ECUADOR - My June/July 2003 Trip Journal -- by Donna R. Carter
Page One
~^~ The Flight There and The First Day ~^~ Tuesday-Wednesday ~^~ June 24-25, 2003
My flight was supposed to leave at 2:50a.m. but was delayed an hour for "maintenance" (doesn't that make you feel so secure!?!)
It must have been my scintillating personality; I was bumped to first class for the first two legs of my trip! AND make it even better, I was the ONLY person in first class for the whole time I was up there! I had my own personal flight attendant at my beck and call, and the whole area of first class was my own private room with a private bath. ... uh huh. But it was fun. It was luxurious and I was treated like a queen. I was even given a memento when I commented how absolutely adorable the mini gold gilt ivory china salt/pepper shaker set and butter pat bowl were... they gave them to me!
The flight went well, and when I got off the plane in Quito, I couldn't stop inhaling the air... the clarity of the blue in the sky was incredible, and I felt so happy I couldn't even peel the smile off my face.
I made it through customs without a hitch - they didn't even x-ray my bags, much less open them up for a look! I was fleeced by a taxi driver who took me to the guest house - and I knew it, but I didn't even care!
I was HOME! I was HOME! I had a great first two days. My cousin and I went out to my grandfather's grave site on the first day, and made arrangements for it to be covered with beautiful brown flagstone. It was expected to be completed by Friday (the 27th). I was glad that the mission was going to do the work, but I was a bit nervous about the cost, as they couldn't even give me an estimate prior to the work being done.
I saw many "friends of old" and I got a whopping sunburn, having forgotten that being in the altitude may feel cool, but you're a lot closer to the sun - and it was such a beautiful day that I spent the majority of it outdoors. Weird burn lines wearing a 3/4 sleeve boatneck shirt... oh well, I figured I'd just have to burn a bit more to even it out (AFTER that burn settled down a bit). [famous last words]
I found out that I had chat available on the computer at the Guest house, and since my dad was on chat, I signed on and chatted with him a bit. I didn't realize that Melissa was still there, but dad told me that Jeff was going to be picking her up a few hours later. I spent the rest of the time chatting with her, which I think was very good for both of us. I even got to chat with Jeff when he came to pick her up. (And I convinced him to download the chat program so we could continue to chat while I was gone). :) Made things so easy!
I totally enjoyed exercising my Spanish and hearing the sounds and seeing the familiar sights of my heart home. It was hard to even journal because I simply didn't want to be cooped up with a computer when it was all out there waiting for me!
Page One Picture Gallery I apologize that haven't figured out how to get the last gallery picture to bring you back here, so please, when you finish with the gallery, use your browser's "back" button to bring yourself back to this page, and the link below to go on to the next. Thanks, and sorry for the inconvenience!