Equal Quito
Headin' off for fall break tomorrow in the afternoon to finally plant my feet on the South American continent. I'll be spending my roughly 48 hours on the ground in the Ecuadorian capital of Quito, and among the things that I must do...go visit that line that gives the country its name, the Equator. It's about 20 miles north of the city, so it'll be interesting on figuring out how to get there.
And no, my graphic isn't off (at least, in terms of the flight numbers). Delta has numbered the entire loop 199. So I'll fly ATL-UIO (Quito), and spend my time there. The return flight will route UIO-GYE (Guayaquil) before returning GYE-ATL. Flight times of about five hours on the big legs. Apparently United does the same thing with two circumnavigation flights that visit all the same cities, but one goes east while the other goes west. I guess if you loop, you can number it the same thing?
I'm armed with a flight itinerary (that will probably be Business Elite on all legs if listings hold true), my passport, a hotel reservation, a camera, my rather beat up English-Spanish dictionary to supplement my super rusty Spanish, and a desire to explore. Do I need more? Well, clothes, some cash, and a hopefully strong GI tract just in case. Unfortunately, the current forecast states showers at 30%, but from what I understand, the geography of Quito, at 10,000ft amid the mountains, renders it somewhat like Denver, in that they can experience a plethora of conditions within a day, so here's to hoping it stays primarily dry. Highs near 20C, lows around 10C, a brisk place that will make exploration in jeans and a long-sleeve T or hoodie plenty comfortable.
So I arrive tomorrow night, around 21:00, and depart Monday around 21:30, returning to ATL at 06:00 on Tuesday, giving me the morning to clean up and sleep a bit before getting back into the swing of school work. I plan on Sunday being my trip to the Equator, since I dont' want to stray too far from the city on Monday.
This should be cool. Now where's my camera?
And no, my graphic isn't off (at least, in terms of the flight numbers). Delta has numbered the entire loop 199. So I'll fly ATL-UIO (Quito), and spend my time there. The return flight will route UIO-GYE (Guayaquil) before returning GYE-ATL. Flight times of about five hours on the big legs. Apparently United does the same thing with two circumnavigation flights that visit all the same cities, but one goes east while the other goes west. I guess if you loop, you can number it the same thing?
I'm armed with a flight itinerary (that will probably be Business Elite on all legs if listings hold true), my passport, a hotel reservation, a camera, my rather beat up English-Spanish dictionary to supplement my super rusty Spanish, and a desire to explore. Do I need more? Well, clothes, some cash, and a hopefully strong GI tract just in case. Unfortunately, the current forecast states showers at 30%, but from what I understand, the geography of Quito, at 10,000ft amid the mountains, renders it somewhat like Denver, in that they can experience a plethora of conditions within a day, so here's to hoping it stays primarily dry. Highs near 20C, lows around 10C, a brisk place that will make exploration in jeans and a long-sleeve T or hoodie plenty comfortable.
So I arrive tomorrow night, around 21:00, and depart Monday around 21:30, returning to ATL at 06:00 on Tuesday, giving me the morning to clean up and sleep a bit before getting back into the swing of school work. I plan on Sunday being my trip to the Equator, since I dont' want to stray too far from the city on Monday.
This should be cool. Now where's my camera?