THE ACCIDENT

                            WHEN THE UNEXPECTED HAPPENS

   

     At the halfway mark of our time in the islands, 650 miles off the coast of Ecuador, we looked forward to a full and busy day. At dawn opening our cabin curtains I could see that we were anchored right off Pinnacle Rock at Bartholome Island.

     At 5:30 A.M. we loaded  the pangas to cruise slowly around the island shoreline looking for penguins. We were not disappointed and the mating pair was especially exciting. Although the girls had swum with penguins a couple days before that was a much different experience than seeing them early in the morning on the rocks where they blended in  with the lava rock. During the next hour we also saw marine iguanas, crabs, heron, pelicans, oyster catchers, sea lions and manta rays, before heading back to the Boat for a hearty breakfast.

     After getting prepared for a dry landing at a pier by the beach we were off again to climb up to Bartholome lighthouse. Our guide  told us it was 400 steps up, but did not mentioned there were many long planked pathways in between. It was not a strenuous climb, and once at the top the views were fantastic. I was especially cautious at the pinnicle as there was a lot of loose rock and it doesn’t take much to go sliding on that.

      Back to the boat we prepared for a wet landing at a coral-colored beach for swimming. We were walking on a narrow one-person wide sandy path through a mangrove thicket when I stepped on a sand covered rock. The sand shifted and in less than a blink of an eye I was on the ground turned around, It did not take an expert to know I had broken my leg---just didn’t know in three places,

    Then the unfortunate  experience began! Thankfully there was no blood, no compound fracture and I had not hit my head. The boat crew was summoned to the island with a backboard. I never realized how narrow those backboards are! I made it to the beach without falling off the board and without getting all scratched up from the brambles. The crew decided it would be easier to balance me and the board on the gunnel of the zodiac than to lift me down inside! It was a slow but  short putt putt back to the boat. It was a jostle and tug to get me aboard the boat and then up 6-7 steps to the main lounge/saloon.

     My older granddaughter asked for a first aid kit as she was looking for an ace bandage, She went to her cabin and retrieved her newly purchased Ecuadorian beach towel to use as a splint. After that I was comfortable and all was well---until I needed the restroom. There was no head in the lounge but I managed to have enough handholds to hop from the couch to the cabin door. Anyone familiar with boats knows that all hatchways have a 3-4-inch lip that must be stepped over. Thirty years ago it probably would not have been a problem for me to give one big hop and  I’d be over the threshold. But not at 84!With a little teamwork and a bit of a lift I made it out onto the deck where I then had the bulkhead on one side and a hand rail on the other to hobble to my cabin.To this day I’m  grateful  I requested the cabins I did as they avoided all ladders/steps. But I stayed in my cabin for the rest of the day where I could manage from the bunk to the head.

     It was safe to delay hauling anchor until the swim was over and all had had lunch. It was a 3 ½-4 hour cruise  to Santa Cruz to a doctor and hospital. An ambulance was waiting for me on the dock  at  Puerto Ayora to take me to a facility for X-rays. It was well after working hours but someone had convinced a really sweet Xray tech to stay open and wait for me. The facility was super clean, the equipment new and in no time my  X-rays were on the computer!

On to the hospital ER. 

Quito's Winged Virgin

                                                                    High on a Hill

El Panecillo Equatorial Monument

    The traffic as we approached old town was horrific. The cobbled streets are narrow. Vehicles of all sizes lined up from all the side streets to merge into the one lane of traffic, It was stop and go for a long time before we finally reached the road climbing up to the virgin. Street vendors were everywhere selling food to passing cars. It was a gorgeous clear day.  We parked at the summit so my daughter and her elder daughter could climbed to the top. We, with the kinky knees, enjoyed the panoramic views of the city on a clear sunny day.

     It is impossible to visit Quito and not see the high hill that separates south from downtown (central city). The 200 meter hill  of volcanic-origin has loess soil. The hill resembles a panecillo, a bread roll or a small piece of bread; thus the name.

    On top of the hill stands the 45-meter tall winged statue of the Virgin Mary standing on top of a globe. Made of 7000 pieces of aluminum she was erected in 1976. On top of a globe the virgin is stepping on a snake, which is a classic Madonna iconography. The 12 stars in her crown reference the bible.  She faces Old Town with one hand pointing to the town she protects. Less traditional are the wings. Locals claim she is the only Virgin in the world with wings like an angel.

     She was built in sections: first the base, the world, body, hands, head in two sections, and finally the wings. 

     Legend says that in  caica-time there was the Pot of the Roll, a circular kind of cistern  eight meters  deep that was used for  irrigation. Years later, during the Spanish

domination, the place served to collect rain water to  irrigate  the gardens of the Spanish mansion Bellavista; later the site was used as a defense for the colonial troops during the libertarian battle of Pichincha.     

      Shungoloma is the original Quichuan name, meaning "hill of the heart." How fitting that the Spanish claimed it for the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

      El Panecillo is Quito’s most popular lookout area, affording a 360-degree view over the city. On a clear morning one can see as far as Cotopaxi’s distinctive volcano.