Almost on the way!

So three good friends who met while singing in the Raging Grannies are headed to Ecuador on November 13 for 3 weeks and will be sharing this blog. This is an introduction to the women, the trip plan and the blog. The travelers are Helen Findley, Phyllis Noble and Sara Williams. We’ve all had many travel adventures in the past and are very excited about the upcoming trip. 

Helen Findley is mother of three sons, Brian with wife Kate, Keith with wife Sue, and Greg with wife Hayley as well as grandmother to Michael, David, Parker, and Benjamin. She was born to missionary parents in China where she developed a love of the world’s cultures and a taste for travel, as well as a lifelong concern for social justice. With her husband and sons she lived in the Philippines for three years before the family returned to the USA where she earned her master’s degree in social work and worked as a mental health therapist until retirement. Her travels have taken her to Europe, Australia, Africa, Asia, and South America. One adventure in Peru included crossing the Andes, river rafting, visiting the jungle, and exploring Macchu Picchu. Several months ago she asked Sara and Phyllis if they’d be interested in traveling to Ecuador to visit the Huaorani people in the jungle, and another adventure was born.

Phyllis Noble is a retired teacher and school administrator who worked in African-American and Hispanic communities for years in Chicago before moving to Madison in 1986. A Returned Peace Corps Volunteer (Nigeria, 1965-1967,) she has traveled in West Africa, Europe, China, Australia and Latin America and still has the itch to travel! Phyllis volunteers for the Wisconsin Medical Project, an off-shoot of the Madison-Camaguey Sister City Association, and spends time working on the Peace Corps Oral History Archival Project. Her son, Zachary Kmiec, a filmmaker and bicycle mechanic, is a darned good cook and bread-maker. Although not a grandmother yet, Phyllis is honored to sing with the Raging Grannies of Madison. 

Sara Williams worked for 42 years as a nurse in various capacities and retired in 2008 to go to Peru with the Peace Corps. She’s a mother and grandmother, who has traveled the wilderness backpacking, on cross country skis, hiking and paddling. She’s had over 15 trips into the Boundary Waters Canoe Area with family and friends. She’s lived in Oregon, Seattle, New York, San Francisco, West Virginia, Colorado, Montana and Madison. Travel has included Tunisia, Sicily, Italy, France, Mexico, Peru and Ecuador. More than a bit of curiosity and wanderlust! She has a daughter in Arlington, Virginia with husband Jeff and children, Katrina, Alex and Juliana. Her son, Sean lives in Madison with his fiancée, Sara whose parents, Carlos and Carmen will be our hosts in Otavalo, Ecuador.   The cover photo on the blog is from the volcanic peak, Imbabura and was taken from the balcony of Carlos and Carmen's hotel.

We’ll all 3 be contributors to this blog as a way to share the adventure and update folks as we go along. The plan is to drive to a motel near O’Hare airport in the late afternoon on Monday, November 12 and fly to Quito the following day. We acclimatize the following day and explore Quito a bit. Then on November 15, Phyllis and Helen leave for Huaorani Lodge at the headwaters of the Amazon while Sara leaves for Otavalo. We’ll all be back together again on November 19th when the Amazon adventurers arrive back in Quito where Carlos and Sara will pick them up to go to Otavalo. We’ll be staying with Carlos and Carmen until Sunday the 25th when we catch a bus headed south through the Andes and more adventures.