John and Christine's Adventures: October 3rd through October 9th

October 3rd through October 9th:

Monday through Wednesday: We had training sessions in the morning and evening. These were make up sessions for those who missed any of the sessions 1, 2, or 3. Tuesday we also had our committee meeting via zoom. President Aguirre asked again if any of us here in Quito had any responsibilities during the open house. We were told that we did not. President then asked, "So, we can go on vacation?" The answer was "yes", so we booked a trip starting on Saturday to the Galapagos Islands. We are still on the island of Santa Cruz and we had a full day yesterday on the island of Isabela. That is why the update is late. Thursday: We had to go into Quito to pick up our tickets and the information about the tour we had booked. We decided to look for some of the old churches we remembered from when we were here 50 years ago. We started at the Iglesia del Carmen Alto. We thought this was a monastery and in Spanish it is called a monastery, but it turns out it is really a convent for nuns. But they have a great museum. There are 21 nuns living in the cloistered convent today.

We could not go into the church, but we stole the next photo from the internet.

This is a mock up of a nun's room.

There were hundreds of pictures painted right on the plaster walls.

This triptych was really amazing.

Chris in the courtyard. The nuns lived on the second floor.

Great old door.

What's for lunch?

The old kitchen used until the 1930's.

The choir loft.

Books in the library in Latin and Spanish

from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.

This floor was really something.

We then went across the street to the City Museum that was a hospital for 500 years. It looked like it was going to rain so we thought we would get in out of the weather and while we were walking through the museum we had a downpour.

This was the courtyard of old hospital

that is now the Museum of Quito.

They have one room to show what it was like when it was a hospital.

I'm not sure I would have wanted to be operated on with these tools.

Very cool old desks.

This was a flagellation vest. Can you say ouch a thousand times?

Remembering the Spanish conquistadors.

Cool parkay floor of the old city of Quito.

This was the altar of the church that was attached to the hospital. Not in use as a church now.

Same church.

So after the museum we found a restaurant that was attached to the museum and had lunch.

We had a nice lunch this was our chef.

We had a great view of the hill Panecillo.

By the time we were done, it had nearly stopped raining and we took a cab to our travel agent's office. When we got back to the temple they were just about finished with everything for the open house that starts Saturday for the construction workers and neighbors.

Covered walkways for the rain.

The sister missionaries will be set up in this tent.

Friday: We had to do some shopping for our trip, mostly for shoes we could wear in the water. We also had a huge rainstorm.

Video of rain

Saturday: We got up at 3:30am and our Uber showed up at 4:30am and we headed to the airport. We first had to pay a tax to go to the Galapagos and then have our bags scanned for anything that was organic. We finally got checked in and our plane left right on time. We first flew to Guayaquil. We did not have to change planes, only drop some people off and then fill up the plane. It was then only 1 1/2 hour flight to the airport on a small island just off the coast of Santa Cruz. The runway looked kind of short and on the first attempt to land the pilot decided after his first touch down that he was too far down the runway to have enough room to stop, so he put the metal to the pedal and we took off for another attempt. This time he touched down close to the beginning of the runway and we did have enough room to stop. It was kind of an exciting way to start our island experience. We were then bused to a small dock and then took a water taxi to the island of Santa Cruz.

Cotopaxi in the morning sun from the plane.

Guayaquil and the river Guayas

The black line on the right, starting at the white square, is the runway.

We made it! What a relief.

This is our water taxi.

We then boarded a bus and drove for 40 minutes to the other side of the island. We checked into our hotel and had lunch. After lunch, me met the Mission President's wife as we were walking around. Her husband was doing interviews and she was just out seeing the town. They have only been out 3 months so everything is new for them. We mentioned we would probably be at church tomorrow. Then we got back on a bus and drove to the the top of the island. The top of the island is almost always in clouds and it is very damp. We walked to the crater of one of the volcanos that made this island and then walked across the road and looked at another crater. They call these two craters the Twins.

You really could not see much, but it is a crater.

We then drove to a lava tube. We climbed down stairs to the bottom of this opening in the earth, maybe 100 feet down and began our walk through this 1/2 mile long lava tube. Somehow the sides of the lava tube become hard and allow the hot lava to flow through the tube until it comes out, usually into the ocean. It was really quite interesting.

Climbing down into an underground lava tube.

It was very well lit.

Some parts were 20 to 30 feet tall.

We found the way out.

We then went and visited Las Primicias (The Firsts). It is a ranch, but they have a lot of giant tortoises. We put on rubber boots because there is a lot of mud and other stuff you don't want on your shoes. We then drove back to our hotel for dinner.

Nice looking boots don't you think?

This was one of the largest tortoises.

They really like the water.

Mom had to ask what their poop looked like.

Video of Giant Tortoise walking.

Sunday: We were suppose to meet at 7:30am to go to Tortuga Bay. We wanted to go to church, so we told our guide that we would leave at 6:30am and walk there by ourselves, because we wanted to be back by 10:00am for church. We knew that it was an hour walk each way. It was a long up and down walk along a stone walkway through lava fields. Without the pathway they had built, you would not have been able to walk on the lava fields. It was very interesting to see how seeds had fallen between the cracked lava and then sprouted and grown into cactus and other vegetation. The bay was beautiful and we walked the beach for 10 minutes and headed back. We passed our guide about 30 minutes into our walk back. We got back about 9:00am and were only a block from the church.

The vegetation at sea level is much drier than higher up on the island.

This cactus is growing out of a lava rock.

The beach was pristine.

Video of the beach

It is amazing how the plants have been able to grow on top of the lava field.

Church was great. They asked Chris and I to bear our testimonies and then President and Sister Barker, of the Guayaquil South Mission spoke. We stayed for the second hour classes and enjoyed visiting with the members after. The branch has a beautiful building and about 80 members in attendance. It was wonderful to feel their commitment to the gospel of Christ.

The vegetation at the church was cactus trees.

President and Sister Barker

We went back to our hotel and had lunch. We then went with our guide and group to the Charles Darwin Research Station. They raise tortoises and research a lot of other changes and problems.

Mom found a friend taking a nap on the walk to the research station.

Charles Darwin was, of course, there explaining everything.

Most of my pictures somehow got corrupted and would not copy.

We then took a taxi to the home of the first counselor in the branch presidency, Brother Patricio Guachamboza. He is a carpenter and invited us to his house to see his workshop. His oldest son has a mission call to Cali, Columbia. It was fun to visit with this family. Afterward, we took a taxi back to our hotel and called it a day and week.