7-19 Door to Door - My first day in Quito

First i want to say that I have been writing all day and the times on here are from when I started... also, please excuse the typos (George) as I am on a Spanish keyboard, and it is a little bit different than I am used to, not to mention that because internet explorer is in Spanish, they don´t have the spell check available for English, so I will spell check it when I get home.... that being said... Door to Door, my first day in Quito

10:30 am July 19, 2008

So Jane left two days ago, and now it is my turn to leave. Right now she is on her way to Entebbe in Uganda from Amsterdam for her conference with her parents, I start this with a mention of her, only because, well she was the first thing I though of, even before I thought about what I was going to see today. Jane, I miss you :)... Right now I am in Miami Florida and am waiting for my flight to Quito. From there I have a 7am pick up to take me to the airport for my trip to the Galapagos Islands. In the airport, it is funny, every time you travel, you see the same travelers. For example, there is always that one girl who insists on having her boyfriend take pictures of her and her lap dog, that is, not before she holds the camera in front of the dog packed away in her Prada bag and snaps a shot. So before leaving this morning I saw these two courting birds, regulars on the back deck of our freshly painted condo. Going through their morning hellos. They have this ritualistic necking dance they do that ends with their beaks meeting and the negative space outlined by there two bodies formed the shape of a heart. I thought that was quite beautiful, again makes me you Jane :), but I will see her when I get back, or at least the day after when she gets back. So here I sit belly full of greasy bacon, powered eggs that made the Sahara look like a rain forest, and a hash brown that tasted like a hockey puck at the only place that served a meal they could call breakfast. The place looked like it used to be a bar... but there was no alcohol. We all know I don´t drink, but I found myself having a mamosa (with cran in stead of orange juice) after my breakfast... shocking i know... hopefully it will help me fall asleep on the first flight. I am going to put my feet up now and play a little PSP....

3:25 PM
OK I just sat down on my connecting flight in Miami... I managed to score the exit row... when I intrigued abut getting away from the middle seat they gave me this... I didn´t even think to ask since it was 10 minutes before boarding... nice. I love the extra leg room and was lucky enough to have a small person next to me so I should have plenty of room.

So the final leg on my approach to Ecuador, and I am sharing a plane with 40 members of a southern church group from Alabama all wearing bright yellow t-shirts that said "Pon Tu Confianzaen Jesuscristo" on the back and "Dios Le Bendiga" on the front. I am not sure what the back said... but it appears the front means... God Blesses him... well at least if I am going to go down... I have a bunch of god lovers on here so maybe he'll spare me...

So I am flying to a country where I know barely enough of the language to get my ass kicked or find a bathroom... I should have paid more attention to those Spanish lessons at DHS. The plane has been playing music over their speaker and it has been unbelievable eclectic... in fact right now they are playing Jack Johnson... I believe the song is "upside down"... when I get to Quito... I am going to try and find a cab to drive me around the city a little to take some pictures if it is still light... cross your fingers.

What am I most looking forward too... I think the moment I get off the third flight tomorrow and land on Isabella Island apparently it is a rather small aircraft that will get us to the island, and I am not sure what to expect from the airport there... one of the volcano´s erupted on the island in May, apparently this island has some of the most active volcano´s anywhere in the world... that should be amazing as we hike up to check out the cones... so I just learned we are getting an extra hour when we get there... Ecuador doesn´t subscribe to day light savings... they are not east coast time in the summer, but central time in Quito. 3hrs and 38 minutes from Miami to Quito... temp 68 degrees... (90 in Florida when i left and 90 in Stamford...)

Just a side note... Airports have the coolest trucks on the tarmac...

8:04 In the hotel....
Here is a link to the hotel:

http://www.hostalrabida.com/

I am in the hotel now... this hotel is quaint... the owner is a British woman whose daughter came down here a yr ago... her the woman and her husband, both retired, came down to visit and fell in love with the city, so they bought the hotel and moved here for good. The British woman is married to an Italian man, and they are sitting right next to me having there dinner as I eat mine. Sorry Jeff and Steph, no photos, but it is a delicious grilled salmon with ginger and soya sauce. Ok first impressions of Quito... we were in approach, it was already dark as we descended through the clouds to a valley between a few mountains to see the coolest array of city lights I think I have ever seen. I have always loved flying into a city at night... I had hoped to hop in a cab to do some shooting tonight, I suppose I have to hope for some time on the return to Quito The hotel is beautiful as I sit here eating my salmon dinner, I look around... the hotel is not what I expected... I feel like I am staying in an old fashioned English inn... The rooms are small, but I am not sure you are expected to spend much time in them here... seems to be set up more as a social setting... They have a wonderful patio area with a gorgeous pet rabbit who is quite friendly... he came right up to me a nuzzled against my leg so I would pet him. His name is brownie, and apparently he is 7 years old. When the couple bought the hotel, they bought the rabbit two with the condition that the rabbit would never end up "in the pot". Apparently Brownie has free reign and can often be found hopping about inside the hotel and the restaurant as well.

My guide will pick me up in the morning 6:45am... woo hoo... On the way to the hotel he gave me a little info about the city... ***warning educational material*** the city of Quito has around 2.1 million people in an area not much different in size than NYC... not too many people compared to what we a reused to being near NYC... it is basically broken down into three sections... the poor section, the wealthy section near the old city, and the downtown area which is where the hotel is. I was also told there is a section of bars down the street the locals refer to as "gringoville" hhhmmm I wonder what they could mean by that..... I was told not to walk down there if I decide to go tonight (obviously I am not since I am here typing away) but it is only a $1 cab ride to go. I even overheard the owners daughter saying she was going down there but would not walk the three or four blocks because it is a rough neighborhood to walk there.

Anyway... this is it for now... hope you all sleep well tonight... I know I will... Adios!!