Decker Trip - Panamerican Highway 1966

Sunday Nov 6. We wanted to get on to Quito as soon as possible, but by the time Ken got the other spring on, it was nearing noon. We had a nice visit with the garage caretaker and his wife who were surprised at everything we did. In the twilight, we heard horrible screams and moans coming from close by, and I got really worried. It sounded like it might have been a woman in labor, all by herself. Finally got up my nerve to get up and walk to the door, knock, and ask if anyone needed help. But there was no answer. After a while, the screams continued. It began to get light and the owner got up and went to the door. Out came an old, crippled woman crawling on the ground. According to the owner, she was abandoned at his door, and he was allowing her to stay there and feeding her. He tried to keep her from crawling on the wet ground and finally forced her back into the room in spite of her screams and wails for him to open the door.
We left our two folding chairs with them. I got a few things washed and partly dried. We had cafe con leche y pan in town, then started on our way.
After driving a couple of hours, Ken decided to change the top leaf of the spring which was hitting too hard against the trailer. That took us about 40 minutes. The going was agonizingly slow over the cobblestone til we hit the piece of marvelous paved road just outside of Quito. It was like getting on heavenly streets.
We drove to HCJB. It was about 6:30, and they gave us a nice suite of rooms to stay in . What a delicious feeling. Hot water, beds, a kitchenette! We all took baths that night. Ken, I and the 2 girls slept inside, and the rest of the kids outside in the camper.