We have been in Guayaquil for just a week but have had a lifetime of incredible experiences provided by most generous Rotarians. Gustavo Perez Reyes and Hugo Klopfstein set the tone with a warm welcome last Sunday. The next three days were spent with Rotary Clubs: Guayaqul Occidente and Ramiro Roman, Raul Canizares, and Hector Plaza; Guayaquil Sur and Enrique Vasquez and Paco Roseney; Club Guayaquil and Luis Eduardo Burbano, Ricardo Koenig, and Apericio Velero. Previous blogs contain all the places and projects we visited with each day bringing new adventures.
On Friday morning Gustavo drove us two hours to Ruta del Sol and a wonderful afternoon at the hacienda of Rodrigo and Isabel Bustamante situated right on the ocean. It was unbelievable to walk on the sandiest beach ever and swim in very warm ocean water.
Saturday we were taken to the Salinas Yacht Club and treated to an all day sailing trip with Rafael Quintero and Herman Lopez.
And on Sunday we were off to another club and water slides that thrilled one and all followed by a lazy afternoon of beach and swimming with Gustavo and Pedro and Araceli Medina.
Our Rotarian home hosts have also gone out of their way to provide every comfort. Ben was in the home of Roberto and Marcia Tugendath and the ladies in a private wee cottage at the hacienda of Pedro and Araceli Medina.
How do we begin to thank you all for the gift of your time and hospitality. We have all remarked that if we were to go home today--rather than off to Quito--we would feel as if we had received more than enough to make our journey complete.
Muchas gracias por recibernos en sus casas y de ofrecernos su amistad. Estamos muy agradesidos por su hospitalidad. Ustedes han sido muy amable a nosotros. Gracias.
Beverly
Ben Reiman
Ben is a behaviour consultant living with his wife in White Rock BC. Ben has a passion for working with people with autism and looks forward to learning and sharing with people in the field of special education. Ben enjoys a local connection when travelling and is looking forward to this incredible journey with an amazing team.
Janene Erickson
Janene works in the Parks & Recreation department for the City of Abbotsford and is currently residing in the Fraser Valley, BC, Canada. She has earned her degree in Kinesiology and plans to pursue her passion for teaching fitness, health promotion and nutrition counselling. For kicks, Janene has run 5 marathons in the last year, including Boston and has decided to try Ironman Canada 2009. Always eager to try new things, she is excited about learning Spanish and experiencing things that only Ecuador has to offer.
Kathleen Goodin
Kathleen Goodin is a registered nurse on a surgical unit in a brand new hospital in Abbotsford, BC. She is one of four children and was raised in Maple Ridge where she currently resides. She spends lots of time with her nieces and nephews and enjoys relaxing in the interior at the family cabin. Theatre is a great joy to Kathleen as it is where she worked before joining the nursing profession. Kathleen is looking forward meeting new people and understanding a new climate in Ecuador.
Beverly Harrington
Involvement in Rotary is a privilege and an incredible opportunity to share both my time and my resources in a way that truly makes a difference. My professional career has been mainly within the credit union movement. I currently own my own business. I started learning Spanish several years ago in preparation for my long-term goal of teaching English where Spanish is the native language.
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