Dia Vente: Our Final Day in Ecuador!

Slept in this final day. Well, until 8:30. Breakfasted in the hotel dining room, showered and began the processed of packing ourselves and all our purchases. Finally got everything packed in the safest way possible. We have a few rather fragile items that we'll take aboard the flights with us. My shortness of breath continued though a bit better today. I am just exhausted and feel like I have had enough and seen enough of Quito. Guess it's time to go home.

Leslie had a couple more churches she just had to see and she wanted to find the place that sold the best helados in Quito, so she deposited me in the atrium courtyard in the back of the hotel and headed off. I was supremely happy in this airy, quiet space. Open to two floors above, this room is decorated in beautiful paintings, comfortable but formal furniture, a small bar, antiques and two computers for guest use. I set up shop here while Leslie went out. I managed some reading, accessed my blog and did a bit of writing.

A couple of hours later, Leslie came back holding a good share of an ice cream cone. She had found the helados stand and had sweetly brought back part of her cone. It held part of two fresh fruit scoops, one of fresh fig and the other strawberry. We chatted about the places she'd visited and then headed to the eatery we had discovered the night before around the corner and had lunch. Leslie got her Llapingocha she got last time we were there. I got something that didn't look at all like the photo. It looked like the bits and ends of meat left after it had been in the fryer too long. We had overstayed our welcome apparently. We did enjoy the berry jugo (juice).

At 5:00 we asked for a taxi and the one that arrived had no meter. He was already putting our luggage in the trunk and was hedging on the price he would charge. He wanted us in the taxi and moving before he talked price. We started pulling our luggage aside and asking for the price we knew should be between $8-10. Our threats finally locked in a price of $8. He drove like a bat out of hell, swerving in and out of traffic, honking as he went. We screeched to a stop in front of the international terminal. The rest of the process, with the exception of a two hour layover in Guyaquil on the way, was the reverse of our journey here and not worth repeating.

As I write we are sitting in the aircraft taxiing out for take off to Miami. In about 4 hours we should land there and then head for our final flight on Alaska Airlines to Seattle.

Well, that about does it. It has been an interesting trip. Certainly one of the most adventurous and challenging we have ever been on. I have added a few more thoughts below concerning our experience and plan to add an entry that sort of sums up our experience and gives a few suggestions for those planning a trip to Ecuador.

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A word about our experience here in Ecuador. When we started investigating the possibility of our trip here we went on to the U.S. State Department website and as I expressed in an earlier blog, it scared the hell out of me. As we now near the end of our time here I must report that our experience has been absolutely the opposite of anything we have read or heard as it pertains to any negative experiences. We have simply had none. Not one incident that made either of us uncomfortable or insecure in the least. If anything I am angry with myself for having left my Nikon SLR at home. So many potential photos were left untaken because the mini-Nikon we brought couldn't take the photo. This is not to say, as I also expressed in the earlier blog, that anyone should merrily prance down the streets of Quito without taking any precautions. I listed some of those precautions in that blog and I stand by them. This is a big city and like any big city anywhere in the world, things can happen. I'm just saying it didn't happen to us and, knock on wood, it shouldn't happen to you either. The police and security presence here is unbelievable right now, but that presence could disappear tomorrow for all I know. Be prepared, be careful and, as my daughter has told me on the occasions that my scaredy cat side comes out, you can't live your life in fear of what might happen! Did I mention my kid is smart?

Our interactions with locals can be described as having been open, honest and caring. Ecuadorians have a deep love for their country, for their families, their faith and in the future of their country. Current President Rafael Correa has done a great deal to create faith in the government as a body that is trying to make everyone's lives better.

The cost of living is high here. Clothing, electronics, appliances are very expensive compared to the U.S. A new Apple iphone that I recently purchased for $50 in the States would be $1,000 here. Food, however, is cheap. You can pay exorbitantly prices at high end restaurants in ritzier parts of Quito, but the food won't be any better and it certainly won't feel more authentic than the little joints you'll find in the neighborhoods. Look to publications like The Lonely Planet for suggestions, but also, look where the locals are going. If it's full of what look like tourists, it may not be that great. If you see a place filled with happy locals, take a chance. You may have the best meal of your trip and here in Ecuador that means you can get a full meal for easily under $5. We were in a place that served a business lunch, soup, jugo, main and dessert for $2 and it looked great.

And while we are on the subject of food, dear readers, when we travel to other countries we go there to experience their culture in every way possible. We do not go to see how their culture has adjusted to ours. If you must eat American fast food, stay home. It is a sad statement on our country that our fast food giants have found it necessary to export our diet to other countries and as hard as France might want to turn its nose up at any food not French, France is actually the number 2 consumer of McDonalds hamburgers in the world. Sad isn't. When the French want to go out for some foreign food and think of America, they think McDonalds not any of the hundreds of regional cuisines indigenous to specific parts of our country. Go to embrace all things from that country (presuming they are legal). That may mean trying some pretty unusual foods. When in Argentina we ate the parrillas, the platter of beef parts BBQed over open fires. Here in Ecuador I tried tripe stew, chuy (guinea pig) and other plates containing meat parts still mysterious to me. But, hey, I found out that they were really good (Though I'm still not sure about the tripe) and if you just can't down it, no worries. You aren't going to starve.

Thanks for traveling with us and Bon Voyage!