Recovered from COVID, Serving, and Traveling!

Elder Lewis and I are enjoying our COVID recovery!  Not only are we back to working full days in the mission office, we are also doing some traveling and sightseeing.  Two weeks ago, we spent four days and 3 nights in Banos, Ecuador.  Banos is a tourist community nestled in the Andes and a gateway to the Amazon.  If anyone questions the reality of a Supreme Creator, make a trip to Banos!  I'm a firm believer that "all things denote there is a God" (Alma 30:44) and Banos is a beautiful reminder of that truth.  

Our Uber driver - Carlos, picked us up from our apartment at 9 AM on Wednesday, October 14.  We arrived at our resort in Banos around 12:30 PM, dropped off our luggage, and made arrangements for Carlos to pick us up on Saturday for a return trip to Quito.  We then asked him if he would drive us to and from one of our planned activities - La Casa del Arbol, that was 5 km from the resort.  It cost us another $10, but it did give him some time to rest before he had to drive the 3.5 hours back to Quito.  

Elder Lewis waiting outside our apartment complex 

for an Uber driver to take us to Banos.

Our first stop in Banos - La Casa Del Arbol.

Elder Lewis enjoying a view of the valley from the swing at La Casa del Arbol. 

After spending an hour enjoying the sites and activities at La Casa del Arbol we started walking back to the parking lot where Carlos was waiting.  As we prepared to cross the road, a pick-up truck with "transporte" printed on the side pulled up to the path entrance and a young couple got out of the truck.  When I saw the truck and the couple I felt impressed to ask them if they spoke English.  They said that they did and then I inquired about the truck that had dropped them off.

We knew that we would need local transportation (taxi) for the next few days to take us between the resort and Banos.  I thought this "transporte" pick-up might be an option.  When I explained to the young couple what we were looking for, the young woman (Natalie) told us that her Dad was a taxi driver and that she would call him to see if he would provide regular taxi service for us for the next few days, and how much it would cost.

WOW!  I felt like we'd witness a small miracle!  Natalie's dad, Luis, agreed to provide taxi service for us and he did so at a lower price than what we would have otherwise found.  On our last day, we gave him a pass-along card with information about the Church and our phone number, and then we invited him to watch for the missionaries.  

Right now, there are no missionaries in Banos.  They were removed last March when COVID struck.  However,  we found out yesterday that a companionship of sister missionaries will be reopening Banos next week.  We are excited about that and we believe our connection with Luis and Natalie holds promise! 

The resort - Luna Volcan is absolutely beautiful!  It is nestled high (13,477 ft.) on the mountainside overlooking Banos.  The buildings and gardens are charming, inviting, and romantic in a rustic French country way.  We checked in at 3 PM, requested a hot chocolate exchange for the bottle of wine that was suppose to be in our room, picked up our bathrobes at the spa as suggested by the concierge, and then went to our room.  Our room looked exactly like it had in the photos.  No surprises there.  We changed our clothes and spent an hour in the pools before dinner.

Overlooking Luna Volcan resort area.

The beautiful landscape and gardens of Luna Volcan.

Looking out from the front door of our room, we could see one of the beautiful gardens 

that produced the vegetables for the 3 Luna Volcan onsite restaurants.

The indoor charm of Luna Volcan's main restaurant.

The pools included 3 hots tubs of varying temperatures, and then a larger pool that literally hung out over the mountain where you could enjoy a stunning view.  The water was cool in that pool and I didn’t go all the way in like Max did, but we both thoroughly enjoyed the warmer pools.

Max enjoying the pools that overlook Banos.

After our time in the pools, we went back to the room and then went for dinner at the restaurant.  Dinner was very good, both breakfast and dinner were included in the price of the room.

   

Following dinner, we did some evening exploring as the sun descended and the lights came on around the resort and the pools.  It was quiet and dusky, with cooler temperatures.  We also enjoyed a breathtaking view of Banos, all lit up, in the valley below. 

A nighttime view of Banos. 

Thursday morning after breakfast, Luis, our taxi driver, met us in the parking lot as planned.  Natalie his daughter, the young woman we’d met the day before, was in the car with him.  Luis thoughtfully took us to a bike shop where the owner/operator spoke English and the bikes were newer and in good condition.  We rented our bikes, received a map and some great instructions, and then set off to do the Ruta de Las Cascadas -- a biking, hiking, zip-lining route that showcases a series of 6 beautiful waterfalls. 

Preparing to bike the Ruta de Las Cascadas in Banos.

Our first stop included a zip-line, advertised as the longest zip-line in Ecuador.  The first man at the zip-line wanted to charge us $15/person.  We said, “No thanks,” and continued a little ways before a woman stepped out to invite us to do the zip-line.  Max asked how much and she said $15.  Max asked if we could do it for $10/person.  She agreed and we went on an amazing flight from the top of a canyon, over the river, to the canyon floor below, approximately 1000 meters.  We were picked up at the end of the zip-line and transported back to the starting point where we'd left our bikes.  From there we continued biking the route.  

Elder Lewis ready to take flight!

Flying through the canyon was exhilerating!

On the biking route, we saw six waterfalls, the two most impressive ones were the last two, Diablo and Machay.  We hiked down, up, and around Diablo.  It was a beautiful hiking trail with heavy foliage, stone steps, bridges, and finally the waterfall.  When we returned to the head of the trail, we had lunch and rested before getting back on our bikes and heading out to Machay Cascada.  By then, our rear-ends were really sore and we were tired.  Apparently, Diablo is the end of the route for most, but we decided to go to the finish line and see Machay.   

Elder Lewis points to the largest of the falls - Diablo!

Stone steps or wood and metal staircases, depending on the steepness of the descent to the base of the falls. 

Hiking down to the base of Machay falls required navigating over 1000 steps.

It was like descending and ascending a very, VERY tall step ladder.

When we arrived at Machay, a boy of about 10 years old came out to take our entrance fee of $1/person.  We then started walking down a hiking trail before we came upon the stairs that led to the base of the falls.  We hiked to the first lookout point, and then Max said he was too tired (leftover COVID fatigue) to go to the bottom and then climb back up.  I decided to hike it on my own.  It was also a beautiful trail and included hundreds of steep steps to the base of the falls.  

When we finished at Machay, we rested for a bit and then asked the gatekeepers of the trailhead what was the best way to get back to Banos.  We'd read online that a transport truck was stationed at Diablo to take people and their bikes back to Banos.  That would mean that we'd have to bike back to Diablo.  However, the locals told us to just bike to the bus stop that was 50 yards away and take the bus back.  We followed their advice and sure enough, 15 minutes later the bus pulls up, loads our bikes into the cargo area, and we were off for a short, comfortable ride back to Banos.  The bus was a much better option than the online suggestion of the transport truck.

When we arrived at the bike shop, we contacted our taxi drive, Luis, and he was there in a few minutes to take us back to the hotel where we had dinner and retired early.  We had a wonderful and physically exhausting day!  We also needed to get a good night's rest, because we were leaving early Friday morning for a trip that took us to the rainforest and jungle southeast of Puyo.

In Banos, you can descend from the height of the Andes to the jungle rather quickly.  That is what makes it such an attractive tourist town.  One day you can be hiking steep mountains, and the next day you find yourself tromping through a rainforest in the jungle.  Friday, was our rainforest/jungle experience.  

We had scheduled a jungle tour a few weeks ago.  When we called the tour company Thursday evening to confirm our pick-up location, there was no response.  Max contacted Viator and found out that the tour company had gone out of business during COVID.  So he quickly arranged for another tour and confirmed a pick-up location.

The next morning, Luis was there to take us to our pick-up location.  We were a little early, so we had the opportunity to visit with the new tour company's husband/wife managers.  It was an interesting conversation.  We learned how hard Banos was hit economically because of COVID.  This particular company said that on a daily basis, they were taking 30+ people on the same jungle tour we were going on.  Now, they were hoping to get 30 tourists a week. 

We left Banos with a group of 12 other tourists and 2 tour guides.  Within 1.5 hours we had arrived in the rainforest at the trailhead of Cascada Hola Vida.  

Elder Lewis practicing his Spanish with the tour guide......Jorge.  Jorge spoke a little English.

In the rain, we hiked an awe inspiring, mostly level, trail to the falls. At the end of the trail, there was a beautiful pool at the base of the falls where you could swim.  Neither Max or I came equipped to swim, so we just visited with a family of tourists, who had arrive there before us.  They were Ecuadoreans, but lived and worked in Michigan, and had returned to Ecuador for a visit.  

It was a rainy hike, but between ponchos, the gravelly trail, and the 

foliage of the rain forest, we managed the trail without getting too wet. 

After hiking to and from  Cascada Hola Vida, we stopped for lunch at a roadside restaurant that appeared to cater to tour groups like ours.  At one side of the restaurant there were some long, shallow canoes that looked old and out of use.  We discussed with fellow tourists - Don and Robert, what it might be like to float down the river in one of these canoes.  A little precarious to say the least.

As we were boarding the small tour bus to travel to our next stop, three Latino men dressed in shorts, t-shirts, and flip-flops hopped on the bus with us.  I thought they might be friends of the bus driver and tour guide and that we were just giving them a ride down the road.  Well, when we arrived at the next stop, the men jump off the bus and walked away while the bus driver backed the bus into a grassy parking spot.  

We de-boarded the bus, donned life jackets, and were directed down to the bank of a river where......who did we find, but the 3 amigos who'd been on the bus.  They were standing at the water's edge maneuvering....you guessed it, three of those long, shallow canoes that looked as old and out of use as the ones we'd seen at  lunch.  

Preparing to launch......For those of you who are familiar with the Jaradite barges 

in Ether 2 of the Book of Mormon, the phrase "length of a tree" is what we found at the river's shore.

I knew that part of our tour included a short river cruise; but I had no idea that we would be floating in carved out trees where the captain of the ship had an oar in one hand to guide the canoe, and a make-shift plastic bucket in the other hand to bail out water.  

Max and I settled into the belly of the narrow canoe.  I was at the bow, Elder Lewis was behind me, and behind him were Don and Robert, two retired North Americans who live in Ecuador.  The skipper was at the stern, no life jacket, an oar, and a bucket.  At first, the water was calm, but as we continued down the river there were rocky patches where the current was swift and the canoe would rock from side-to-side with the hull bumping and scraping along.  

The greatest concern I had about our canoe tipping over, besides smashing my head against one of the big rocks we were navigating around, was getting my cell phone wet!  Heaven forbid!  It was safely tucked into a fanny pack around my waist, but it would not have survived being immersed in water!  Thankfully, all three canoes made it down the river without incident.

Following our canoe trip, we did a little spelunking in some caves, and then enjoyed a beautiful view of the valley.  Several tourists enjoyed the large swing that would fly out over the valley. But, I lost my enthusiasm for the swing when members of our group (some in platform shoes) would casually walk out on a pier that had no railing.  The pier overlooked a vast valley and the platform footed tourists would sit down with their legs hanging and swinging over the edge.  One misstep would have been disastrous!  I had to look away!

Carvings at the face of this cave were original. The other 2 caves had carvings around 

the entrances, but they were not ancient carvings, as was this one.

The pier (without railing) at the top of the caves overlooking the valley.

A view of the valley from the top of the caves.

Our last stop was a village where we were entertained by native Ecuadoreans.  It was a delightful experience - grass skirts and dancing, face painting, exotic birds, and a playful monkey.  We returned to Banos and our hotel around 8 PM.  It was a long, but wonderful day.

My face was painted by a 12 year old village girl who used a 3 inch quill, that she poked into her paint palette, a round piece of prickly fruit (tuna), held in her hand. Dr. Dolittle, a.k.a Elder Lewis, enjoyed getting acquainted with the exotic birds.

Saturday morning we enjoyed the thermal pools once more before our Uber driver, Carlos, arrived to take us back to Quito.  It was an incredible week and we are looking forward to going again in 3 weeks when our daughter Natalie and her husband, Brad, come to visit. 

Our time in Ecuador is quickly winding down.  We have less than three months to serve.  We are looking ahead and making decisions concerning our future.  We are so grateful for the opportunities and experiences we've enjoyed in Ecuador.  We feel blessed, and we feel that our family has also been blessed, because of our service.

We send our love to all of you!

Elder & Sister Lewis

  

Not IF, but WHEN.......

When COVID first came to Ecuador and the mission, Elder Lewis and I felt that it was not a question of IF we would contract COVID, but WHEN.  Well, that question was answered on Friday, September 25th (my 64th birthday), when our COVID test results came back positive.  

I began feeling poorly on Friday, the 18th.  It had been a busy week in the mission office with missionaries being released and 19 new missionaries arriving.  

When Friday arrived, I felt unusually tired and chilled.  Friday night and early Saturday morning, I started experiencing body aches, a severe headache, fever, and chills.  Tylenol took the edge off, but I was miserable.  Sunday, I felt a little better.  Tuesday morning I was feeling better, but when I tried to eat a little breakfast, I realized that I had lost my senses of taste and smell.  It was then that we decided a COVID test was in order.  By then, Elder Lewis was also showing similar symptoms.

Wednesday morning, we met two lab technicians at the old mission office.  The old office is a 5 minute walk from our apartment, and with the exception of the guard in the guardhouse at the gate, we knew the building would be empty, thus lessening the possibility of exposing anyone.

Elder Lewis, myself, and two missionaries arrived for the COVID test.  Only one of the missionaries needed to be tested because he had just been transferred from a zone where COVID rates are high.  The test was to insure that he was not infected.

For those of you who have had a COVID swab, you know it is not the most pleasant experience.  The technician first swabbed our throats and then went to work on both nostrils.  If you didn't flinch or wince, she just kept digging until there was a reaction.  I took the long road and tried to be tough....no pain! Advice to all,  I think it would be better to show discomfort from the moment the technician pulls out her 6 foot, I mean 6 inch swab!  

After our COVID test, we returned to the apartment with the understanding that our test results would be back within 24 hours.  Well, we waited all day Thursday with no results.  Friday at noon, we had the missionaries call the lab for the results.  They called several times, but the only responses they received were a list of questions like:  How long have they (meaning Max and I) been in the country?  Did they leave the country for any reason?  Where do they live? etc. etc.  Elder Lewis advised the missionaries to give them as little information as necessary.  However, the fact that the lab was asking questions, was enough for us to conclude that our COVID tests were positive.  Positive test results were confirmed late Friday night.

Interestingly enough, by Thursday and Friday I was feeling much better.  I had finally gotten some much needed rest.  I exercised, took a walk to pick up some sundry items at a nearby tienda, and felt my strength returning.  Saturday and Sunday were slow days, Monday I actually stayed in my pajamas all day.  Tuesday we were up, showered, dressed, and off to the office for a few hours.  

The office missionaries were instructed NOT to be in the office while we were there.  Before we left, we sanitized and wiped down everything from desktops to drawer handles, keyboards to keypads.  Elder Lewis walked directly back to our apartment.  I decided to go to Supermaxi to pick up some much needed grocery items.  Of course, who do I meet at the Supermaxi, but the office missionaries.  We kept our distance, but it was good to see them and I think they were relieved to see that we were on the mend.  We continued to stagger our office hours with the missionaries through the end of that week.  We definitely didn't want to make any of the missionaries sick,  and we DID NOT want President and Sister Winters to contract COVID.

Elder Lewis was 3 days behind me in recovering.  He's also experienced some COVID symptoms that I didn't have - a sore throat, cough, and skin discoloration!  We both agree that the most difficult symptom was insomnia.  Going one night with little or no sleep is doable, two nights makes one anxious, and three+ nights becomes intolerable.  We are grateful now to be sleeping well and we are regaining our strength.  I am still without taste or smell, which we understand can continue for another 4 weeks.  Elder Lewis' taste and smell has returned, his cough is nearly gone, and his coloring is normal again. 

Some friends have asked if we ever felt like our COVID symptoms were life-threatening.  Absolutely not!  We are both in excellent health and neither one of us has any pre-existing conditions, so we didn't expect anything but a full recovery.  However,  we do understand how those our age or older, who do contract the virus and have pre-existing conditions, could find themselves in serious condition.  Our hearts go out to all who have suffered from the virus and who have lost loved ones.

Before COVID struck, we enjoyed a trip to Papallacta to celebrate Max's birthday on September 11th.  Papallacta is a small community tucked away in the Andes Mountains and an hour drive from Quito.  There is little to do there besides visit the legendary Papallacta hotsprings. 

We scheduled a day at the Termas de Papallacta, a renown spa where the hotsprings have been channeled into seven large pools of water at varying temperatures.  All of the pools are comfortably warm and some are hot.  The spa is nestled in a valley with mountains on all sides.  

The spa had just opened a few days before we arrived, after being closed for several months because of COVID. We were one of a handful of couples who were there that day and we basically had the place to ourselves. We spent the morning enjoying the thermal waters and talking.  We ate lunch at the nice poolside restaurant, and then returned to the water for another hour.  After the thermal waters, we went on a beautiful hike before returning to Quito.  It was a very relaxing day and the water felt wonderful.  

I wondered if perhaps I'd contracted COVID at the spa, but Elder Lewis thought it was far more likely that I got it from a missionary, a grocery cart, a restaurant, or even the door handle on the front door of the apartment complex.  

Missionary work in Ecuador is changing, but it continues to move forward.  The missionaries are utilizing their smartphone in wonderful ways to find people who are interested in learning more about Jesus Christ and the restored gospel.  We are grateful to be a part of the work!

Today, we welcomed 12 missionaries who will do their remote missionary training in the mission, instead of at home.  They will come to the chapel everyday, where each companionship will receive a smartphone and do training throughout the day.  At the end of the day, they will return their smartphones to the office, and then return to their assigned apartment.  The mission will officially orient the new missionaries on their original scheduled arrival date of October 27th.  

We thoroughly enjoyed General Conference and the uplifting and inspiring counsel that was shared....to be of good cheer, to prepare ourselves temporally and spiritually, to love others, to be an example of the Savior, to trust in our loving Heavenly Father, to do justly, love mercy, walk uprightly, and much more. 

We send our love and blessings to all!

Elder & Sister Lewis