Day 14

In my wanderings this year I have taken more chances and had more wild adventures than ever before. And what a magnificent country I have seen. The beauty of this country is becoming part of me. I feel more detached from life and somehow gentler…I have some good friends here, but no one who really understands why I am here or what I do. I have always been unsatisfied with life as most people live it. Always I want to live more intensely and richly. I have been thinking more and more that I shall always be a lone wanderer of the wilderness. God, how the trail lures me. You cannot comprehend its resistless fascination for me. After all the lone trail is the best…I’ll never stop wandering.

-Everett Ruess

Saturday morning arrived and it was our last day to complete the roof. At the rate we started I did not think we would finish but by noon we laid the last roof top. Afterwards I went to the airport and said goodbye to all my new Texas friends and Mika who was going back to Quito. As they departed I knew I was on my own once again. The only people I knew were those at Wilson’s house which were Alfonso, Domingo, and Wilson’s wife Maribel. Domingo and Maribel spoke absolutely no English and Alfonso’s English was equivalent to maybe a 3 year old. He knew all the basic words to hold a conversation but most the time we had to use gestures to explain what we meant. Maribel made us lunch which was chicken and rice and afterwards to show my appreciation I washed the dishes. They got mad at me and said I was their guest but I still did them anyway. When we finished Alfonso and I went for a walk in the woods.

We eventually found a lookout spot on the island as well as one of Alfonso’s friends from school, Jose. Jose knew very little English as well but was able to show us a great scuba diving area.

I dove in with some goggles and was blown away. Thousands of fish surrounded me. All were different colors and different sizes. The most amazing part was they did not feel threatened in anyway as I floated weightless in the water. You could stick your arms out and out of curiosity they would brace up against you. For the 20 minutes I was under the water I was able to see 3 sting rays, a sea turtle, and thousands of different fish. My mind can not even begin to handle that there is so much beauty under the sea that we will never see. When we finished swimming with the fish the sun began to set over the island as we sat on top of the city and watched.

When we got back to the house Maribel made us another chicken and rice dinner. As I ate, it was nearly impossible to keep the flies from landing on my food and when I got to towards the bottom of my rice, tiny ants surrounded the plate. After doing the dishes again, I went to lie in my bed which is just a mattress on the floor with one blanket and a pillow and started thinking that maybe I should’ve stayed at the hotel for a few more nights. As soon as I thought that, a cockroach scurried across the floor and instead of crushing it with my foot I watched it and thought this is how these people live everyday. I felt so selfish that I was worried about having to spend a few extra bucks at a hotel. This was an answer to prayer, for God needed me to see this. I never realized how blessed I was.

(From left to right: Carlos, Olmedo, Me, Pastor RW, Maribel, Maribel's girl, Joe, Dwayne, David, Lee, John, Dave, Bill, Alfonso, Tanya, Tanya's girl, Phil, and Domingo)