Hello from South America!

After a minor delay with our first flight we had an incredibly smooth trip to Quito with a layover in Miami. For our second flight we had seats in business class so we had a great meal on our way to the Southern Hemisphere.

Upon exiting the plane in Quito we were immediately reminded of the fact that we are in the Andes as we were both out of breath after walking up the ramp from the plane to the airport (Quito is 9350 feet above sea level). At least we hope the elevation was the reason for being out of breath… The thinner air is still noticeable after a few hours but we are making sure to walk in “vacation mode” and stay hydrated. After clearing immigration and customs we met up with our driver, Maria, who took us to our hotel in Quito.

The airport is about 45 minutes from Quito and it is located in the valley below the city so the entire drive is up a steep incline. As you approach the city the skyscrapers in central Quito appear above the ridgeline. All along the way there are homes built right into the side of these steep cliffs with seemingly little support affixing them to the mountain. A key trait of South American cities is the street vendors selling their wares to passing cars (we even saw multiple people selling ice cream cones on the side of the highway).

After checking into our hotel (which is in a great location) we explored a few blocks nearby and visited a local grocery store. We bought some local chocolate and coffee which meant going through the checkout line with the locals. Jay did his best to speak in Spanish but the locals speak so fast that it is hard to keep up, and they are soon met with blank stares and Jay’s new favorite phrase: Lo siento, solo hablo un poco de espanol (I’m sorry, I only speak a little Spanish). People do seem to appreciate the effort even if we end up apologizing for our limited knowledge of the local language. Everyone we have met so far is incredibly kind and patient.

We had a lovely traditional Ecuadorian dinner at Achiote complete with empanadas, lamb stew, the famous local delicacy (which of course we had to try) Guinea Pig, and an array of dessert samplers. The restaurant had a 65 year old magnolia tree in the middle of it and a live guitar player. Per Ecuadorian law, the sale of alcohol is not permitted today because it is election day in Ecuador; which the restaurant apparently took “very seriously” by enforcing it by simply serving alcohol in the standard water glasses instead of the alcohol specific glasses. That didn’t quite jive with Stephanie’s legal analysis brain, but we enjoyed our wine and beer nonetheless!

All for now, but we have (and will continue to throughout our trip) upload more photos/videos in the gallery section. We have an early day tomorrow as we hope to see many of the local sites before we head out to the Galapagos.