Geo: -0.223151, -78.5127Given the printout of our weather forecast for the week, which I consulted several times during the short hour-and-45-minute flight to Quito, I fully expected to land in the midst of heavy thunderstorms. We were treated, instead, to a spectacular low descent in near cloudless skies, weaving our way through and past several mountain ranges. The airport is brand new, opening within the past year, and was quite impressive. We saw the former airport later during our tour, which was located close to downtown and which was surrounded, nearly to the runway edges, with homes, and which involved a tricky maneuver between two peaks when landing. Though located way outside town, we quickly appreciated the benefits of a new airport, clearly designed to handle (and impress) foreign tourists. As soon as we exited the
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