Many of our worldschooling friends tell us to say yes when opportunities arise. An opportunity arose when our pickleball friends Rick and Sharon invited us at the last moment to go with them to Shell, Ecuador. Shell is a small town on the edge of the Amazon where Rick and Sharon lived for 23 years. They are missionaries, and they have been in Ecuador for 40 years.
The drive to Shell is about 8 hours. Rick and Sharon have a small 5-seater SUV. We knew it would be tight, but we said yes. When they picked us up on Monday morning, it got tighter because their son Jon also decided to go. There were seven people and luggage packed in for the long drive.
The scenery on the drive from Cuenca to Shell is beautiful. There are lush green mountains with little towns tucked in along the way. We stopped along the way for some hot chocolate and tamales at one of Rick’s favorite restaurants.
We got a second unexpected break when we came upon a tow truck pulling a wrecked car up from the side of the road. We got a front-row view for that.
Our final stop before Shell was in Baños for empanadas. We watched the women make the empanadas fresh upon order. The double chocolate empanadas are delicious. We went back a couple of times when we went back to Baños.
Shell, Ecuador is a small city on the edge of the Ecuadorian Amazon established in 1937 as a Shell Oil Company base. It is in the eastern foothills of the Andes. It is a small town of about 10,000 people with many business enterprises, schools, churches, hotels and restaurants, and a hospital. Shell also has a large military base (El Fuerte Militar Amazonas) serving as the headquarters for the 17th Jungle Brigade, and a jungle warfare school.
Shell Oil Company abanded Shell and in 1949, the Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) arrived. MAF uses Shell as their main base of operations for mission work in Ecuador. There is a movie called, ‘End of the Spear’ about missionaries killed by the Huaorani tribe.
Rick and Sharon have 6 children and 21 grandchildren. They have spent their lives dedicated to their missionary activities. They showed us great hospitality, including finding a house in the mission base for us for $42 per night. Rick, Sharon, and Jon showed us around the area and introduced us to their friends in Shell and Puyo. We ate delicious meals with them. We felt like family.
Rick and Sharon have an airplane in Shell. Rick had his plane engine overhauled and he came to fly the plane. The most exciting part of the trip for Lucas, Henry, and Michael was getting to fly in and even fly the plane.
We decided to spend New Year in Baños de Agua Santa, so Rick, Sharon, and Jon dropped us off there on their way back to Cuenca. We stayed in a small hotel on the edge of town called Hosteria Llanovientos. We had a quad room with bunk beds and a double bed. The rooms are small, but the view is spectacular.
Rick, Sharon, and Jon made sure we settled in Baños before heading off. Rick went with Michael to check on the bus back to Cuenca. We planned to go back on New Years Day. The bus company employee said that there might not be a bus that day because all of his drivers might still be drunk. It was not the case, but it was funny.
On our first afternoon, we took a three-hour tour of waterfalls. The cost for the tour was $3 per person. The bus stopped at Kamikaze adventure park. Lucas, Henry, and I did the zipline. Michael was happy to watch us.
Next, we rode a cable car across the ravine. We did not get warm fuzzies when after we went across the ravine the men on the other side of the ravine were figuring out if there was too much weight in the cable car before they sent us back. We got stuck in the middle for a moment. We are not sure if that was part of the tour.
The best part of the tour was Pailon del Diablo Waterfall.
We ended our first day in Baños with a yummy dinner at Zumo Food & Drink Restaurant. We enjoy Ecuadorian food, but it was nice to mix it up with some Asian food.
On New Year’s Eve, we ate breakfast at our hotel. For $3.50 per person, we each got two eggs, croissants, fruit, and a smoothie.
Next, we visited Eco Zoológico San Martín. This zoo has birds, monkeys, turtles, tigers, and more. We spent almost about two hours touring the zoo. Michael even made friends with a monkey.
We ate lunch at the zoo for $2.50 per person. We each got minestrone, juice, and an entree consisting of meat, salad, rice, beans, and fries. We also had a great view of the canyon.
After lunch, we met a family that will be part of the program we are doing on the beach in January. They have four kids. We hung out for the entire afternoon and evening. The kids (and sometimes the dads) played soccer with some local kids. We also found a bouncy house that kept the kids busy for a couple of hours.
Lucas’ one request on New Year’s Eve was to watch the Georgia game. The family we met are Michigan fans, and they wanted to watch the game too. We all went to their house and we were able to stream the game from a computer onto a big screen tv.
We walked home around 11:30. The streets were packed with people dressed up and shooting off fireworks. We heard fireworks banging like gun shots on every block. We had a wonderful view of the fireworks from our hotel room.
On New Years Day, we went to La Casa del Arbol before our bus back to Cuenca. It is a small park with swings and a zip line on a mountain above the city.
Baños is a fun place to be for New Year. We had a fun time ringing in the new year!
Our bus ride back to Cuenca took seven and a half hours. We watched Spanish movies, and the bus stopped once for a bathroom and food break. We were glad to arrive back in Cuenca after our busy travels.
