Right after the fish farm we made a short stop at a Shuar museum nearby. The security gaurd was Shuar and spent time tell Jessie and I about the artifacts and culture. We had to put bits and pieces together from what he was saying but it was great to learn from him and he was so excited to share his people's story!
Then is was off to the Foundation of the Path of the Horse. Dr. Sara was so excited. When we arrived Jose Luis Anerabsherrar gave us a presentation about what the mission of the foundation was. It was for children of all ages for disabilities to do riding therapy with horses and share the Christian faith with them. He is pushing for it to mirror foundations like here in the US, but there are a lot of politics and money inolved. He had two volunteers here on internship from Germany. He took us o ut to the area where the horses were kept and the property manager helped us pull out horses that needed to be looked at. We all took turns doing physical exams and giving dewormer (lots of pictures to come). A few of the horses had significant feet problems that Dr. Sara addressed with them. I think they were just so thankful to have a veterinarian take the time to look at all of the horses and be realistic with them. They are on such an important mission it felt really good to be able to help support it. The property also had goats, cattle, and African buffalo.
A big group of us walked down to see the African buffalo at a very safe distance. Along the way, Pedro (property helper) showed us different fruits and native plants and explained what they were good for. It was fun to learn about all the ailments that the natives use the plants for. We also walked down to the river (category 5 whitewater rafting) to see how quick it was going after all the rain. After a few hours on the property, everyone was ready for lunch.
We headed to an outlook point down the road. It was absolutely beautiful! It was on a jungle mountain top overlooking the meeting of two rivers. Across the valley was more mountains with clouds hiding the higher peaks and intertwining with trees in the lower ones. There was also a little shelter where we ate lunch. It was partly a children's park with toucans and other birds made from recycled tires and spray painted. They hung in the trees and served as planters on the ground. The flowers were beautiful even though there were some crazy looking spiders and other insects. We enjoyed taking some lovely pictures.
Our last stop before dinner was the Sucua Botanical Gardens. It had a museum at the start talking about the wildlife that is native to the jungle. There was a 2 year old anaconda skin that was 7 meters long. Our guide gave a us a brief introduction then set us loose on the trail. I stayed in the back of the pack because I knew I would go slow. Kendra and I stuck together. She and I found some of the coolest fungi. She took a fungi class in undergrad so she was teaching me a lot about the different ones we were seeing. There were also amazing flowers, spiders, and trees. Half way through the trial there was a wooden tower built so you could go to the top of the canopy. While we were up there we saw and heard parrots flying off in the distance and even a monkey! We will in the jungle! How beautiful is God's creation!
Pizza for dinner! There was pizza place operating out of the back of a home in Surua. We ended up ordering five pizzas so we had enough to bring home to Andrea. While we waited played telephone in spanish. The first round we did really well and the other rounds... it was good the pizza came out fast so we had an excuse why we didn't do as well. It was a fantastic dinner and the whole way home we sang songs.
It was a quick stop in Rio Blanco to change because we were heading to Macas to have some ice cream and stop at Cid's vet clinic one last time. The neighbors decided that they would like us to euthanize their dog to end its suffering, so we need to prepare for that as well. We stopped at the same ice cream place and dropped off some ice cream for Cid and his practice too.
Back in Rio Blanco, Quigs, David, Bailee and I went over to the neighbor's home. The dog was not doing well at all. It was hard to find a vein but Quig and Bailee got it done and the euthanizia went smoothly. They seemed greatful to end the suffering the dog was going through. It wasn't easy for anyone. I ended up taking a walk afterwards. David walked with me to make sure I was safe, so we ended up mising more of the team meeting. Losing a pet is hard. What a great responsibility God has put us in to care for His creation in the good and the bad times. Tonight was one of the bad times but hopefully after praying with this family over their dog, God will open a door for Pato and Andrea to minister to this family. God works in ways beyond our own sight.
The remainder of the night, Dr. Sara, Quigs, David, and I searched the animals we will be working on at the zoo tomorrow. And Emily and I worked on our own projects listening to the rain come down. Bibi in my lap, Sasha on the chair, and the geese cutting their evening walk short due to the rain. Tomorrow is our last day of work, our last day in the Macas area. Please pray that our actions will be for God's will and leave a lasting impact and encouragement to the all the people of this community.
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