We made it to Quito!…Time to adapt…

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JW Marriott in Quito, Ecuador, is a beautiful and elegant hotel.

The two flights were easy and uneventful. We barely ate the meal served on the second flight from Houston to Quito. That was no big deal since our expectations are low for airline food.

Once we collected our bags, we headed to the entrance, and there, at 11:45 pm, was a man holding a sign reading “Celebrity Cruises.” The kind greeter welcomed us and escorted us to the minivan, where our bags were loaded

He spent the first 15 minutes of the drive while we asked a few questions. By almost 1:00 am, we were situated in our beautiful spacious room with every possible amenity. In no time, we got ready for bed and hunkered down on the comfy bed. Sleep didn’t come easily; overall, I didn’t sleep more than 4 hours, awakening every hour or so.

Breakfast in one of the restaurants in the hotel. Nice decor, lovely food.

I had no apparent signs of altitude sickness when we went to bed. But when I got out of bed this morning, I could feel it. I was breathless while showering and getting ready for the day and noticed my pulse increase.

It hit me hard at breakfast, about 11 hours after we landed, and I struggled to eat my omelet and grilled veggies. I left food on the plate. We returned to our room, where I couldn’t lie down quickly enough. Of course. Tom, as usual, was fine with no symptoms at all. Go figure.

Water is supposed to reduce symptoms of altitude sickness, and I keep gulping it down. It’s provided in our room, four bottles a day. There’s a purified water machine in the lobby to refill water bottles.

Our view from our breakfast table is one of the many outdoor areas of the hotel.

I took two extended-release Tylenol and am lying in bed typing this on my phone. It’s hard to type on my laptop in a prone position, although I will need to use it to finish off some features and the only two photos I have taken so far. Sorry about that.

Mostly, I am thrilled the altitude didn’t result in an Afib event. It’s been a week since my last event, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed to avoid it on the cruise. We shall see how it rolls out.

Tonight at 5:00 pm, we have to go check in for the cruise in the hotel lobby. Hopefully, by then, I will feel better and be able to go, during which we will meet some of the other 14 passengers. The cruise was sold out for the 16 passengers.

To our family and friends in Minnesota, sorry about the Twins losing in the playoffs and are now out of contention. It was quite a disappointment.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, October 12, 2013:

Anderson set a beautiful breakfast for us in the early morning in the Maasai Mara, Kenya. With room for four at the small table, some of us sat nearby, eating breakfast on our laps. There were croissants, cold cereal, pancakes, eggs, sausage, and a wide array of fruit. Although I could only eat the eggs and sausage, I was content. For more photos, please click here.

One day and counting…Packing day…Ten years ago…

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Ten years ago at Camp Olonana in the Maasai Mara in Kenya, we were unpacked with our equipment plugged in, anxious to write here to begin sharing the experience. With no Internet connection in the tent and neither of our WiFi devices able to connect, we comfortably sat in the lodge to go online to post. As we’d mentioned, the connection was poor, preventing us from posting many photos until we returned to Diani Beach, where the connection wasn’t strong. We slept in the bed on the left, keeping our electronics plugged in on the bed on the right. For the first time ever, my camera ran out of juice on safari forcing us to use the 2nd camera, which Tom used less often. For this post, please click here.

It’s finally here: packing day before we depart for Ecuador, South America, tomorrow. It’s relatively easy to do in this small room with only a tiny closet and a few drawers. Most of our belongings remained in our suitcases, to which we’re adding the excess today. The biggest project will be packing the supplies bag, which has enough supplies to last us until June, when we return to South Africa, where we can restock most items.

After considerable research, I discovered that many items we use won’t be available in South America. However, there is the popular Mercado Libre, where some items we use may be found at twice the cost in the US. So, we may or may have been wise to stock up.

Today, when I am done packing, I will finish this post. Tonight, we’ll order takeaway from Pizza Luce. We love their meatballs, sauce, and parmesan cheese dish, which we ordered last night when we met Tammy and Tracy for dinner and trivia. Tom’s nephew Kevin stopped by to hang out with us, and we had another great time, the last we’ll spend with family before we depart tomorrow.

We usually carry one clothing bag each and one supply bag, all of which we check. But, it looks like we might save money by taking a fourth bag, which we still have, and paying the $65 extra for it to avoid being overweight by five or ten pounds in our other bags when they charge much more for being overweight.

Once we arrive at the hotel in Quito, we’ll use the fourth bag to pack for the cruise since we won’t be able to bring everything with us on the small (16-passenger) ship. We’ll have the hotel hold the remaining bags for us until we return for the last two days in Quito at the end of the cruise. From there, two days later, we’ll fly to Manta to collect the rental car and drive to the holiday house.

On the way to the house on October 24, we’ll stop for groceries and water. We’ll provide our drinking water while at the house since the water, as expected, is unsafe to drink. The owner said he’d have a filtering device like Brita, but those filters do not eliminate bacteria and could result in serious illness. Instead, we’ll buy plenty of bottled water, which will hopefully be safe.

Also, we won’t buy fresh vegetables in Ecuador or eat raw vegetables or salads in restaurants. Most likely, the vegetables and fruits from the farms have been rinsed in tap water. If I buy avocados while there, which I eat almost daily, I will carefully wash the exterior before cutting. However, instead, I will look for prepared guacamole, which may be safer to consume.

I don’t eat fruit other than avocados and tomatoes (I won’t eat those there either). But Tom eats an occasional banana and must carefully wash it before peeling and eating. When we buy fresh vegetables, we’ll only use them for cooking, which kills the bacteria if cooked well enough after careful washing.

We are researching to determine if there are any other nuances about Ecuador that we need to know. We will continue to do so until we arrive and then after that. One can’t be too safe, especially when neither of us needs to get sick right now (or ever, for that matter).

It’s hard to believe that in 48 hours, we’ll be in Quito and know how we’re doing with the altitude. If all is well, we will be thrilled and enjoy our time in the second-highest city in the world.

Today, at 3:07 pm, the Minnesota Twins baseball game will be on TV. We plan to be done packing and able to relax, watch the game, and eat our takeaway meal after the game ends. Hopefully, tonight, we’ll get a good night’s sleep. Last night was not so good for me when I was awake for three hours.

Photo from ten years ago today, October 10, 2013:

Our tent’s veranda at Camp Olonana in the Maasai Mara, Kenya. Approaching, it took our breath away. For more photos, please click here.

Booked flight and hotel for Quito, Ecuador…Spending time with our grandson today…

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Here’s a map of the route of our flight from Minneapolis (MSP) to Quito (UIO), not that far away compared to many of our other flights over the years.

We waited to book our flight to Quito, Ecuador, departing on October 11, until we were here in the US, watching prices drop. With costs dropping only a small amount, we booked the flight and one night in the hotel JW Marriott in Quito, arriving one day early for our cruise/tour to begin.

Celebrity Cruise Line contacted us a few days ago for our passport numbers and expiration dates, flight information, and hotel information. Since we booked an extra night at JW Marriott, they wanted to tie it to the portion of our cruise/tour that includes two nights on each end for five nights, including our extra-booked night. They wanted to ensure we wouldn’t have to move to another room, which we appreciated.

Between the two booked nights for the hotel on either end of the cruise/tour, we’ll be flying to The Galapagos for a seven-night tour on the 16-passenger ship, basically a yacht, as opposed to a traditional huge cruise ship. It should be interesting. We’ll be flying from MSP on United Airlines. The cost of the flight for both of us is $1283.40.

As for the cost for the hotel, JW Marriott, for our one night, not included in the cruise fare, was $150.28, including taxes and fees.

The JW Marriott in Quito, Ecuador.

The next flight we’ll book in the next few weeks is the flight from Quito to our new holiday home in Manabi, Ecuador, about a one-hour flight, around $120 for the two of us, plus baggage fees. Our holiday home will be waiting for us, and we look forward to that part of our time in Ecuador as well as the cruise/tour. We’ll share more details later.

I’m a little concerned about the altitude in Quito at 9,350 feet above sea level, but hopefully, we’ll both be fine. I used to ski in the Colorado mountains in my younger years (before I met Tom) and never had a problem with elevations over 10,000 feet. I’m hoping it will be the same now. Tom has never experienced such a high altitude.

While we were at urgent care for Tom a few days ago, we got a prescription for Diamox (acetazolamide) to be used in advance for potential altitude sickness. With many possible side effects, we’ll wait and see how we do before taking the drug.

Later today, at 3:30, we’ll pick up grandson Vincent for skeet shooting and then for dinner. It will be great to spend time with him. He’s almost 18 years old, intelligent, and quite a conversationalist. No doubt, we’ll have a wonderful time with him.

Last night, we stayed in watching a few episodes of Formula One on Netflix and one episode of The Good Doctor, a delightful series we’ve watched intermittently, enjoying each episode. By 11:00 pm, we were both fast asleep and awoke feeling refreshed in the morning. Tom is taking his medications regularly and has started to see a slight improvement. Hopefully, soon, he’ll feel much better.

That’s it for today, folks. We hope you have a good Sunday.

Be well.

Photo from ten years ago today, September 16, 2013:

No photo was posted here ten years ago. To read the text for that post, please click here.

Day 10…Cruise to South America…Part 3, Manta, Ecuador… Busy fishing port… See below for “Year ago photo” and link to our final expenses for last year’s the 33-night cruise ending on this date…

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It was interesting to see these enormous nets of fish, mainly tuna, pulled from massive fishing vessels In Manta, Ecuador, arriving at the pier after a night at sea. Manta is one of the biggest producers of wild-caught tuna in the world.

“Sightings from the Veranda while Cruising”

Tom is getting to be quite the photographer. But, when I compliment him, he says, “Even a stopped watch is correct twice a day!” He’s too modest! Soon, we’ll purchase a second camera, so we both take photos simultaneously while in Antarctica and Africa.

Today, we’re still at the port in Callao, Peru, yet to leave the ship. After speaking with many passengers, those who’d done what we’d hoped to do, take the shuttle to town, were sorely disappointed in the experience. 

Many reported that the 45-minute shuttle bus ride turned into a 90-minute to two-hour ride (one way) due to outrageous traffic. With Tom’s impatience in traffic, it would not have been a pleasant experience for us. 

Also reported, once they arrived near the town, they had to take a taxi to get to the shopping district. We had no interest in such an outing. We’re glad we stayed behind, ending up having a wonderful day on the quiet ship.

The nets of fish kept cold on dry ice were moved from the ships to trucks heading to the local processing plants and canneries.

The group tours had better reviews, but here again, we had no interest in spending money on pricey group tours when photos from moving vehicles are difficult to take. 

When we return to South America in the next few years, we’ll be able to travel about Peru at our own pace rather than be subject to less-than-desirable circumstances. Crowds aren’t “our thing.”

As our long-time readers are aware, we mostly opt for the more laid-back and leisurely pace in seeing the sights that appeal to us. No doubt Machu Picchu and Galapagos are on our “to-do” list for the future.

Each time the nets were lowered into the ship’s hold, they brought up hundreds of fish. These workers look on to ensure everything goes smoothly from the ship to the awaiting trucks.

Busying ourselves on the ship yesterday was easy for us. We were never bored for a moment. By the time we finished the post around 12:30 pm, we had headed to the Celebrity Theatre for the 1:00 pm movie, 2016’s, The Promise. 

For those who haven’t seen this movie, a beautiful love story at the end of the Ottoman Empire, we’d highly recommend seeing it. We both thoroughly enjoyed it.

After the movie, we hung out in Cafe al Bacio, chatting with other guests who’d also remained behind, having chosen not to be standing in the one or two hour-long queues to get onto a shuttle bus, plus the hours-long rides through traffic. We felt at ease we’d done the right thing for us.

Net being lowered into a truck.

By 4:30 pm, we headed to our cabin to get ready for the evening happy hour in the Constellation Lounge for Captain’s Club members only. We sat with a lovely couple from Florida (originally from Massachusetts), engaging in exciting conversation until it was time to leave for dinner in the Trellis Restaurant.

There again, we had another fun dinner with other passengers at a shared table. After dinner, at 9:00 pm, we wandered to the Celebrity Theatre for the evening’s comedy show. We both dozed off during the not-so-comical show. 

I slept during the entire performance, waking myself periodically with a startling jolt. Tom said he’d done the same. We don’t get enough sleep many nights, inspiring us to return to our cabin by 10:00 or 10:30 pm.  Other nights, we can stay up much later to partake in dancing and lively activities.

The vapors from the dry ice are seen at the bottom of this net.

In any case, it’s all quite enjoyable, tired or not. As soon as I upload today’s post, I’m off to the fitness center on Deck 10 to work out. Since we embarked on the ship, I’ve been working out, doing my usual HIIT (high-intensity interval training). 

It’s been a long time since I’ve worked out.  It felt great to get back to it, especially when it felt as if I’d never missed a beat when I began my former routine. If only I could work out wherever we may live, it’s not possible in many locations. 

A worker guides the net to the proper position for unloading into the trucks.

The hotel in Buenos Aires has a fitness center, but nothing is available in South Africa. Walking may not be as prevalent for us in Marloth Park as it was four years ago when we could easily walk the dirt roads in the bush, always on the alert for wild animals. 

Now, our friends are reporting that lions and leopards have been sighted in Marloth Park, and a leisurely walk may be out of the question. We shall see how it goes.

That’s it for today, folks. Enjoy the fishing photos from Manta, Ecuador. And, may you have an enjoyable day!

Photo from one year ago today, December 2, 2016:

The miniature representation of schooner located in the Schooner Bar in Royal Caribbean Radiance of the Seas. We disembarked the ship that day after a 33-night cruise. For the final expenses for this long cruise, please click here.