The view out my hotel window in Quito. I never get tired of waking up and seeing the green mountains and the blue skies. Things like this make me understand completely the pride my Ecuadorian friends have for their country.
On the Friday, I went back to work, doing final errands and shopping for the office. First stop: back to the bookstore for my order. Thankfully, they had arrived, but unfortunately, not all of them. That meant a trip back to the other bookstore, to pick up the missing pieces.
Some of the great children's books! Indigenous tales from the rainforest, from the sea, from the mountains. I can't wait to read them!
Then, over to the indigenous market. I was looking for the spondylus shells to accompany the jewelry, because JC wasn't able to get them while he was away on the coast. I also wanted a shigra for the DC Activity Center, since NY already has one. I'd seen them at the foundation stores, but knew I'd get a better deal going directly to the artists.
Shigras are woven from fibers from the agave plant, using natural dyes. Spectacular, no?
No luck on the shells, though -- I found them, but was not about to pay that kind of money. I was pretty much out of museum funds anyway. I did a little other (personal) shopping while there. And then, I turned a corner, and found it.
Traditional children's clothes! Of course. Out of funds and I find the one vendor who has them. What to do? Since the production next year is expected to be all in Peru, I didn't want to lose the opportunity. So, donation to the museum.
Two sets of girls' clothes and two sets of boys'.
Back to the bank, off to buy a suitcase to carry all the activity center purchases home, and off to a late lunch. The afternoon meant a quick stop to buy coffee and chocolate (office and family gifts), then snacks for the train ride the next day, and then back to the hotel to work on expense reports, start the trip report, and do the inventory for the activity centers.
Weekends are the other indigenous market in Quito, so after doing a bit of packing Sunday morning, I headed out again. I was still hoping to find those shells, and I was in search of alpaca gloves as well.
I found them! Two different vendors, but very reasonable. And the best part -- recall that the pendants were orange and purple. So now each center can have both colors and talk about the variation and why these were so highly valued. Success!
I did not find my gloves. I wanted to look at the market, because they were $75 and more in the specialty shops. I found lots of alpaca gloves, but they all had alpaca designs on them, and I wanted plain. Ah well. I spent a while in the park, just watching kids play and people relax. Finally I caught a late lunch, then went back to the hotel to finish packing.
I'd kept the room, since I had an 11p flight. I took a shower, checked messages and left the hotel at 8, since it takes minimum 1 hour now to get to this new airport. I had a lot of gear -- three checked bags and two carry-ons. I had my laptop and cameras in one, and the delicate items -- stuffed animals and instruments -- in the other.
And turns out, my flight was cancelled. Tungaroa Volcano, north of Quito, was erupting a bit, and there was an ash cloud in the flight path. I was rebooked for the next day at noon, hopefully. Needless to say, having given up my hotel room and being in the airport with all that stuff, I was not happy. I also thought it unacceptable that they hadn't contacted me. Turns out they had-- they'd called my DC office number (although, I didn't have a message when I got back), which I found useless. But I had an e-ticket so they had my email and I'd checked in online that morning, with my mileage account, so they had my personal email too. And I had checked messages before leaving the hotel. Unacceptable.
But kudos to government tickets. I didn't need to go through Atlanta, just needed to get back to DC. She didn't seem to realize she could reroute me. Unfortunately, Delta had no other flights going out that evening. But the counters in the new airport are back-to-back, with the luggage conveyors in-between. I could see people in line and luggage moving. So I asked, "Who are they and where are they going?" Answer, United flight to Houston. Great! I knew I could get to DC from Houston, so I asked to be put on that flight. She didn't know she could do that, but asked her colleague over there who replied that she had one seat open. Fabulous. I went into line for United while she transferred my ticket. Thank goodness for government tickets! That's why we often pay more money for them.
Finally I get to the ticket agent, and I'm near the end of the check-in line. By the time we finish, I'm the last one there. Three bags were a problem. Apparently the airlines have imposed an embargo and are only allowing two checked bags. Thanks to my official passport, they were willing to check three -- and charge me for it! -- but could not get the system to take it. Of course, the bags are all heavy with all the books, and I've spread toiletries (those liquids and gels that TSA doesn't allow) across all three bags. But my ticket agent thinks the only way is for me to carry three bags through security and he'll be at the gate, so he'll make sure I get the bag on. Needless to say, with the nerve issues I'd been having, I was not keen on this idea, but I didn't see another option.
They have the baggage guys bring up the smallest bag. I'm waiting. They finally arrive -- with the largest bag. Problem. I get the toiletries out, and then they hit upon a solution -- tag it as a late bag. So they put a hand-tag on it and send it back downstairs, and send me to security. It's now less than an hour until my flight leaves. Thankfully, it's 11:00p, so security is very quiet. I get to my gate just as they start the boarding call. And they call me and two others for "special screening."
In Quito, you go out of the gate area and down to the tarmac. Of course, it's the late check bag. If I'd had a diplomatic passport I'd have been exempt. But, they were still pretty reasonable. They were quick, especially as I was telling them what everything was. And, they had seen my passport too. So while waiting for the other two -- you have to stay as a group -- I chatted with our escort. I was curious -- were these guys in fatigues military or police? Police -- anti-narcotics. The two gentlemen I was with were from Ecuador and the States. The American grumbled a bit, until I gently reminded him that he could blame TSA for the inconvenience -- this was Ecuador's answer to proving that they could make the planes safe to fly directly to the U.S. He got it. And as I told them both, the good news was that we'd be able to walk directly onto the plane when we got back, since boarding should be about finished. And that we did, although we had to go through security again, since we were coming in from outside.
But that was it. Returning to the U.S. was uneventful. I was very pleased that Houston had free luggage carts in the international terminal. The hand-tag caused a bit of a question, but the agents figured it out quickly. And everything arrived fine in DC. As it turns out, TSA opened the two bags that hadn't been "special screened" in Quito, and unwrapped some things too. For the most part all was well, but I think that's what led to the broken binding on the big souvenir book from the Mayor of Cusco. (Which reminds me that it's still on my office floor and needs to go to the library!) I got all the books and activity center things to the office the next day I was in, and straight into inspection and/or the freezer (pest management). My colleague brought the Peru items back with him a few weeks later -- he was stopped at customs and the awesome food samples were confiscated. :( Oh well. But the centers now have everything, and are very pleased, which makes me very glad. And, they're working on a list for next year! Things to look forward to.
Pululahua Crater. This picture says Ecuador to me.
So, I'm next off to a quick trip to NYC with Mom, to see some shows for her birthday. Then, back to Canada for the next community consultation meeting. In October I've got another cruise for the Journeys office, but this one's local and I'm really excited about it. And I will take my reset/refocus vacation, but not until the end of the year. But I'm looking forward to that -- it's a yoga retreat, and I'm going back to Belize. So, more soon!
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