This spring break Cynthia and I are going to Ecuador for International Business. Part of the course requires us to keep a journal of each days events. I thought I would share the trip with you.

Today I learned that life does exist at 4am. My dad dropped me off at the airport. He is my hero. The flights while early have been uneventful, save for a few spectacular vistas out the plane. I don’t remember the scenery being this pretty before. On the way to Houston we flew just above a blanket of clouds. The rising sun was shining color though the sky and deep shadows in the clouds. I tried to take a picture of the sun rise but it just doesn’t capture the majesty.

Right now we are flying over the Caribbean and the water is so clear it seems that we can see straight down to the bottom. The shadows of the small white clouds are dotting the ground.

iPhone?

The Panama City Airport had a lot of duty free shops. Some of which were selling jail broken iPhones and iPhone knock offs.

MMs

This shop sold only M&Ms and related items.

Waiting

We had a 7 hour layover in Panama. Here we are chilling waiting for the plane. There I am writing this blog… or watching Stargate.

Customs Line

This crowd is actually the line to get through customs in Quito. We waited for 30 minutes just to see this line.


Quito the City of Roses

One of Ecuador’s main exports is roses. It is not hard to find a dozen roses for sale here for a dollar. because of this we found rose displays at the airport and at our hotel that would have 10 dozen roses or more. And the flowers are so fresh and clean. We each get a new rose in our hotel room every night. The restaurant all have fresh roses as their table centerpieces.

Roses

The roses in our hotel lobby. There are displays like this all over town.

General Observations:

  • You can’t judge a persons nationality by their appearances. I have met many white, black and everything in between talking in Spanish. Panama seems fairly diverse and integrated racially.
  • The men here bring their sons to work along side them. I think this is good.
  • Don’t let anyone touch your luggage if you are not prepared to tip them.
  • Smiles are universal.