The move

Cotopaxi--one of the beautiful views on the way to Shell

Thankfully we had a pretty uneventful move from Quito to Shell last week. We ended up traveling with one other family on a big bus--because we were transporting half a house--furniture, appliances and all of our suitcases as well as us.

Mike loading one of our many suitcases onto the bus

Thankfully it all fit and we rode in style as we left the mountains around Quito and descended towards the Oriente--the jungle where Shell is located. We had a beautifully clear day and were able to see many of the big mountains and volcanoes that pass through the central corridor of Ecuador. We spent the next week finding our way around Shell--which is not too big and would be very hard to get lost in--and getting settled. The mess at the end of the trip

We sat in on morning report at the hospital which made us quickly realize that although our spanish has come a long way--we still have a ways to go in order to understand and communicate at such a high and rapid level. But we are so excited to get to work and thankfully we are joining a very welcoming and supportive team of people at Hospital Vozandes del Oriente.