more adventures with will

well, things have been going well! will has definately had some adventures that he will remember! on the left is a picture of him in riobamba, getting some local cuisine. he said it was the best fried chicken he has ever had....i say its because they probably killed the chicken literally a few hours prior to cooking it :)







below: picture of some local food..they scrape the skin off and put some salt on it!
so, we (me, will, and fiona) got to riobamba and walked to the train station to buy our tickets for the train ride in the morning....we didnt have a place to stay yet, but we knew we could get a place...while we were buying our tickets, a man asked us if we had a room yet, and we said that we didnt, so he showed us a brochure for his hostal and said he would take us there and bring us to the train in the morning. it would be 7 dollars a night for each person...so we said we would go and look at it before we made any decisions. we got there, and suprisingly..it was really nice! it was a room with 3 beds and a private bathroom..which is a good thing to have here....so we took it..and it was a great decision...a good deal, especially for 7 dollars in riobamba. that night, we walked around to find a place to eat and wound up at the smallest place i have ever eaten, called the Puro Cafe..which only had turkey and ham sandwiches, drinks, great coffee, and beer. it was so good and the man was extremely nice to us! we ended up returning there later for a coffee, because i love good coffee...especially when it is proper coffee...versus the worst thing that ever happened to coffee: instant.
here is a picture of us on the train in the early morning...6am. the train leaves at 7..so you need to get there early to ensure a great seat...on the best side of the train (the right). it is really quite annoying because the second you step on the train, there are atleast 3 different people mobbing you to buy a hat and gloves because it is "really cold"..which it actually wasnt even that cold that morning...but its fine..its like going to a game and buying all the souveniers...so of course, will got a hat and gloves. it was interesting this time, because it was raining! so, everyone was also selling plastics for 1 dollar to cover you up so you wouldnt get wet. so of course, we also needed to buy those too. i was kind of sad because i was hoping it would be nice because the whole point of the train ride is seeing the incredible mountains that God has painted and sculpted. but, God provided warm weather and we were able to see the mountains, as clear as ever.
one of the highlights of the train ride is throwing candy to the kids that live by the train. they know all the gringos throw candy off the side, so they run by the train and wave until candy is thrown. will especially enjoyed this. the kids are hardcore though! they were tackling eachother for one piece of candy...wow.


friday after school, one of the missionary families in shell wanted to take us to their land in shell. they have 16 acres of land that they have a vision to build a bible school for the locals..and they would take care of the land by tending vegetables, coffee plants, etc. to pay for their education. they have a great vision, but it will take a lot of time...so, will and i went, and it was great..we were able to wear the knee high rubber boots and all. its cool because its jungle. so, will was walking with dan in a small stream and watching where he was walking because the stream was mushy and you had to see where you were walking...but as he was doing this..he walked into something really sharp! he thought he got scraped by a tree branch, but he saw that it was barbed wire! he was kinda freaking out because he couldnt remember the last time he got a tetanus shot...so...we walked around a little longer, then went to the hospital to get a shot and some bandaids. here is will getting fixed up by an intern at the hospital.

here is a picture of one of the views we saw on the train. i loved seeing all the texture on the mountains...it is truly incredible

have a great week! i cant believe i will be home on wednesday! more adventures....