Arrived in Otavalo

We landed in Quayaquil as the sun was trying to rise in the east at 6:10 a.m. to a warm 80 degrees. Quite different than when we boarded the plane in JFK last night shivering. Hopefully our last taste of winter this season.

Departed the plane in Guayaquil and learned we could get a cart for free if we gave them our plane ticket to Guayaquil. Waited for luggage about half hour and then stood in a long line of hundreds waiting to go through customs – a line that did not move. One man got impatient and began to shout angrily. Others joined the conversation. Finally, the line began moving.

We left an apple in Judy’s backpack, hoping that we could eat it on the flight to Quito. Unfortunately, they must have spotted something in the scan and they set her backpack aside. Meanwhile, we collected all of our other bags and loaded them on a cart. Since Judy’s bag was lying aside and the security people were busy scrutinizing another bag, I went over and picked up her backpack. They must not have noticed.

We then had to claim our bags and discovered that we had only three luggage tags for our four bags which had been checked through. They wrote down the fourth baggage claim and left us go on. We waited in another line for an elevator to take us to the second floor, only to stand in another long line, waiting to re-checkin all of our bags so we could fly to Quito. By now it is 8:15, two hours hafter we landed, and our flight to Quito was to leave in 25 minutes. No one seemed to speak English at the airport other than fellow travelers. Together, we left the airline know that our flight was leaving. Soon, they had us come to the front of the line, checked in our bags, and we hurried through security.

We boarded our plane and after drinking delicious peach juice and eating fantastic Ecuador bread with cheese and ham, we arrived in Quito 35 minutes later at 9:25 a.m.. In Quito, we reclaimed our bags, found Joselo’s friend, and then took a taxi to Terminal de Norte in Quito where Judy and I boarded a bus to Otavalo. We left around 10:30 a.m. and arrived in Otavalo about 2 ½ hours later. I slept the first part of the bus trip. The second part, I again enjoyed the absolutely stunning views of deep ravines, mountains, and beautiful scenes of Ecuador.

The weather is a balmy 75-80 – short sleeve weather so far with sun, clouds and a few drops of rain between the sun and clouds. Judy and I enjoyed the cilantro-flavored soup, rice, vegetables, and chicken almuerzo for lunch, then walked around the market for a while. And right now I am sitting on the roof in a lounge chair between two hammocks with hummingbirds and flowers in the foreground and tall mountains in the distance with blue sky and white fluffy clouds.

We are staying at the hostel we usually stay at in Ecuador. They speak english and are very friendly. We miss all those who were with us last year here in Otavalo. It brings back so many good memories. Love you all!