First, as you know, we were in Quito so that I could begin my licensing process with the government. I had to get an aviation physical and also take some written exams. It was all time consuming compared to my experiences in the states, but all in all it went really well. Here are the tests I had to take just to get my medical...
- Hearing test
- Dental checkup
- Phycologist
- Urine/Blood samples
- Ecocardiogram
- Neurologist
- X-rays from the chest up
- General Exam
- Eye Test
Those 9 tests took me about 4 hours to complete on Wednesday morning. I was pretty worn out from going around to all those different doctors. On top of that I had not eaten since the night before in order to take my blood and urine tests. To get a medical in the USA, you meet with 1 doctor and it probably takes 20 minutes. But, I'm not in Kansas anymore right?
Thursday, I spent the morning back at the Federal Aviation building in Quito taking my written exams. I took 3 different tests, which all told probably took about 4 hours as well. On the drive home yesterday afternoon I was able to call the testing office and hear that I passed my written tests. Praise the Lord!!! Thank you all for praying with us in this whole licensing debacle. I know it has made the difference lately as we press through with what the Lord has in store for us. Hopefully this coming week I will actually begin to fly again. I still need to get up to speed in order to take the flying portion of my licensing tests in order to complete the requirements for my Ecuadrian pilots licenses. Hopefully in the next week or two I will be ready to complete the last steps to get my license.
Rebecca also mentioned in the blog yesterday about all of our detours and such with our drive home. Although most of the time our "detours" were not intentional, we did make an intentional stop for lunch off the beaten path. We were told about an old hacienda type place a few miles off the Pan-American highway that served good food as well as offering a touch of history. Well, we were sure glad we made the stop. The hacienda is called "La Ciénega." It was built in 1742 during the Spanish colonialization of the region. The main purpose of it's construction was initially to have a post to study the then erupting Cotopaxi Volcano. We did enjoy a nice lunch there, but we were struck more by the awesome Spanish architecture, and the overall feel of once again being somewhere other than Kansas.
This is a picture of the nearby Cotopaxi Volcano. If the clouds are not covering it, it is easily seen from the Pan-American highway for hours. It is the second highest volcano in Ecuador, about 18,000 ft., and is the highest active volcano in the world. It is possible to climb Cotopaxi, and I would sure love to do it. It has been done by a few other MAF folks, although I don't know any of the logistics of it at this point. Anybody want to climb it with me?
Here are Brooklyn and mommy in the plaza of the hacienda. In the background is the personal chapel. The layout of the hacienda is typical Spanish contruction. The whole house is built in a huge square, with a plaza or garden in the middle which is seen above. It really reminded us of watching Zorro, or some Hollywood movie with a similar theme.
No comments:
Post a Comment