Dia uno: Arrivo en Ecuador

At the end of April 2011, Leslie was invited to be on the faculty of the 7th Choral Music Symposium and Festival in Quito, Ecuador. All her expenses would be paid and she would also receive an honorarium for her work there. The organizers were thrilled when she insisted she would be teaching in Spanish. She had about 2 months to learn how! From the time she finished her school year she set about spending 8 hours a day studying Spanish. We had a lot of planning to do along with her preparation for teaching five, four hour classes. A total of 20 hours of teaching in Spanish! As you will see, she was very successful not only in her goals for learning the language, but also in the impact she had on her students.

We went on line to the United States State Department website to check on the safety or going into a country like Ecuador and were shocked to read about the crime there. U.S. citizens were all but told not to go and if you do expect to be robbed at gun or knife point, mugged, ripped off, you name it. It scared the hell out of me. So I went to Ecuador with a lot of apprehension.

We also decided to spend time in the Galapagos Islands so we researched, planned and made reservations for that part of the trip as well.

This is the journal of our adventure to Ecuador as it happened and I logged it each day. Along the way I also spend some time venting about aspects of the trip that weren't positive experiences for me and I include some suggestions and advice for those thinking of a trip to Ecuador. So if my rants get to be too much, just skip ahead. I have divided these op-ed sections with ++++++++++++ signs, so you'll know to either read on or skip ahead.

Well, here goes. Enjoy!



We drove from our home in Bellingham, Washington to Seattle and spent a couple of hours with our daughter and son-in-law, Kate and Nick, before Nick dropped us off at the Seatac airport. They will keep the car at their place while we are away. Kate stayed behind to prepare for friends who were to arrive for the weekend.

Our flight to Miami, the first leg of our journey, was scheduled for 10:45 PM. Yikes! Check in went quickly and so we decided to have dinner at Anthony's. We had a leisurely dinner and by the time we finished we had only about an hour before boarding.

Our flight took off on time which is about all I can say positive about the flight. We were aboard an Alaska Airlines flight which, as an attendant proudly mentioned over the loudspeaker, was recently proclaimed by JD Powers and Associates, for no less than the fourth year in a row, the best airline in America.

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I have something I'd like to say about this award. What criteria is J D Powers and Associates using to base the awarding of this honor? The best what? Leg room? Seat size? In-flight service? WHAT? Because if Alaska is supposed to represent the best in the industry, then I have a real problem with the industry!

This is an industry, as far as I am concerned, that is obviously listening to only one constituency, that being their stock-holders. Airline travel, even within my memory, used to be enjoyable. The seats were wider, yeah, I know I'm wider, too. There was more leg room. The in-flight food and entertainment were free. You brought your luggage to the check-in counter, it was weighed and then loaded on the plane. No more questions OR charges asked. There was always space for your carry-ons in the overhead bins and if you needed help to get it in the bin, there was always a friendly attendant who gladly helped you out. Magazines were passed out, a blanket and pillow were always available for the asking if they weren't already waiting for you in your seat. If you turned the help light on a smiling attendant was always johnny on the spot to help out.

Today, attendants are of little help at all when assistance is needed. I have even overheard attendants state that they will not help lift objects into the bins because they don't want to throw out their back. Sorry no blankets or pillows on this flight. Only international flights. Yeah we serve food but it'll cost you. You mean now I actually have to pay for the opportunity to eat lousy airline food? You are squeezed into a cabin like cattle with too little air circulation and if you attempt to get out of your seat to stretch your legs you are scolded and asked to please take your seat as the airline's rule is that you should stay in your seat with your seat belt fastened unless you need to use the bathroom.

Of course, that isn't a concern in the business cabin where only 2 seats take up the space of 3 in economy and where there is nearly twice the leg room of the coach cabin. No entertainment unless you want to pay $15 to watch or listen with horrible fidelity and screens difficult to see. Only one free bag. Anything more costs you, big time. I have seen fees as high as $50 for additional bags. No wonder it is nearly fisticuffs in the economy cabin when passengers board to find no space in the bins above their seat or anywhere else for that matter. As these humiliations mount passengers have become less tolerant and short tempered leading to arrests and some even banned from flying on an airline.

So what about passenger rights? Why not address the real reasons people are becoming so dissatisfied with flying? It may be one reason for the increase in train travel and why cruise ship lines are building new ships as fast as they can. People want to be treated, dare I say, like human beings and it doesn't take much to meet most folk's standards. Airlines simply aren't doing it and I for one go out of my way to spend my travel dollar where I know I am going to be treated right.

I fly only when I have no other reasonable option for getting where I need to go. So, Alaska Airlines, don't brag about being the best in an industry that already has few standards above that of a cattle car. You have nothing to be proud of other than the fact that few of your planes fall out of the sky. If you didn't notice, there was no applause from a soul when you made that announcement before our flight, though I'm sure your stock holders busted there buttons. That's my soap box rant about the airline industry. Excuse me but I needed that.
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Having said all that we did arrive in Miami on time albeit at 6 in the morning after a night of no sleep. We made our way to the concourse where our connecting flight to Quito aboard LAN airlines was to depart. Having about 7 hours to wait, we attempted to find a quiet spot at an empty gate area to stretch out on the floor and get a little shut eye.

Have you ever noticed that even at empty gates there is still the background noise of a TV blaring along with elevator music from additional speakers interrupted frequently by public address announcements? There is no quiet place in an airport. And the chairs. Ever notice that they have conveniently made sure they have arms on them so they can' t be slept on? So we fashioned a spot on the carpeted concrete floor... and slept. Well, I did anyway. I think Leslie used the time to study and prepare.

Before long though, the gate area began to fill up with passengers waiting a flight so nap time was over. We headed for our gate and soon boarded our flight. WHAT A DIFFERENCE! My goodness, we walked into an aircraft that was more spacious, wasn't packed to the gills, had room in our overhead bin, gracious attendants, free food and entertainment, and get this, a bag with a clean pillow and the loveliest fleece blanket. American airlines, are you listening? A little country like Peru can do this and at a cheaper cost than our flight across the U.S.? No, you're not listening are you? Viva Peru!

I slept for most of the 4 hour flight to Quito. Our arrival was dramatic as we banked over the mountains surrounding the city, seeming to barely clear the peaks that towered over a city which was itself nearly 10,000 feet above sea level. Worn around the edges the airport is scheduled to be replaced with a new facility in few years a safer distance from the city, but the economy has set back the project.

Myriam, the wife of the organizer of the music symposium, met us at the exit after we had passed through customs without any trouble. It was good to see a smiling face holding that sign reading "Leslie" in big block letters. She whisked us off to our hotel. We decided on a pick up time for the next day and then went up to our room and slept through the night.