Our Adventure into the Amazon. Part 1
Ecuador Trip so far.
Currently this morning we have a bit of time to kill before the bus got here. Thought that might be a good opportunity to do a small bit of writing.
Sept 4, our wake up at 5 AM was not that bad really. It helps that we had packed everything in advance the night before and headed to bed pretty early. Upon getting to the hotel my car would be parked at for the duration of our trip, we were told we weren't on file. After a short conversation with the manager, we found the issue. They had my first and middle name on file instead of Shan's for some strange reason. Luckily, that was sorted out quickly, and it was a short wait for the shuttle to take us to the Airport.
Shan was once again mysteriously swabbed by security, and they swabbed the inside of my carry on luggage. No explanation as to why, but I've learned it's better not to question boarder security officers. Our wait there was a bit uneventful, minus having fun dancing on the escalator floors.
As we got into our first of two flights, drowsiness hit quick. Might have been the medication kicking in or something. After what felt like a solid nap, I woke up, and played some Final Fantasy Tactics War of the Lions on my iPad. Shan read a book. Lunch was served and the airline attendants did not look pleased at all to be there. Thankfully Copa Airlines has a nice meal, better then Air Canada.
We landed in Panama City, and were slightly confused on where to go. Our luggage was being brought over, so we didn't need to worry about that. We thought it would be good to share a nap and a beer and paid way more then we should have. Shortly after, we were being loaded for our second flight.
Our second flight was considerably shorter. I was reading a magazine as my iPad ran out of juice.
We landed in Quito, went through customs, and found our luggage. Shan's bag came out first, which was kind of a miracle in itself as her's has typically always been last out.
We found our shuttle (which again listed me as my first and middle name instead of Shan, quite bizarre) and we went on our way to the hotel.
The cab ride was a whole lot longer then expected. There were a few death grip moments with tight and fast turns up and down roads that we only realized later were not one way roads.
We got to our room, and crashed out shortly after.
Sept 5. Woke up, and went for breakfast. I liked it quite a lot. We started taking our Malaria medication. We were interested in sight seeing since our meeting was not until 8pm.
We asked the front desk about tours. No tours. We asked about a map. No map. We asked about local sites in walking distance nearby. We were asked in return if we wanted a cab, and were obviously confused by our retort of, "A cab to where?"
Frustrated, we started looking to the Internet for help. There was a large park, not to far away. We made our way there. It was a large and beautiful park. We even went on a short paddle boat ride. There was a great amount of training equipment available. It was basically an outdoor gym that many were enjoying. Sadly, the botanic garden was closed as it was under construction. We ventured out to a few shops and malls. Quito is a lot more similar to back home. Found an octopus buff that seemed like a good idea.
Our lunch at the mall was a bit difficult. The language barrier was quite obvious. Thankfully, we ordered what we thought we had.
Later that night we had our Meeting. I have thoroughly enjoyed our trips with G Adventures so far. Shan was quite exhausted, so that didn't help matters much. Our guide didn't care about the vouchers, even though we were told to bring them. He also skipped right over any of the optional excursions, which I guess was his way of saying they weren't worth our time.
Today, we leave for the Amazon. We have a long bus ride ahead of us, in which we were told to very safely guard our belongings as it was not uncommon for people to be robbed from. Comforting right?
Currently this morning we have a bit of time to kill before the bus got here. Thought that might be a good opportunity to do a small bit of writing.
Sept 4, our wake up at 5 AM was not that bad really. It helps that we had packed everything in advance the night before and headed to bed pretty early. Upon getting to the hotel my car would be parked at for the duration of our trip, we were told we weren't on file. After a short conversation with the manager, we found the issue. They had my first and middle name on file instead of Shan's for some strange reason. Luckily, that was sorted out quickly, and it was a short wait for the shuttle to take us to the Airport.
Shan was once again mysteriously swabbed by security, and they swabbed the inside of my carry on luggage. No explanation as to why, but I've learned it's better not to question boarder security officers. Our wait there was a bit uneventful, minus having fun dancing on the escalator floors.
As we got into our first of two flights, drowsiness hit quick. Might have been the medication kicking in or something. After what felt like a solid nap, I woke up, and played some Final Fantasy Tactics War of the Lions on my iPad. Shan read a book. Lunch was served and the airline attendants did not look pleased at all to be there. Thankfully Copa Airlines has a nice meal, better then Air Canada.
We landed in Panama City, and were slightly confused on where to go. Our luggage was being brought over, so we didn't need to worry about that. We thought it would be good to share a nap and a beer and paid way more then we should have. Shortly after, we were being loaded for our second flight.
Our second flight was considerably shorter. I was reading a magazine as my iPad ran out of juice.
We landed in Quito, went through customs, and found our luggage. Shan's bag came out first, which was kind of a miracle in itself as her's has typically always been last out.
We found our shuttle (which again listed me as my first and middle name instead of Shan, quite bizarre) and we went on our way to the hotel.
The cab ride was a whole lot longer then expected. There were a few death grip moments with tight and fast turns up and down roads that we only realized later were not one way roads.
We got to our room, and crashed out shortly after.
Sept 5. Woke up, and went for breakfast. I liked it quite a lot. We started taking our Malaria medication. We were interested in sight seeing since our meeting was not until 8pm.
We asked the front desk about tours. No tours. We asked about a map. No map. We asked about local sites in walking distance nearby. We were asked in return if we wanted a cab, and were obviously confused by our retort of, "A cab to where?"
Frustrated, we started looking to the Internet for help. There was a large park, not to far away. We made our way there. It was a large and beautiful park. We even went on a short paddle boat ride. There was a great amount of training equipment available. It was basically an outdoor gym that many were enjoying. Sadly, the botanic garden was closed as it was under construction. We ventured out to a few shops and malls. Quito is a lot more similar to back home. Found an octopus buff that seemed like a good idea.
Our lunch at the mall was a bit difficult. The language barrier was quite obvious. Thankfully, we ordered what we thought we had.
Later that night we had our Meeting. I have thoroughly enjoyed our trips with G Adventures so far. Shan was quite exhausted, so that didn't help matters much. Our guide didn't care about the vouchers, even though we were told to bring them. He also skipped right over any of the optional excursions, which I guess was his way of saying they weren't worth our time.
Today, we leave for the Amazon. We have a long bus ride ahead of us, in which we were told to very safely guard our belongings as it was not uncommon for people to be robbed from. Comforting right?