Day 12

Today I slept in. And by sleep in I mean I did not get up till 7:30. I made my way to breakfast and was caught by surprise when Wilson told me he was leaving. He said an emergency came up and he had to leave for a week to another island in 30 minutes. I figured if I’ve made it this far I can make it on this little island by myself too. I hugged Wilson and told him thanks for everything.

Around 8:30 it was just me and the Texas boys. We took a van to the northern part of the island where there is hardly any civilization. The roads brought back memories of the jungle with all the potholes. About 45 minutes we finally reached a place this is famous for having giant turtles. My shoe almost realized these turtles don’t just have big shells when I came just inches from stepping in an enormous chunk of turtle poo.

After that we went to a beach that was so secluded there were only two other people there besides us. They were two surfer dudes that must have been locals because they obviously had come to the perfect place. These waves were some of the biggest I’ve ever seen.

After playing in the waves like a little kid for 2 hours we went to get lunch. Out of this entire trip this was the biggest disappointment. For $10 I expected something so wild and bizarre being in the middle of nowhere. Nope, just more chicken and rice. But there was one thing here that was worth $10 alone. The coffee. I’m not even a big coffee guy but there is something about Galapagos brewed coffee that goes down so smooth. I’m not sure if it was the coffee or what, but for some reason I began to open up with these Texas guys. We talked about baseball and football (NFL and college…not high school). And there was one thing that brought us together real close…farts. CD Williams said it best, “There is nothing funnier than a fart.”

We laughed so hard with each other I pretty much forgot about that stereotype I had about them. So after lunch we found this old tree house that was built a good 30 feet off the ground with a lookout over the whole city. Like everything else I had to try the beer here. They only have one beer and it’s called Pilsener. I was not impressed. It was basically water in a can with a slight bit of hops added. So unlike the coffee, the cerveza is nothing special here. But what is special and surprising is that I’m actually starting to get along with these Texas guys.

(Sliding down the emergency exit)

Day 11

On my way downstairs I was expecting the same thing again for breakfast; bread, eggs, and juice. In the Galapagos it’s different. We still had our bread, eggs, and juice but we were also loaded up with fruits. We had bananas, cantaloupes, avocados, watermelons, and my favorite, mandarins. There is just something about the fruit here that makes it so delicious.

I was then taken to another construction site when I was introduced to 9 other gringos. These 9 men travel around the world and help build churches for missionaries. Their project in the Galapagos was to build the roof structure for this church in 5 days. Normally I’d be thrilled to see other gringos here but these guys were from the only place in the U.S. I despise. Texas.

(After completing all the purlins and starting on the roof cover)

Honestly, there is not one good thing to come out of Texas. They think they are bigger and better than everyone else and they think the Dallas Cowboys are America’s team. These 9 guys were no different. All their stories involved fishing, hunting and who had the best truck. Over the years I’ve noticed bring born in Kentucky is tough. You basically have to decide whose side you’re on, north or south. I’m without a doubt on the north. There is not a bit of southern pride in me. I would rather be stuck in a 2 foot blizzard over a hot and sweaty Brooks and Dunn concert. My Friday nights consist of going to a bar and seeing a rock band, not going to tailgate at my old high school’s football game.

(Lady from Texas)

Anyways sorry to get off on a tangent but I had this stereotype of these guys right away so I pretty much kept to myself all day. That was until a younger Ecuadorian named Alfonso introduced himself to me. I noticed his English was slow but we just had this way of connecting right away. Alfonso likes the same kind of music, plays the drums, and is in his second semester of college. He’s originally from Santa Cruz Island, which is part of the Galapagos but he came over to San Cristobal to do school and work a little construction. I worked with him and two other Ecuadorians, Juan and Jimmy, for about 10 hours mixing cement and laying rocks. I worked harder today than a weeks worth of work back home and didn’t get paid a penny. As I was walking back to my hotel I began to think how nice that shower and bed would feel. That was until Alfonso caught me and asked if I wanted to hang out. I tried to think of an excuse but had nothing so I said okay.

(Me and Alfonso)

He took me to a beach and as soon as we got there the sun began to set over the clouds. Words can not describe the beauty there. My body filled with chills when the wind blew against my warm burnt skin. I tucked my toes into the soft white sand and gazed out across the pure blue water and thought to myself if this isn’t paradise, I don’t see how much better it could get. My body had gone numb and all my worries were gone. At that moment I knew it was Gods hands that lead me here. He has provided me foot and a place to sleep this entire trip. All He asked from me in return is to serve Him. Knowing my work today was for Him gave me a sense of ease and joy that any amount of money could never give. Tomorrow is our off day that we get to explore the island.

P.S. By the way I got my passport back today.

Day 10

I was taken to the Cuenca airport around 8am. It was just me and Eduardo on this cold Tuesday morning. Before he dropped me off he told me a man named Wilson Botista would be picking me up at the San Cristobal airport. I asked what he looked like and he said he is a short Ecuadorian that drives a Harley moped. When we arrived to the Cuenca airport he gave me Wilson’s number and said a prayer for me. I hugged him and thanked him for all he had blessed me with.
(Overview of Ecuador)

I arrived in Guayaquil in about 45 minutes. I had about an hour and a half layover before my next flight. Around 11:15am, my second flight took off for Island San Cristobal in the Galapagos. I landed in the Galapagos around 1pm on Denver’s time. As soon as we landed our bags were checked at the airport. My stomach dropped instantly when they asked for the payment to get on the island. It was $100 for US citizens and I had only $63 in cash. I knew it cost to get on the island I just thought I had more cash then that. The lady took my passport and told me to come back tomorrow when I had the money.

My palms began to sweat knowing that I just gave my passport to a lady who doesn’t even speak English. My knees then began to tremble when I walked out of the airport and saw about 40 different short Ecuadorians. Walking around frantically, I just hoped to here someone call out my name in the crowd.

50 minutes went by and the airport began to close down for the day. Everyone had left except 3 workers at the airport bar. For the first time in my life I felt completely alone. Without a phone, without a passport, and without knowing anyone on the island except a guy named Wilson who I don’t even know what he looks like.

Finally when one of the workers was walking to his car I noticed he had a cell phone. I motioned to see if I could use his phone. I called the number Eduardo had given me and was answered by a Spanish accent on the other line.

“Hola,” he answered.

“Hey Wilson this is Daniel,” I spurted out.

“Who?”

“Daniel, I’m Eduardo’s friend.”

“Ohhhhhh”

“Hey I’m at the airport!”

After that he responded with a long Spanish sentence and then hung up.

I wasn’t sure what to do so I sat down on the curb and waited. Sure enough 5 minutes later a little Ecuadorian pulled up on a little Harley moped and shouted “Daniel!”

I got up and ran over to him and gave him a big hug. It was such a relief. He began apologizing for being late but I acted cool like it was no big deal. He explained how he speaks very little English and I explained how I spoke very little Spanish. He motioned for me to hop on the back of his moped. Without knowing what to say since we both spoke different languages it was a quiet ride. With a 6 foot gringo riding on the back of a 5’4” Ecuadorians Harley moped made it quite an awkward ride.

(Wilson and his Harley Dayton Moped)

I realized how nice Wilson was when he took me to his place and made me a ham sandwich and gave me some Oreos. While I was sitting there stuffing myself an Ecuadorian girl in the house asked where I was from. With 2 Oreos in my mouth I muffled out, “The States.”

She replied, “I figured that out but what state?”

I almost choked and responded, “You speak English…like actually good English!”

(Mika and Me)

She laughed and explained how she was going to school for English and then asked if I wanted to go for a walk. She introduced herself as Mikasha but said I could call her Mika. Her English wasn’t that great but I was so excited just to have someone I could actually talk to so we walked for about a mile down to the pier. The pier was beautiful and filled with iguanas, turtles, and sea lions.

(We share a lot in common...)

As soon as we walked back Wilson said he would have breakfast ready at 6am, so I went straight to bed when the sun set. It was a long day.

(San Cristobal)

Day 9

I got out of my cozy bed at 6:45am and was quickly waken when I laid my foot on the tile floor. Chills shot up my legs and sent goose bumps straight to my arms. I skipped over to the shower and turned the hot water to full power. That’s when I first realized they don’t get hot water in the mountains.

Cuenca is an interesting town. One hour the sun will be beaming down on your face then an hour later its nothing but dark clouds and cold rain. This was a cold and rainy morning. To brighten our depressing morning Eduardo and his wife, Amaina, treated me and Ray to some breakfast before we made our way into town.

We arrived at the TV station around 8:00am just in time for the morning show. After the show I met the production manager who has lived in the states and speaks very fluent English. He put me to work instantly and I began to work on editing some graphics for a later show.

(Eduardo outside of Unsion T.V.)

Time flew by until lunch when I decided to walk around town by myself for a while. I took in the beauty of this city. Just knowing that most these streets and buildings have been around for over 500 years is marvelous.

After doing my usual wandering Eduardo told me he found a ticket to the Galapagos but it leaves tomorrow. We literally ran over to the airline place just before they closed and bought my ticket for $420.

(Random UK jacket in the middle of a South American market)

At the end of the night I parted ways with Ray and Amaina telling them it was such a pleasure to meet them. Ray shook my hand and said to me, “God’s got something big planned for you Daniel.”

My flight leaves at 9am so I’m gonna get some sleep and hopefully get rid of this cold.

Day 8 (Part 2)

About 3 hours later I parted ways with the missionaries and was left with two guys named Ray, Eduardo, and his wife Amaina. You know that feeling when you break up with that significant other and you don’t really care about meeting anyone else, well that’s exactly how this felt. We went to a place for lunch where they literally lay out a pig (hornero) and you pick off the meat from it and eat it.

(Hornero)

I loved it!

And then Eduardo said I had to try this stuff called Rosera. It’s a real special drink you can only get in this town.

(Rosera) I loved it!

After that we got some chocolate covered bananas and went for a walk in an old park.

(Very old covered bridge in park)

(Very old wall in the park)

Ray, who is from Branson, Missouri, was down visiting Eduardo and Amaina for the week. We were able to connect quickly. The two of us sat down on a bench and told each other our life stories. My story was nothing compared to his, which consisted of flying all over the world, retiring 3 times, and now helping manage part of Unsion T.V. I did not open up to Eduardo and Amaina much today because their English was not too good being from Cuenca. But I knew if I was going to be staying with them for the next few nights I was going to get to know them real well.

(Park in Cuenca, Ecuador)

Day 8 (Part 1)

I woke up this morning without a plan. Not knowing anyone in this town, without a place to sleep, very little Spanish, and to top it off I was now sick. The only plan I had was to go to church with the missionaries before they left at 11am.

I was not very thrilled going into church, in fact I was laughing when I arrived and saw only 30 something people worshipping to a cheap CD player. The whole time I kept telling myself, ‘Daniel you should’ve stayed in bed.’

The pastor grabbed mine and everyone else’s attention when he asked Doctor Matobo, who was the interpreter from our missionary group, to come up and speak. When he first got up there he was speaking in Spanish. When he was finished he asked all the people from Ecuador to come up front. All of us from the States circled around them and began to pray. Doctor Matobo began to circle around the room placing his hand on each person and saying a prayer for them. A small old crippled Ecuadorian lady made her way to the front. When Doctor Matobo reached her he placed his hand on her face, shouted a prayer in Spanish and began to shake during it. What happened next is something I’ve only seen in movies and heard stories about from the Bible. The lady began to cry in praise and claimed her back had been healed. The power of the spiritual force was too much for me so I went over to the corner by myself and began to cry. I felt so unworthy and my faith was so little to believe what I had just seen.

A few minutes later Doctor Matobo came over, placed his hands on me and said a prayer. He prayed for God to show me my purpose in life. Instantly that feeling of unworthiness turned into a feeling of being loved and cherished. I no longer felt convicted, but felt like a weight was taken off my back. And then I knew these people weren’t faking but it was the Holy Spirit moving within this tiny church.

The coolest part was during our early morning service at 9:30am in the mountains, surrounded by nothing else, was a group of marathon runners. Runners who just happened to be passing by on their way from Argentina to Columbia! All the runners came inside the church to see what was going on. About 6 of them came up to pray with us. I wish I would have got some video or pictures, but I still don’t think any image could come close to describing what I experienced today.

Day 7

It is now Saturday August 2nd. I am taking a bus out of Sacua and heading to Cuenca.
(Cuenca, Ecuador)

I am not ready to leave Sacua but at the same time I'm ready for my next unexpected adventure. It's surprising how many relationships you can make with people in a week. One person I have to mention is Whitney from Jacksonville, Florida. Whitney is also an intern and she has lived in Sacua for the last 8 months. The main reason I like Whitney is because she knows almost everyone in the town and can interpret anything for me. She is full of energy and always has an intresting story to tell. Before I left I told her I'd probably never see her again. She hit me on the arm and then I jumped on the bus and left.
(Whitney and Me)

While driving back through the mountains I listened to my Ipod and just gazed at all the scenery. The people, the houses, the waterfalls, and the hills were all just a touch of God's beauty. Within 7 hours we had arrived in Cuenca much faster then I expected.


To celebrate my last night with the missionary team I joined them in a really nice steak house. I can't remember the last time I wasn't able to finish all my food at a restaurant. But for only $8 I stuffed my self until my tummy could not take anymore. I was in need of a meal like that.

(From left to right: Patience, Troy, Beth, Me, Leslie, Audrey, Mo, CJ, Leslie, Heather, Lindsey, Lauren, Joil and Leah's son, and Amy.