Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Airports Times 4, then Quito

We began this next leg in Easter Island. In this airport, we actually got to sit outside. Other than walking from plane to bus to airport, this is the only fresh air we got until Quito.

The 5-hour flight to Santiago wasn't bad. I was a little irritated because Tanya and I were not seated together. I asked the guy next to me (who had a window seat) if he would switch with Tanya (who had an aisle seat), he said no. He then immediately fell asleep... And then he shut the window! Why keep a window seat if you are not going to actually look out the window?!? Tanya's guy did, in fact, enjoy his window seat. My guy... Not at all. Argh.

Anyway, LAN Airlines is great, by the way. They feed you on every flight. What's up, America? They even give FREE WINE. Not kidding.

We arrived in Santiago to a 7-hour layover. It took a couple of hours to make our way out of the airport and back in again through international security. We were hungry by then, but we had run out of Chilean Pesos. So I went to find an ATM. So, in the Santiago airport, there is an ATM inside security for domestic flights. There is NOT an ATM for international flights. We did not know that. I ended up having to make my way down to immigration where a nice young gentleman walked me through employee-only doorways to an ATM outside of security and then back through again. But we did get cash, and we did eat.

Yes, airport food can be pricey, but I tell you what, having to buy water is what's killing us.

I was able to sleep in the airport a little, and we both slept on the plane to Lima. It was only about a 4-hour flight, so still not much rest. In Lima we had another long layover, about 5 hours. But these are actually helpful, since often on international plane changes we have to go through another bout of security, and the lines can be treacherously long. Such as the one in Lima.

We finally made it to Quito, Ecuador where we got another stamp in our passports. We took a cab - a bit reluctantly at first, but we soon realized that it truly was the best option. Cabs are ultra cheap here. We were driving for around 55 minutes, and it only cost $26. The airport is far from everything.

Our hostel is super friendly and in a good spot in town, and we finally get a room to ourselves.

We walked around the corner for a cheap meal, and returned for a good night's sleep. Tomorrow we will adventure around Quito.

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