Third Time is a Charm

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Susan and I have tried to do this trip twice before. The first time was in the fall of 2019. We were within a week of leaving when there was civil unrest and the government was temporarily moved out of Quito. We cancelled the trip and rebooked it for March 2020. Well, we all know what happened there and we had to cancel again. Luckily, we hadn’t attempted it because if we had, Ecuador and the US completely shut down and we would have been stuck here for months. So, this trip was our next shot. We were so nervous that something would happen again. We heard Cotopaxi was erupting. Oh no. We heard that the government was dissolved and there would be new elections in August. Oh no. Well, none of that has been a problem and we were able to travel.



We flew out of Raleigh to Atlanta and then Atlanta to Quito. The flights were great and we arrived around 8:30 (central time). Ellen (Susan’s former exchange student), Esteban (her husband) and Simone (their daughter) picked us up at the new Quito airport. They gave us each a bouquet of lovely roses. The airport is about 40 minutes outside of town.



On the ride to their house, they discussed their jobs and we will be touring their sites one of the days we are here. We arrived at their house and it is lovely. There are 2 terraces, multiple bedrooms and lots of sitting areas. They also have a very friendly dog and a cat that seems a little shy.



The elevation of Quito is 9350 feet. Susan and I felt it. Both of our hearts were racing and climbing the stairs made us out of breath. We know it will take us a day to adjust.

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Photos

family
the family

sign
Quito sign at the airport