Welcome to Quito

I fly to Houston, where I meet Linda, and we fly to Quito, Ecuador together, arriving late at night.  Natural Habitat Adventures  (https://www.nathab.com/ ) has sent a driver to pick us up-- we just have to spot the sign.   It’s a raucous crowd for late night in an airport...a large swarm of happy people scanning faces for arriving friends and relatives, dozens of people waving signs at travelers emerging from customs

I’m struck by the bustle.  I’m also struck by my need to gulp air.  I’m attributing this to the long travel day. “I’m so tired I can’t even breathe,” I say to Linda.  Behind me someone says,  “You’re also at 9000 feet, which would make it hard to breathe if you’re not used to altitude.”  Oh yeah.  That, too.  I block out the memory of the travel clinic doctor.  Adjustment to elevated air with less oxygen is normal, not to be confused with altitude sickness.  I am fine.

I am especially fine when I see our Natural Habitat driver.   We are a day early for our tour*, so en route to our hotel our driver gives us some suggestions for our first day’s activities on our own.  He advises us to take only yellow taxis … drivers will approach tourists with offers, but only the yellow taxis are official.  (Please note-- I took this trip before Uber and Lyft offered alternatives to taxis,  and I don’t know if those are available in Quito even as I write in 2018.  What I do know is that I’ve paid a tour company for good guidance, so I’m taking his advice to heart). 

He also jokingly asks us if we’ve exchanged our money for Ecuador currency.  This is a joke because Ecuador uses American money.  I can laugh because I checked that out before leaving home.

Downtown Quito

 Our driver suggests we use some of our free time to visit Old Town Quito and perhaps take a cable car ride to the top of a mountain for some spectaculars views... we make mental notes and hope to remember tomorrow...our first full day in South America.

* After  inclement weather led me to leave Boston many hours late and miss the first day of my Portugal-Spain tour, I always try to go a day early to so I don't miss the start of a trip again.   

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New Places to Visit, New Risks to Consider

Having done most of my travel in places similar to the US, I am a little surprised when the tour office suggests that I check with my doctor about vaccines.  It occurs to me that’s probably a good idea whenever I travel, but I’ve never done it.  Now I learn many hospitals have Travel Clinics that specialize in immunization and care before and after foreign travel.  So I make my appointment.

The doctor in the Travel Clinic suggests I have vaccines for typhoid, hepatitis A and B; she recommends altitude sickness medication and sea-sickness prevention patches.  I’m ok with the vaccines, and I know I need sea-sickness medication.  I’m not okay with the altitude sickness tablets.

“You are going from ground level to an altitude of almost two miles.  If your body doesn’t adjust to lower oxygen of those elevations you can suffer severe headaches, nausea, and even swelling of the brain and lungs.  I’m giving you a prescription for altitude sickness medication.”

Quito, where we will begin our trip, is in the mountains, well over 9,000 feet high.  That’s about 9,000 feet higher than the place I spend most of my time.  And there are places to visit that have even greater altitude.

View from  Pichincha Volcano (altitude about 15,700 feet) in Quito, Ecuador

Ironically the side effects of altitude sickness medication can include headaches, nausea, dizziness, blurred vision, drowsiness.... I make a compromise that I don’t disclose.  I’ll pick up the prescription.  But I’ll rely on the experienced guides to help me cope with the vicissitudes of travel.  And if they and I both feel that maybe I’m not handling the altitude well,  I’ll see what they suggest first. 

I get my vaccines, take my packet of information, and stop at the pharmacy for the prescriptions.  As he hands me the altitude sickness medication, the pharmacist takes me aside and warns me to be very careful about taking it.   I nod.  This will be going to the bottom of the bag.

The next day I go for a walk in sea-level Arlington with a friend.  We don’t even go up any hills and after 20 minutes I am anxiously exhausted.  As we retreat to my porch for a rest, I tell her about my doctor visit.  And she looks at me with wonder and says,  “You had how many vaccines and you wonder why you’re tired?”

Just the beginning of another exciting adventure.

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Preparing to Visit the Galapagos

I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a long time.  I am so excited about seeing a part of the planet that led to one of the world’s most revolutionary scientific theories--- Darwin’s theory of evolution.    Finally I’m on my way.  I’ve been walking, climbing the little hills of sea-level Arlington, Massachusetts, planning what to pack....

Red-footed booby and baby

Preparation alone has been a little daunting.  Signing up for a tour was easy.  Ah--disclaimer:  I write my blog based on journals I keep when I travel.  I do some research to verify that my information is current, and add notes to update as needed.  I am writing from the comfort of my home (in winter, in New England...my heated home). 

Another disclaimer:  I like tours.  Maybe I'm just a little lazy?  But I like tours.  Generally, I do not enjoy the research that goes into planning a trip.  (Some people love that, and I recognize it's also very educational.).  A tour limits the traveler's activities--you abide by the tour’s schedule. If there's a place you want to linger or leave, tours don’t have much flexibility.   But going with experts who know the area and take care of all my needs is very appealing.  And if I really want to spend more time someplace, I'll add it to my list and try to return on my own.

I’m not sure you can go to the Galapagos on your own.  There are restrictions protecting the islands, limiting where you can go for your safety as well as that of island flora and fauna. So I am taking a tour with Natural Habitat, (https://www.nathab.com/ ) the same organization to took me to see the polar bears of Churchill, Manitoba. I loved that trip. 

A little story of me and tours that will be anathema to those who enjoy the details of planning their own trips,  Over the years, I’ve found tour companies I especially like and frequently go back to them.  The Polar Bear trip was so great that, when my California friend Linda and I begin planning to visit the Galapagos, we go directly to Natural Habitat’s site.  We look at the date options and which would allow a Machu Picchu  ‘add-on’, we choose a trip, I call the company, and the agent says: “That date is full.  The next available date does not have the camping excursion, but the one after that does.”

"Camping?"  I...um... uh,  er...   am  not the greatest camper. 

I’m so ready to go and so trusting of the company, I really didn't even read the full description.  I admit it.  In my excitement about choosing a Galapagos tour, I did not see the word ‘camping’.  Camping?   

I admit my mild aversion to camping  to the agent, who then describes the ‘camping’.  Nat Hab Galapagos camping does not sound like the ‘pup-tent, mosquito-infested, pee in the woods’ camping I’ve done.  It involves tree houses (not pup tents) or "tent cabins" with electricity and a sink. (again, not a pup tent).  It  sounds almost luxurious.  It involves  dinners in the dining tent, not campfire cooking on a stick. This sounds ok!

So I call Linda and say, ‘The first available trip doesn’t have the camping option.”  Then I pause.  There’s a moment of silence and my steadfast friend says,  “There’s camping?”  She didn’t read any more than I did.  You can see that we do travel well together... right down to how well we read the tour description. We choose the trip with the camping option.

Let the preparations begin.