Colombia to Ecuador via Panama City

Oh I hate flying. Apart from the long waits, the palaver of getting through the bureaucracy, the rubbish food, the boring flight there’s always a passenger that gets on your nerves and doesn’t shut up for a second. 

It proves that you don’t need more than a one hour flight, and a big mouth to prove you are an idiot. An American behind me managed to elicit from his neighbour all her personal details, instruct her on the why’s and wherefores of coffee, scotch and chocolate, give her a US geography / climate lesson, plus lessons on places he admitted he had never been to, expressed how a certain President was the best thing ever, provided a running commentary on all the bars in Cartagena where he had been wasted. 

Once he sung the praises of Starbucks and a Cadbury’s range of chocolates I was so close to flicking my seat into a total recline in the hope it would hit him in the mouth. The young lady who was the recipient of all the bragging looked very close to sleep when I looked. At least I had entertainment from the row behind me. Roll on Panama so I can get away from that voice. 

Panama was an uneventful 6 hour layover in a lovely airport with lots of amenities, a sprinkling of food outlets, and some great shops. The food in the lounge consisted of apples, bananas and crackers. At least the wine was free. And the good news was that I had phone service for the first time since Chile. For some reason I could not pick up a provider in Colombia. Not sure if I would get a meal on the next leg of my flight I ‘dined’ at Carl’s Jnr where my burger was so greasy the bun bore indents from my fingers where I had gripped it to take a bite. Funnily I did get a meal in flight; a burger, almost as bad as Carl’s but at least it was food. 

I arrived in Ecuador to no phone service again but Senor Patricio, with the long grey braids and cowboy hat, was there to collect me. 

He takes me through the new airport annex “muy grande” and then to his jalopy which stunk of BBQ smoke; he turned on his music and we were off. If Senor Patricio is a sign of what’s to come then I will have a ball. 

The trip in to the city was interesting. Most of the time along a motorway and then he turned off and we went up these skinny cobbled streets for quite some way. Quito, from what I saw is built on the sides of a steep hill and our drive took us up and up and up. Eventually the car turned into the ‘Old town’ going past the main basilica and the Presidents home till we arrived at a dark wee doorway which was the entrance to my home for the next few days - Casa Hotel Las Plazas. 

Senor Luis was waiting for me outside and took me through a funny wee souvenir shop upstairs to a lovely foyer, where Senorita Lucia welcomed me with a fruit juice🥤. How cute is this: