November 29, 2007

Return to Quito

So we woke up at 0 dark something to finish getting ready to grab the "movil" back to Itabaca Channel in order to get to the airport in Baltra. Once there we were able to get emergency exit seats. Unfortunately, they were bulkhead seats and G was not that comfortable. Aside from the "unexpected" 60min delay, we arrived in Quito tired, but with good spirits.

Once in Quito, we were met by G's uncle Manuel. He drove us around Quito a bit and then took us to his "finquita" in Tumbaco. G had been there 15 years ago when there was only some small one lane cobblestone roads and almost no neighbors. Sadly, Tumbaco has grown beyond belief, from a small rural getaway to a busy suburb of Quito. The hill that used to overlook only farms now is covered with houses. There we had dinner with the rest of Manuel's family, including his wife Maria Elena. All four boys; Manuel, Andres, Pedro, Daniel, were there as well as Manuel and Pedro's wives and offspring. We had a great dinner. Towards the end of the night, Danny drove us back to Heide's.