Quito, Ecuador

Well, I arrived in Quito tonight. I am well, but a little hungry since I didn't get to eat any lunch, and "dinner" on the plane was a snack, really. I think they intended it as such. I usually bring Clif Bars on trips, but I was in a rush this morning and forgot, so now I'm hungry. :(

I was a bit worried about my Spanish when I was boarding in Denver for my flight to Miami. I asked a lady in line if she knew whether we had to show our passports at the gate, and she said, "No eenlish", so I started talking in Spanish. The words were slow to come and came out a bit garbled. Once I got to Quito, though, because I had heard it so much on the flight over, I was just fine, and have had no problem communicating.

My hotel room is huge. I have 2 sofas, and a tv and mini bar in my living room, a king size bed and flat screen tv in my bedroom, and 1 1/2 bathrooms. Feels like a small apartment.

The drive from the airport to the hotel was interesting. Apparently, the lanes are optional. The guy drove all over the place, crossing the lines whenever it pleased him. The lanes are very narrow, so sometimes he would not have been able to fit the car in them anyway. They drive like crazy here. Luckily we will always have someone to drive us. I am more grateful now than ever that in the US, most people follow the traffic laws. My driver almost ran over a drunk person who was walking in the middle of our lane, and almost hit a pickup truck in a traffic circle. He drove so fast, and didn't really slow down much for corners, so my suitcase was flying all over the place in the back of the SUV we were in.

Just like I feared most, my luggage did not arrive in Quito with me, and I was promised it would arrive tomorrow. I hope they are right, because I only have one outfit for tomorrow. I hope it did not get lost.

Sorry no pictures as of yet--I'm too tired to go around taking pictures, and in any case, pictures of my hotel room will turn out better if I take them during the day.

~Kimberly