Update from Ecuador

Sara left for Ecuador last Wednesday. We've been communicating mostly through text messages, so I don't have a lot of details, but she has sent a few pictures by iPhone. No doubt she will do a blog or two with some great pictures when she gets back, but for now, here's a brief update. First, clouds over the Caribbean:


Sara and her colleague, Rachel, along with George, a KAIROS partner from Fort Chip whom Sara met on her trip to the tar sands in May 2009, started in Quito, the capital city. Here's the view from the hotel:


After a couple of days at a conference in Quito, Sara et al headed out to Lago Agrio, the subject of a documentary called Crude: The Real Price of Oil, which I watched the other night (you can borrow it from the Toronto Public Library). Here we see Rachel perusing a selection of boxed wine for consumption on the overnight bus ride.


On Monday, they travelled by boat (about four hours) on the Rio Napo (if I'm not mistaken) to Yasuni National Reserve.


I was relieved that they had life jackets on the boat; there sure weren't any life jackets on any boats in the documentary I watched. Sara sent me a few texts early in the day but then she must have been out of range. When I got home there was a 3-minute message that sounded a lot like it was under water, but then there was a second message saying she had arrived safely at the destination. I guess we'll be paying a lot for that 3-minute butt call.


That's all I have for now. Hope to hear from her again later tomorrow when they head back to civilization.