It's Friday, so this must be....Guayaquil!!

We are here in Ecuador for a week at the request of a Mission President, to help out with the case of a missionary with a serious infectious illness.  This came up quite suddenly, as in "So what flights DO you have tomorrow?"

From the windows of the airplane, hotel and the taxis, Guayaquil looks a lot like a lot of other big cities, only warmer.

We helped transport the missionaries who had been in contact with the ill Elder to get screened.  As it was a large group and a national hospital, the President asked us to wear Preparation-Day clothing for the visit.

Sister Henderson got in to the spirit of the occasion with her Invisible Woman costume.

To everyone's relief, when all the tests were complete, and the films read,

everything came out negative.

With a bit more time to think and look around, we realized that many of the people in Ecuador had a strange, almost Smurf-like character.

When we commented, we were informed that these were paper-maché statuettes, often of amazing scale,

that are purchased, some at significant price, to be loaded with explosive devices and blown apart on New Year's Eve.  This is to bring good luck.  Okaaaayyyy..... perhaps to emergency rooms, maybe.

On the way back to the hotel to write up my report, the missionaries accompanying us just had to take us by one of the bigger attractions of Guayaquil - Iguana Park!

I won't go to a close-up for those of you with phobias of large lizards, but the tree below is actually crawling, and I don't use the word lightly, with great big green iguanas, while the statue of Simon Bolivar (one of several in the city) looks on approvingly. 

We have several more tasks to accomplish at the request of the Mission President while we're here  before we head back to Bogotá on Tuesday evening.  

Meanwhile, we're relieved that things have gone well so far, and look forward to further Smurf-like experiences.  We hope that none of your statuettes explode on New Year's Eve.

Dave & Paula