The Strike

 On Friday morning we woke up expecting the Nueva Loja Branch to be filing the hospidaje, but it was empty. Worrying that the bus had crashed on its 9-hour journey, we found the manager. She announced that they had called on Thursday night and canceled their trip due to the "paro." We didn't know what that was. So we texted the branch president who sent us this:


The three provinces in the Orient decided to join in a strike because a foreign contract was being delayed. Instead, the local news propaganda announced it was for improved roads. Since the petroleum comes from the east, they have incredible leverage over the country. Some strikes last for a few days and some for months so we didn't know what to do.

The roads into Nueva Loja were blocked. We didn't want to drive for 7 hours only to find this.


We were thrilled that the manager of the hospidaje let us stay indefinitely. Naturally, we continued enjoying the temple. I was finally getting over a head cold and feeling good.

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