ecuador for a Rotary sponsored Eye, Dental, and Medical mission. I am excited to join fellow Elizabethtown Rotarians Ralph Detrick and Ken Wolfe on this adventure. Ken is bringing his daughter Andria and I am proud to share this experience with my oldest daughter Katya.

Just like last year in Kenya, our eye team doctors will be Dr. Bob McClenathan, Dr. Amy Spotts and myself. We are expecting to be joined by 6 optometrists from Denmark!