All Systems Go!

Here I am! I have arrived safely in Quito after wasting a day and some trials and tribulations. Denise and I sent a flurry of e-mails, made a number of calls to Air Canada and Avienta (their partner airline in South America and the one that was supposed to carry us to Quito). The two women I was with got confirmed flights to somewhere else in Ecuador. After spending the morning trying to solve this problem, I finally got a confirmed flight to Quito at 2:10. We were worried that maybe the police would still be striking in Ecuador, but luckily not and apparently the airports were open again. Actually we heard that it was the surrounding countries that closed the airports, becuase they feared an exodus from Ecuador if it was a real coup and the president was killed or removed. Luckily the army rescued him and things settled down quickly. Let's hope it stays that way!

When we finally got our flights organized, the three of us headed across the street to a restaurant in another hotel for a quick lunch. The people in our hotel were wonderful and very helpful. In the photo, the hotel lady is on the left, Slyvie, then on the right is Gracie.

I got to the airport and the lines were long because of the back log, and when I finally got to the desk, there seemed to be a problem, as the lady couldn't find my ticket number. I was there a half hour with her, and we had some issues understanding each other. However, finally I got a boarding pass and all systems were go.

The flight was short, two hours. I slept through half of it and watch two and a half men the other half. A GAP tours rep met me at the airport and drove me through the crazy rush hour traffic to the Hotel Amazona. It's really nice and the best part is my name is in the lobby on the bulletin board as going to Galapapos. So, I'm in the right place. Apparently a couple of tours got canceled yesterday because of the chaos. Glad mine didn't!

I've explored the city a bit around the hotel. I'm in the gringo district apparently. Touristy stuff mixed with bars and internet cafes. Now I'm in my room watching John Dillinger while updating this. I am going to turn in early tonight, as I'm exhausted. It's been a hectic and stressful couple of days.

Hope you all have a great weekend.