Friday: Finally in Ecuador!

Welcome to Friday! Two and a half hours after we went to bed, the alarm sounded and our day began. The alarm was set for 4:30, and by 4:45 we were dressed and headed for a taxi to take us to the airport. Good-bye casino! We had been told to be at the gate at 5:30 and we made it just in time…for the 5:30 deadline. For the third time we boarded the plane with a departure schedule for 6:30. However, we sat (once again, in the plane with seatbelts fastened) with no movement from Gate 33 until 8:00. The problem this time was that one of the passengers did not show up for the flight and they had to either wait for her to show up, or go through 450 pieces of luggage to locate her baggage since (for security reasons) the plane could not take off with a piece of luggage that did not match up with a passenger on board . We assume they located her luggage, because no one else joined our weary group. By 8:00 AM, flight 967 from Miami to Quito was finally airborne!

News of the devastating earthquake in Japan was on all of the TV sets at the airport…and even more reports of the tsunamis generated by the earthquake. A quick e-mail from Olen’s brother informed us that even people near the coast in Ecuador were being warned of the possibility of a tsunami. Fortunately, we knew enough about world geography to know that Japan is half-way around the world from Ecuador. We did not consider it much of a threat .

If you have ever listened to any of Gary Smalley’s tapes on marriage, he makes a point that people who share the experiences of disasters or hard times have a certain bonding that takes place as a result of sharing the difficult experience. That being true, we are definitely going to be bonded for life with Bert and April.

We arrived in Quito about noon. The skies were hazy and cloudy, but the temperature was extremely pleasant. Since our flight from Quito to Santa Rosa (near Machala) was not scheduled to leave until 4:30, we spent a couple of hours in the afternoon walking around Quito, visiting the local market where craftsmen have small shops to sell their items.

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We also located a SIM card for Ecuador, and much to our amazement, it worked like a charm. (Which is how we managed to get this blog posted!) After the walking-around exercise in Quito, we returned to the airport and boarded a local airline, Tame, (pronounced “Tammy”) to take us to Santa Rosa. Greeting the Davila family at the airport in Santa Rosa, Ecuador...

We arrived in Santa Rosa and were met by Elias Davila, his wife, Ines, their daughter, son, another son and his wife. They drove us to Machala and we all enjoyed a meal together at a local restaurant. They had planned for us to go to their house after our meal, but with the lack of sleep the previous night, we declined the invitation. Hopefully, by tomorrow we will be back to feeling human and plan to spend the day with the Davilas visiting brethren in Las Palmas and Machala.

So, tonight we are recovering and recuperating and are looking forward to the events scheduled for tomorrow.