Cuenca Summary

Trip Start Mar 02, 2005

Trip End May 07, 2005

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Flag of Ecuador Cuenca, Ecuador
Saturday, March 19, 2005

I had a great time in Cuenca, but the volunteer work was not quite what I had expected, so after 9 days in Cuenca I hopped on a bus for the four hour ride to Guauyaquil. Located on the coast, Guayaquil is actually the biggest city in Ecuador, though few people outside of south america (including me before this trip) have ever heard of it.

Overall, I had a great time in Cuenca. I enjoyed staying with a family and eating home cooked meals. I ended up making friends with some foreigners studying English in Cuenca, so most nights we would go out for drinks together.

I guess I should have figured that there wasn´t much I could do as a medical volunteer without any medical training. I didn´t really know what to expect before I got there, but the doctor in charge of the rural health program had assured me over email that I would be able to volunteer with them even though I didn´t have any training. So in the end I shadowed the doctors at the health clinic as they examined local patients. It was interesting to get a chance to see medicine in such a basic form. These are real family practicioners who have to deal with everything from malnourished babies to geriatric problems. HOwever, the majority of the patients I saw during my week at the clinic were adults complaining of stomache pains or mothers bringing in their children for checkups. The clinic is in the town of Santa Ana, a farming community up in the mountains about a 25 minute drive from the center of Cuenca. Much of the population in Santa Ana still dresses in traditional Andean highland attire - the women wear colorful skirts and shawls. They have electricity although few homes seem to have telephones and most do not have plumbing. Houses are generally made of either stucco or concrete blocks with slanting tile roofs (although some newer homes have roofs made of cheaper aluminum).

Overall, things were pretty slow at the health clinic. On Friday I was there from 9am to 1pm and we only had 3 patients who came by. The setting was beautiful and I enjoyed observing the doctors when they had patients, but much of the time I was bored.